Has Brian Roberts Played His Last Game With the Charlotte Hornets?
With his contract set to expire this summer, Brian Roberts may have played his final game in a Charlotte Hornets’ uniform.
Brian Roberts is going to be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. After playing in 41 games this year, the veteran point guard may have played his last game with the Charlotte Hornets. His time with the team looks like it is coming to an end.
Even though Roberts has been with the Hornets for about two and half seasons, his future is up in the air. It is unclear whether the front office wants to re-sign him or not but Rich Cho has already said that the team will address the backup point guard situation this offseason. Ramon Sessions is likely gone and with Briante Weber on a team-friendly deal, Brian is likely the odd man out.
The 31-year old has had two separate stints with in Charlotte with the first one coming in 2014. He originally signed with the Hornets on a two-year, $5.5 million deal but was traded to the Miami Heat and then to the Portland Trail Blazers at the trade deadline of the 2015-16 season. He then signed back with Buzz City this past summer on a veteran’s minimum contract.
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Roberts started the year as the third-string point guard behind Ramon Sessions but after he went down with a serious knee injury, Brian took over that role. Although, he didn’t keep it for long as Briante Weber eventually backed up Kemba Walker.
The 6’1 point guard averaged 3.5 points per game, 1.3 assists per game and 1.0 rebounds per game this past season. He averaged 10.1 minutes per game in 41 outings while shooting 37.7% from the field and 38.6% from three. Roberts also started two games when Walker was out but he was rather unproductive when given a chance.
The Hornets have been searching for a reliable backup point guard since Jeremy Lin left after last season. If Charlotte chooses to re-sign Brian, he would only return as a third string player for them.
In all likelihood, the Hornets will probably sign, draft or trade for a point guard this summer then keep Weber on as an emergency option. That would leave Roberts as an unrestricted free agent even though Steve Clifford trusts him because of his knowledge of the team’s style and system.
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If he did play his last game, the former University of Dayton player scored four points in 28 minutes against the Atlanta Hawks in his final appearance with the Hornets. This could be the end of the road for Brian as he is getting up there in age and there likely won’t be too many suitors on the open market. We’ll have to wait and see what happens this offseason but it looks like he has played his last game with Charlotte.