Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ Stock Watch, Kemba Addresses Down Year
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
With four playoff games on the docket today, no one will be paying much attention to the Charlotte Hornets but we will update you on the latest news. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at individual players’ stock, Kemba Walker addresses disappointing season and an updated mock draft that has the team taking an international point guard.
Hornets’ End of Season Stock Watch (HashtagBasketball.com)
"That means making some changes to the roster. As the saying goes, you can’t make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. The big question now is which eggs should be cracked and which ones should stay in Buzz City. In an attempt to get some clarity on that issue, here’s a breakdown on the stock of the top players on the roster that began the season in Charlotte."
After the down season that Charlotte had, not a lot of their player’s stocks were going to go up. Kemba, Frank Kaminsky and Cody Zeller were the only ones to receive that title. As for everyone else, the year took it’s toll on their stock as the hype surrounding them fell with inconsistent performances.
We’ll focus on the positive for now. Walker’s rising stock was easy to pinpoint as he made his first ever All-Star game and had a career year. As for Kaminsky and Zeller, both made great strides. Frank picked up his game near the end of the season while Cody was the team’s third best player. The problem for Zeller came because of injuries as he struggled to stay on the court. That may have helped his stock as the Hornets were not the same team without him.
Kemba Addresses Disappointing Season (NBA.com)
"I want to start by telling our fans, I wish things had gone better. The season’s over so I’m pretty upset, of course. It stinks not going to the playoffs. Especially, when you know you lost so many games and so many leads, it’s just the kind of season we had as a team. It was tough."
Walker was brutally honest when writing this. He addressed not making the playoffs and how it’s going to fuel him going forward. The star point guard mainly spoke about how he’s going to use this offseason to get better and be ready to lead the Hornets back to the postseason next year.
Kemba also mentioned that he would use the extra time to rest and recover his injuries. That was to be expected after carrying Charlotte all season and suffering a knee injury near the end of the year. Even though this was a down season for the team, Walker seems excited about the future and is ready to work with Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist this summer.
Charlotte to Select Frank Ntilikina in Updated Mock Draft (DraftExpress.com)
"6’5 French guard and potential lottery pick Frank Ntilikina turned in an impressive six-game performance at the 2016 FIBA U18 European Championships in December, leading France to a title despite battling an illness early on in the tournament."
Next: Making a Trade for Kristaps Porzingis
Ntilikina is an intriguing prospect. He’s a big point guard at 6’5 which probably means he could play alongside Kemba as a two-guard. That would give Charlotte a dangerous look with two players who could handle the ball and create (three if you include Nic Batum). It’s always the same problem with international players though, scouts are impressed but just don’t know enough because of the small sample sizes. Depending on where the Hornets land in the lottery, Frank is definitely an option as he is projected to go in the lottery.