Swarm and Sting
Fansided

Buzz City Beat: Ranking Charlotte Hornets’ Starting Five, McCallum and Tobey Out

By Jerry Stephens

Feb 23, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Frank Kaminsky III (44) moves the ball to the basket as Detroit Pistons guard Ish Smith (14) defends during the third quarter of the game at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit defeated Charlotte 114-108. Mandatory Credit: Leon Halip-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Frank Kaminsky III (44) moves the ball to the basket as Detroit Pistons guard Ish Smith (14) defends during the third quarter of the game at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit defeated Charlotte 114-108. Mandatory Credit: Leon Halip-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Welcome to Buzz City Beat, Swarm and Sting’s daily roundup of the latest stories and news from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.

After blowing a fourth-quarter lead in their first game since the All-Star break, the Charlotte Hornets look to bounce back as they take on the Sacramento Kings out West. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the team’s starting five, Ray McCallum and Mike Tobey out after 10-day contracts expire and what the trade deadline should’ve been.

Ranking the Hornets’ Starting Five

“On paper, the Charlotte Hornets have one of the strongest starting fives in the NBA. The grouping of Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller has posted a robust net rating of plus-8.9 points per 100 possessions. Trouble is, that fivesome has seen the light of day just once during the last month due to a nagging contusion in Zeller’s quadriceps.” (BleacherReport.com)

In somewhat of a surprise, Bleacher Report ranked the Hornets’ starting five as the 10th best in the NBA. That seems pretty high considering that the team hasn’t had a lot of success this season. But most of their downfalls come from their bench as the starting five has usually been solid almost every time out.

It has also been hard to gauge just how good they are though because Cody has missed so many games this year. Based on their play and record with Zeller in, it is clear that he makes them a lot better.

More from Swarm and Sting

Ray McCallum (and Mike Tobey) Out of Charlotte

“McCallum never ended up seeing the floor during his two 10-day stints with the Hornets, as coach Steve Clifford opted to use Kemba Walker and Brian Roberts as his sole point guards. Look for McCallum to report back to the D-League’s Grand Rapids Drive.” (CBSsports.com)

Not only did McCallum’s second 10-day deal expire but so did Mike Tobey’s as the two players were signed on the same day. Neither made a big difference but Tobey at least got a few minutes of game action. The same could not be said for Ray as he never saw any minutes under Steve Clifford.

Instead of signing one or both of these two players for the remainder of the season, the Hornets decided to give D-League big man Johnny O’Bryant III a 10-day contract. While McCallum will return to the Grand Rapids Drive, Tobey will return to Charlotte’s D-League affiliate in the Greensboro Swarm.

What the Trade Deadline Could’ve (Should’ve) Been

“Hawes and Hibbert also represented the tradeable assets the team had for the future. Ramon Sessions’ injury also limited some of their flexibility as well. The Plumlee trade became the deadline deal. The Hornets are gasping for a chance to get back in the playoff chase with limited horses to do it.” (OldNorthBanter.com)

Next: Hornets Sign Johnny O'Bryant III to 10-Day Deal

Ultimately, the trade deadline was uneventful for the Charlotte Hornets. They did not complete any deals and were only (reportedly) involved with Lou Williams and Bojan Bogdanovic. The author of this piece, John Woodcock, believes that the team should’ve better assessed their options and maybe gone after Andrew Bogut as a short-term replacement fro Cody instead of Miles Plumlee.

Home/Hornets News