USA/FRA - Diaw tries to stay positive despite Bobcats' woes

CHARLOTTE (NBA) - Boris Diaw expected the 2011-2012 NBA season to be one of trials and tribulations for the Charlotte Bobcats, but his team's current struggles have surpassed anything he might have imagined.

The Bobcats head to Minnesota on Wednesday having won just three of their first 28 games to rank as the league's worst team by quite some margin.

In fact, Charlotte are in the midst of a 15-game losing streak, with their last win dating back to 14 January.

"We knew it was going to be tough but I didn't think we were going to win so few games to start the season. But we've had injuries to key players and that hasn't helped," France international Diaw told fiba.com.

Almost two years removed from their first playoff berth, the writing has to some degree been on the wall for Charlotte.

After firing Larry Brown, the coach that led them to that post-season appearance, they traded away franchise player Gerald Wallace midway through the 2010-2011 campaign, following that up by sending veteran leader Stephen Jackson out of town last summer.

It comes as no surprise to Diaw then that the Bobcats are now headed in a completely new direction.

"The aim is to re-build this team and that happens through our young players," he said.

"The goal is to progress. Every night we try to approach each game with a winning mentality but it's not always easy.

"We've got a lot of losses in a row. From within it's hard to see progression. When you lose, it doesn't matter if it's by one point or many points, you're disappointed."

All the losing has been humbling for the 30-year-old Frenchman, who hadn't gone through a season quite like this in a while.

"With Atlanta, we had a 13-69 season (in 2004-05). That was my only other experience like this," he recalled of what, until now, had been his toughest NBA campaign.

Diaw's current situation couldn't be in starker contrast to his off-season.

He played a pivotal role as France claimed a silver medal at last summer's EuroBasket and in the process earned its first trip to the Olympics since 2000.

After doing his part for Les Bleus and with the NBA lockout dragged on, Diaw stayed close to home, playing for French second division side Bordeaux, the team for which he acts as president.

"I was happy to play for my team, to play with my brother (Martin Diaw) and to be in France for a good period of time," he explained.

When the lockout ended in December, Diaw headed back to Charlotte. The early days of the new season showed promise as he led the Bobcats to a win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

"There is potential there," he said of the Bobcats' roster, which has no big name players, but features promising young talent, including 2011 NBA Draft lottery picks Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo.

"We beat the Knicks early in the season when we had everyone and we were going well. When we have everyone, there are possibilities to beat certain teams, but it's hard to re-create that every night."

When the defeats started piling up, Charlotte coach Paul Silas tried new things, including taking Diaw out of the starting five, a move that has since been reversed.

"I didn't read anything into it," Diaw said of been relegated to the bench. "The coach was trying to do what is best for the team. It's what he thought was best at the time. We're all doing the best we can within a team."

Given time together, the versatile forward believes Charlotte could take after one of the league's best young teams.

"I think we have an encouraging group of youngsters. But you have to progress and reach a level where you learn and know how to win games and how to play well together," he warned.

"But that's what happened to Oklahoma City. They didn't win much in the early years and then they progressed."

Whether Diaw is still around when the Bobcats experience those better days is another matter. His contract runs out after this season, which makes him a good candidate to be included in trades before the 15 March deadline.

Asked to sum up what he would bring to another team, the soon-to-be 30-year-old gets straight to the point.

"I think after eight years in the NBA, people know pretty much what I do on the court. There are no surprises. I'm a facilitator. People know my game," he said.

Whatever happens the rest of the season, Diaw has something to look forward to this summer: playing for France at the London Olympics.

However, it's not something he wants to think about.

"I can't think that far ahead just yet. There's a season to go," he said.

While more defeats are quite likely for Diaw and the Bobcats the rest of the season, he is just grateful for the opportunities he has had and hopes to keep getting.

"There are always new players coming up. There are 400 players in the NBA and 60 that come in every year. So that means 60 that leave. You have to fight for your place. You have to feel useful and prove it to a team."

FIBA