The Charlotte Hornets’ roster crunch is heating up after they traded Dorian Finney-Smith to the Atlanta Hawks for Buddy Hield and Ryan Nembhard. The New York Knicks should use this to pitch Buzz City on a Moussa Diabate trade.
Charlotte now has 18 players under guaranteed contract after the 1-for-2 swap. The front office needs to trim that number down to 15 before the start of the season. That can be done by just waiving players, including Hield and Nembhard. In fact, the Hornets are already expected to jettison Nembhard. But having so many guaranteed contracts on the books is also grounds for teams like the Knicks to call about other players.
It just so happens New York inquired earlier this offseason about Diabate’s availability. That interest can’t have gone anywhere. Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond are the team’s only centers under guaranteed contract for next season, and training-camp invites like James Wiseman and Drew Eubanks aren’t nearly bankable enough to prevent the Knicks from exploring other options.
The Hornets opened the door to a Diabate trade before this
Adding yet another guaranteed contract isn’t the sole reason why the Hornets might entertain Diabate offers. They invited them long ago by drafting Hannes Steinbach, and training for Naz Reid.
Neither one of those names is a stone-cold center. Both could struggle to hold up defensively at the 5. But the Hornets signaled a commitment to the bigger picture by moving on from LaMelo Ball. Anyone telling you otherwise is lying. They are not a better team without LaMelo—particularly when it doesn’t sound like Brandon Miller will even be ready to start training camp.
This complicates Diabate’s future in Charlotte by virtue of his contract. Part of his appeal to the Knicks (and any other team) is his $2.5 million salary. But he’s entering a contract year. Unless the Hornets believe he’s the center of the future, they’re not exactly on a timeline that suggests they’ll be keen on paying what it takes to keep him.
New York can help Charlotte navigate its roster crunch
Any Diabate-to-New York deal won’t see the Knicks ease the Hornets’ roster crunch straight-up. They do not have enough expendable matching salaries to trade one player for two, or even two players for three.
Still, a willingness to include draft capital lets them rope in a third team. The Knicks have enough extra second-round picks to compensate another team to take on Pacome Dadiet’s $2.9 million deal and one of Charlotte’s smaller-salaried players, like Nembhard ($2.2 million), Pat Connaughton ($3.8 million), or in the event the Hornets are already out on him, Liam McNeeley ($2.9 million).
Heck, New York might even have the sweeteners to help Charlotte facilitate the relocation of Hield ($9.7 million) or Tidjane Salaun ($8.2 million).
Sufficiently compensating the Hornets for Diabate would be the primary challenge. Including a 2033 first-round pick should be out of the equation. But given Diabate’s age (24), finishing, offensive rebounding, and ability to guard non-bigs, the Knicks should have zero issue unloading the second-round clip and a first-round swap. If New York doesn’t plan on paying him next summer, even Deuce McBride should be on the table.
To what extent the Hornets are more likely to move Diabate following their latest move is debatable. Their roster crunch is not. So if nothing else, Charlotte has given the Knicks a reason to try again—and harder.
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