Christmas came a little early for Bobcats rookie Bismack Biyombo.
He will make his preseason debut tonight at Atlanta — a day he wasn't sure would come this NBA season.
Biyombo, the seventh pick in the draft, wondered for months if he'd get a chance to play basketball for the Bobcats because of a contract dispute with his former Spanish team, Fuenlabrada, which said it held his rights. But the situation was resolved earlier this week with Biyombo agreeing to pay $1.5 million to Fuenlabrada for his contractual freedom.
Bobcats owner Michael Jordan paid $525,000 of that, the most allowed under league rules. Biyombo handled the rest.
He didn't seem to mind much. He gets to play ball in the NBA.
Biyombo said he was depressed watching his teammates practice last week and play in Monday night's preseason home game against the Hawks, but is all smiles now.
Biyombo said practicing with his teammates was fun, but added "until I actually play in a game, I can't say my dream has come true."
Coach Paul Silas said he was thrilled for Biyombo.
"If you just saw him during the practice session, he was sitting over there about as depressed as I've ever seen anyone," Silas said. "When I first walked in (after the contract dispute was settled), he had his hands in the air and was smiling — so this is great for him as well as the team."
Biyombo believed he was letting his new employers down by not practicing.
"The team drafted me high and really expected me to be on the floor," Biyombo said. "So it wasn't just a disappointment for me, it was for the guys who drafted me."
Teammates say Biyombo has been playing above the rim at practice this week, seemingly eager to show what he can do on the court.
Corey Maggette said Biyombo's conditioning was impressive.
"We had a great contribution from Bis in practice," Maggette said. "Him coming in and making a tremendous impact in practice is amazing. So that's a big positive for us."
Biyombo, a power forward, has incredible leaping ability and figures to play a key role in the Bobcats' rebuilding effort.
The Bobcats traded two of their best players in Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson in the past year with the focus on building through the draft. They had the No. 7 and No. 9 picks in the draft and used them on Biyombo and guard Kemba Walker, who led Connecticut to the NCAA championship last season and was named the Final Four's most outstanding player.
Jordan hopes those two players will mesh and become the cornerstones of the franchise.
Biyombo has his work cut out for him if he hopes to match Walker's debut Monday night.
After picking up three quick fouls in four minutes in the first half, Walker came back to score 15 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to lift the Bobcats to a 79-77 win.
"Early on I got in some foul trouble and I just kept putting my hands on guys," Walker said. "I'm used to doing that in college. At this level, you can't do that. But in the second half, the coach wanted me to play some minutes."
Biyombo likely will see the same type of playing time in the team's final tuneup for the regular season tonight.
Notes: Maggette, who sat out Monday night's game with back spasms, said he expects to play against the Hawks tonight.... Silas missed a day of practice to receive treatment on his right knee. Silas has been in pain for some time and has had to ice his knee after practices. He wanted to get it taken care of before the season.
Point guard D.J. Augustin hyperextended his right elbow and Tyrus Thomas suffered a mild ankle sprain in the preseason opener and their status for tonight is uncertain.... The Bobcats have until Friday to match the Grizzlies' qualifying offer to restricted free agent Dante Cunningham. No decision has been made yet.
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