Why the Hornets should target former Sixth Man of the Year as the center of the future

The one spot the Charlotte Hornets don't seem too worried about this offseason is the center position.

They have three more than capable options in Mark Williams, Jusuf Nurkic, and Moussa Diabate. With other areas needing more attention, they could leave that group as it is and have a three-man rotation.

President of Basketball Ops Jeff Peterson could get pretty active in reshaping that group this offseason, however.

He attempted to ship Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers at the deadline and could look to move him once again at less value. Jusuf Nurkic is entering the final year of his contract, and paying a backup $19.3 million on a bad team doesn't make a whole lot of sense. He could be sent off in a trade to help match salaries, or they could try to trade him to a contender who has the money and interest to make something happen.

Moussa Diabate is the only "safe" one in my eyes. The front office and coaching staff love his effort on the glass and defensive end of the floor, and at times, he's shown he can offer something offensively. Is he a long-term starting option, though? Probably not.

If the Hornets retool the room and bring in someone from the outside, Naz Reid makes a ton of sense. He can stretch the floor with his three-point shooting and is a slightly better defensive player than Mark Williams. Is it night and day? Not exactly, but it would be an improvement.

Williams lives at the rim, and while there's nothing wrong with that, this Charles Lee system needs to have a big man who can step out and shoot it with consistency. That's why he was thrilled to land Nurkic at the deadline.

Reid ranked third among all centers last season in three-point percentage (41.4%) behind only Al Horford and Karl-Anthony Towns. This year, he experienced a slight dip (37.9%), but still finished seventh. Only Towns, Nikola Jokic, Kristaps Porzingis, Nikola Vucevic, Myles Turner, and Guerschon Yabusele finished higher.

Going with Reid over Williams, the Hornets would lose a little bit of a rebounding edge, but this is where Moussa Diabate comes into play. In an expanded role, he could help make up for that slight dip in rebounding production, especially if he sees some time at the four.

Reid controls his destiny this offseason due to having a player option on his contract for the 2025-26 season. One can assume he'll decline that option and seek what opportunities are out there for him on the open market, while keeping a return to Minnesota in mind.

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