The 2014-2015 was supposed to be another step on the ladder to NBA relevancy for the Charlotte Hornets. The addition of Lance Stephenson, coupled with the previous seasons playoff berth and the re-rising name of “Hornets” were all supposed to collide together to create this shooting star season for the franchise. However, if you are a person who knows things that happened, you know that this didn’t exactly work as planned. The Hornets lost many games to injury, and never were able to create a sense of cohesion between new player, old players, and coaching style. Chalk up that season as a loss.
However, hope springs eternal in the NBA! The new season has seen Charlotte General Manager Rich Cho make a bevy of moves that he hopes will buy him more time as the GM (rumors) and keep the Hornets in contention for a playoff spot. Let’s review these moves one at a time and see how they could possibly impact this club.
First: Trade Lance Stephenson to the LA Clippers for C Spencer Hawes and SF Matt Barnes.
This is a trade that had to happen. Steve Clifford hadn’t found a way to use Lance Stephenson, or Lance hadn’t been able to duplicate his success with Indiana from the previous year. Either way, the relationship had soured. In my mind, this move didn’t do a ton to help the Hornets. Spencer Hawes is a journeyman center who has played with reasonable success in several situations. He does his best work as a stretch the floor center who can move a big man out from under the rim, then pass or shoot the ball from the perimeter. He is capable of hot stretches, but is also capable of sub-par defense. (Or maybe that is all he is capable of). Matt Barnes doesn’t get a mention, because he left the team in a matter of days. I give this trade a C. It was necessary for the team to move forward, but it didn’t do much to change the team’s fortunes in the upcoming season, especially when coupled with their draft pick.
Second: Traded Matt Barnes basically (there was a little movement involving Luke Ridnour), along with a 2nd round pick, to the OKC Thunder for SG Jeremy Lamb.
For some reason, Jeremy Lamb has been linked to the Hornets for several seasons. Perhaps it is his relationship with PG Kemba Walker, who he won a championship with at UCONN, or some other reason, but he finally ended up on the Hornets roster. Lamb is a lengthy shooter with some slashing ability. He has shown during his time with the Thunder that he is capable of knocking down shots. As is the theme with most of these offseason moves, his defense is suspect, though he has the arm-ness to be a disruption in the passing lanes. Lamb will be fighting for backup SG duties behind Nicolas Batum. He will be competing with PJ Hairston and Troy Daniels (Daniels had a great Summer League) I see Lamb as someone who will earn minutes simply because of his length on defense. Steve Clifford has shown that he can design a defense around worse than average defensive players, so Lamb has a possibility of being a small liability on one end, and being a positive on the offensive end.
Third: Traded SF Gerald Henderson and PF Noah Vonleh to Portland Trailblazers for SG Nicolas Batum.
This is the trade that Rich Cho thinks can have the most effect on the franchise. Batum is a very skilled player, capable of successfully doing every single basketball activity that you can think of. He is not a superstar because he can’t do any of these things at the highest possible level, but he can dribble, shoot, pass, rebound, defend, and lead a team. Having all of these characteristics makes him very valuable indeed. The one sticking point with Batum is that the only place where he has had to lead a team is at the international level with the French National Team. During the FIBA World Cup in 2014, Batum was excellent at filling whatever role his team needed, and it will be interesting to see him get an extended chance to be a featured player at the NBA level this coming season.
Fourth: Drafted PF Frank Kaminsky from the University of Wisconsin at #9 in the 2015 NBA Draft
Frank the Tank is a scorer. It is what he did in college, it is what he did at the Orlando Summer League, and it is what the Hornets see him doing this coming season. They can see him playing off of Al Jefferson, or simply stretching the floor with Jeremy Lin during pick and rolls in the halfcourt. Frank also passes the ball well, and even dribbles rather well for a player who is 7’1”, so the hope is that Clifford can use him creatively.
Fifth: Signed G Jeremy Lin
This was a surprise to this writer. The Hornets looked like they had a pretty complete roster before this signing. They weren’t going to win a ring, but the roster didn’t have any glaring holes that needed to be filled. Obviously, the Hornets management didn’t agree with me on that point. Jeremy Lin does three things: He makes plays out of the pick and roll, he shoots threes with decent accuracy, and he sells merchandise. As the only current Chinese American player in the NBA, Jeremy Lin is a huge marketing win for the Hornets. Now, he will sell some jerseys, but he will also be a step up from Brian Roberts at the backup point guard position. His ability to turn the corner and get to the basket, then finish or look for the next pass, is a skill that really lets the Hornet’s 2nd unit be dangerous on the offensive end. Again, his defense may be slightly suspect, but he is big enough to put a body on many point guards in the league.
Depth Chart:
Here is my predicted depth chart, with a few words about each position:
PG: Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lin, Brian Roberts, Aaron Harrison
Not too much to say here, kind of what we all expect. If there is a healthy season, there will be a productive PG group
SG: Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lamb, Troy Daniels
I would love to see Troy Daniels slide ahead of Jeremy Lamb here, simply because he could make 150 3’s in 50 games this season, no problem. He can light up the world.
SF: Michael Kidd Gilchrist, Pj Hairston
Honestly, I think that Batum will get a decent amount of the backup minutes at the three, especially when we need more shooters on the floor. MKG had a dramatic improvement last season as a jump shooter, but I don’t think he will suddenly be a 35% three point shooter.
PF: Cody Zeller, Marvin Williams, Frank Kaminsky
Unabashed love for: Cody Zeller. I hope that he can play at the highest level that he achieved last year, and keep it up for an entire season. I think that the Hornet’s fans will want to see Frank Kaminsky at the backup 4, but Marvin Williams has been in the league for a long time and will already be familiar with the system and what it means to be an NBA player. We shall see.
C: Al Jefferson, Spencer Hawes
It is upsetting how much this team needed Jefferson to be healthy last season. He is the hub of the offense, and the only player who can consistently score out of the low post. Hopefully surrounding him with some better shooters will keep the double teams away, and hopefully he will come into the season with some pep in his step.
Prediction:
I see the Hornets finishing 6th, 7th, or 8th in the Eastern Conference. I also see them winning 41+ games and finishing at or above .500.
