"The other day, some of us media types were chatting up the players about what makes Boris Diaw distinctive. Here's what came out of Nazr Mohammed, the Charlotte Bobcat who has known Diaw the longest from their joint history in Atlanta.

"Every single day it makes me laugh when he comes around the corner on that Segway," Mohammed said. "I thought it was one of those novelty things he'd have fun with for a while.

"No. He's committed."

Some of you think he should be committed. Or traded or at least lose his spot as a starter to Tyrus Thomas. It riles some Bobcats fans that Diaw isn't Type-A enough to smash a water cooler or pick a fight.

We can live with Steve Smith punching teammates, so long as he keeps catching TDs for the Carolina Panthers. We can't tolerate a guy with a European sensibility, concluding he doesn't care.

I get it that Diaw is a little eccentric. I'd never been around an elite basketball player who so radiated "nonchalant."

The more time I'm around Diaw (and I'm not presuming I know him, because I'm not sure many do), the more I understand nonchalant is a handy term, but imprecise. Diaw segments his career into things he can and can't control. What he can't control, he disregards.

Take the off-season as an example. Twice in six months, Diaw was seemingly on the verge of being traded. First it was to Toronto (hardly a shock, since ex-Suns GM Bryan Colangelo loves his versatility) and then to Utah in a convoluted effort to get Carmelo Anthony to New Jersey and Devin Harris to Charlotte."