Hornets Sign Moussa Diabate To Three-Year Deal

The Charlotte Hornets have officially promoted two-way player Moussa Diabate to a standard NBA contract, the team announced in a press release.

The deal, first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN, will cover three seasons, according to sources.

Diabate, 23, signed with the Hornets last summer after spending his first two NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. His strong performance this season has led to significant roster changes, including the Hornets trading away centers Nick Richards and Mark Williams in the past month, although the deal sending Williams to the Lakers was rescinded on Saturday night.

Diabate recently moved into the starting lineup for Friday’s game against San Antonio, where he posted nine points and 15 rebounds in 33 minutes. It remains uncertain whether he will retain that starting role with Williams now returning to Charlotte.

The Hornets are using a portion of their room exception to finalize Diabate’s promotion, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Charlotte had previously used that exception to acquire DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr., and Duane Washington from the New York Knicks as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade in the fall but still had enough remaining to accommodate Diabate’s contract.

Although the Hornets currently have 15 players on their roster, one of those spots is occupied by Elfrid Payton, who signed a 10-day contract on Friday under the hardship exception. This means no corresponding roster move will be necessary to add Diabate to the regular roster. The team will have until March 4 to fill its two-way spot.

Diabate has appeared in 42 games this season, averaging 4.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 19 minutes per game, while shooting 59.4% from the field. Selected 43rd overall in the 2022 NBA Draft after one season at Michigan, Diabate was a two-way player in both of his seasons with the Clippers, making this his first standard contract in the NBA.