"Labels are constricting: Boris Diaw is a power forward? Not exclusively. Boris Diaw is passionless? Not necessarily.

If you want to see passion in Charlotte Bobcats veteran Diaw, suggest he should give up playing summers for the French national team. He'd be downright strident.

"I know some (NBA) teams don't want their players going to the national team. I'd say, 'I'm going. If you don't want me because of that, don't take me,'?" Diaw said Monday.

"I've got two teams; my team during the (season) and the national team in the summer.''

See, he's not always nonchalant. If you're looking for that guy who smashes a water cooler after a loss, Diaw isn't him. But he's smart and as skilled as any player in team history. So despite Diaw's name coming up in various offseason trade rumors, coach Larry Brown is looking to widen his role.

The Bobcats made a big financial commitment to power forward Tyrus Thomas this summer. But the beauty of Diaw is he's not limited to one position. With all the concern about ball-handling this season, Diaw offers a solution.

"We've got to figure out a way to get Boris more involved as a handler," Brown said at media day. "Maybe we do things in a little different way than having (any one) guy on the ball a lot."

The offense often ran through Diaw his first season as a Bobcat. That changed somewhat last season with the acquisition of shooting guard Stephen Jackson.

Jackson dominated the ball, and while he led the Bobcats in scoring, the offense would sometimes bunch up on his side of the court."