Hornets-cut-young-forward despite improvement during Summer League, due to an offense …

The Hornets have announced that they have waived two-way player Leaky Black.

Just a few weeks ago, the young power forward was expressing a desire to earn a spot on the club’s standard 15-man roster. Now, he’ll have to seek out his next NBA opportunity elsewhere.

Across 26 contests with the club (three starts), the 6-foot-9 North Carolina product averaged 2.7 points on a .481/.450/.667 slash line, along with 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists. In seven contests for Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, Black averaged 10.8 points, 8.6 boards, 2.4 dimes and 1.7 swipes a night.

July 31, 2024 – Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson announced today the team has signed forward Moussa Diabate to a two-way contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Diabate appeared in 11 games (zero starts) with the Los Angeles Clippers last season, recording 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per outing. He has suited up for 33 games with the Clippers across two NBA seasons and holds career averages of 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds. In 32 NBA G League appearances for his career, Diabate has posted 15.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.

Diabate, a five-star recruit in the class of 2021, played one season at the University of Michigan, earning a Big Ten All-Freshman selection while helping the Wolverines reach the Sweet 16. He was selected by the Clippers in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2022 NBA Draft.

A native of Paris, France, Diabate represented the French U16, U18 and U20 teams at the Euro Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2022, respectively.

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July 7, 2024 – Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson announced today the team has signed guard KJ Simpson to a two-way contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Simpson, the 42nd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors as a junior in 2023-24 after averaging 19.7 points (47.5 FG%, 43.4 3P%, 87.6 FT%), 5.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.6 steals at the University of Colorado. He was one of five players in the country to average at least 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists, ranking second in the Pac-12 in scoring, third in assists and third in steals. Simpson averaged 20.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists in three NCAA Tournament games, and he made a game-winning shot in the first round vs. Florida.

Simpson garnered Second Team All-Pac-12 honors as a sophomore in 2022-23, when he averaged 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals, and ranked fifth in the conference in free-throw percentage, sixth in steals, seventh in scoring and seventh in assists. He was also named to the Pac-12 Conference All-Freshman Team in 2021-22.

Hive Society Memberships for the 2024-25 season are available now, with extremely limited availability in the lower level, and feature some of the best benefits in professional sports. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 704.HORNETS.

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