NEW ORLEANS — Ike Diogu is still trying to prove he deserved to be a coveted lottery pick, some four year after he was taken ninth overall in the 2005 NBA draft.
On Thursday, Diogu arrived in New Orleans to formally join what will be his fifth team in as many seasons when training camp starts next fall.
"I haven't had too many opportunities with the previous teams I've been with, so I'm just excited to show everybody I belong in the league and that I was worthy of being taken ninth overall," Diogu said, looking relaxed and confident in a T-shirt and designer jeans while seated at a conference table at the Hornets' 19th-floor downtown headquarters.
Diogu, drafted out of Arizona State by Golden State, has averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 187 career games. Yet from time to time, the 6-foot-9 power forward has shown enough potential to get the attention of general managers around the league.
"We expect a lot more from him in the form of production," Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said. "We feel Ike's got the talent, the capabilities, and over his career he's demonstrated when he's played minutes that he produces and we feel he'll be in a situation where we will see that. We need that type of production."
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For Bower, the key evidence included Diogu's performance late last season for Sacramento after Kings center Spencer Hawes went out with a left knee injury at Denver.
Diogu wound up playing 41 minutes against the Nuggets, finishing with 32 points and 11 rebounds. He played 40 minutes two nights later in the Kings' regular season finale at Minnesota, scoring 28 and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Those performances showed "what happens when you give me an opportunity to showcase what I can do," Diogu asserted.
Diogu said his agent, Thaddeus Foucher, has been in contact with a half dozen other teams since he became a free agent this summer. The Kings were interested in keeping him, while Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Toronto and Washington also made overtures, he said.
He ultimately settled on a one-year deal with the Hornets, who've been looking for a young, energetic power forward to come off the bench behind All-Star David West.
"It's going to be a one-year deal and we'll see what happens from there," Diogu said. "Hopefully, I'll take care of business and that will set me up long-term."
Diogu used the term "logjam" to describe the front court depth on the other teams with which he's played, from the Warriors to Portland to Indiana and finally Sacramento.
"It's tough to get out there and play like four minutes and then get subbed out of the game," Diogu said. "But when you give me consistent time, I feel like I can put together consistent games."
Diogu also spoke of his ability sink the mid-range jump shot, a talent that could open the offensive end nicely for a penetrating point guard like Chris Paul.
"I have a consistent jumper out to 17, 18 feet and I think most people are going to be surprised when they see me shoot that and hit that consistently," Diogu said.
The signing of Diogu comes within a week of a trade that sent center Tyson Chandler to Charlotte in exchange for Emeka Okafor. Like Diogu, Okafor is of Nigerian descent and Diogu smiled at the prospect of both sets of parents, who are all ethnically Igbo, speaking together in their native dialect should they run into one another at a game next season.
Pleasing as that prospect may be, it does not represent the sense of belonging Diogu seeks right now.
Time in head coach Byron Scott's regular playing rotation is what he really wants.
The Hornets "said they wanted to add some more depth in the front court and if you just look at their roster on paper, everything looks pretty good," Diogu said. "So it's all on me, and that's basically all I'm looking for is just the opportunity for it to be on me."
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