How trading Matt Carroll and Ryan Hollins for 7-foot center DeSagana Diop might affect six other Charlotte Bobcats the rest of this season:
Emeka Okafor
Center/power forward
Potential shift: Okafor figures to continue playing most of his minutes at center with Diop as a backup. However, Okafor has been more successful of late playing out on the floor (note how well he guarded Detroit small forward Tayshaun Prince during two defensive switches last week).
Coach Larry Brown hopes Okafor is versatile enough to be paired with Diop against teams with huge front lines. Brown might test this Friday vs. the Phoenix Suns, when the Suns pair Shaquille O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire as post presences.
Boris Diaw
Power forward/small forward/you-name-it
Potential shift: Because of his rare ball-handling ability for a player his size (6-foot-8 and 235 pounds), Diaw is one of the few players in the NBA who could fill all five positions in basketball. If Okafor plays more at power forward, Brown could test Diaw's versatility at small forward, shooting guard and even point guard.
Did you see Diaw bring the ball up the court in a key late-game possession vs. the Pistons? The Bobcats want to explore new ways to exploit Diaw's passing, dribbling and shooting from range to create matchup problems for the opposing team.
Nazr Mohammed
Center
Potential shift: It's no secret the front office has looked into moving Mohammed's contract, which pays a guaranteed $13.35million over the next two seasons. Acquiring Diop probably reduces Mohammed's minutes (as is, he's reached 15 only once during the past 17 games) and makes him more extraneous to the whole rebuilding process.
In the original trade discussions with the Dallas Mavericks (and, at the time, Oklahoma City Thunder), Mohammed, Raymond Felton and Sean May would have all departed Charlotte in a Diop deal. If another team craves Felton before the Feb.19 trade deadline, the cost is probably also acquiring Mohammed's contract.
Sean May
Power forward
Potential (non-)shift: May hasn't played in 17 games, because of conditioning issues after a year-long recovery from knee surgery. Management has effectively given May an ultimatum – trim down to 260 pounds or don't play.
May started the season opener in part because the Bobcats were so hurting for power forwards. Now, adding Diop to the big-man rotation, combined with how well Juwan Howard has played at 35, means it's a lot harder to earn minutes in the frontcourt. May becomes a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
Adam Morrison
Small forward/shooting guard
Potential shift: It seemed inevitable that Carroll or Morrison would be traded. They weren't quite the same player, but the redundancy in skill set for high-priced wing shooters who didn't start was too obvious to ignore.
Carroll's departure might open minutes for Morrison, but playing time is still no given under Brown – a veteran coach who prioritizes defense and doesn't worry about salaries in doling out minutes. In the first game post-trade, Morrison played seven minutes during the first half (missing all three shots) and did not play during the second half.
Shannon Brown
Shooting guard
Potential shift: Brown is the closest thing to Michael Jordan's pet project. Trading Carroll could open the playing time to discover whether Jordan's hunch was right.
Shannon Brown is an exceptional athlete – strong and explosive in a way no other shooting guard on this roster can function. But he's not much of a basketball player and he tends to play too fast, leading to frantic mistakes.
Jordan suggested this season that Brown just needs patience and nurturing. Let's see. He's a far better defender than Morrison, so the minutes distribution essentially becomes an either/or between Morrison's size and scoring potential and Brown's athleticism.
