Swarm and Sting
Fansided

Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets lose assistant GM to Pacers, Point guard options

By Jerry Stephens

Jan 7, 2017; San Antonio, TX, USA; Charlotte Hornets point guard Ramon Sessions (7) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs point guard Patty Mills (8) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2017; San Antonio, TX, USA; Charlotte Hornets point guard Ramon Sessions (7) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs point guard Patty Mills (8) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the latest and greatest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.

The Queen City team is planning to decline Ramon Sessions‘ $6.27 million team option for next season. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at Chad Buchanan joining the Indiana Pacers, potential point guard options in free agency for the Charlotte Hornets and Christian Wood to play for the Dallas Mavericks in summer league.

Hornets’ assistant GM leaves for Pacers’ job (Twitter/ @WojVerticalNBA)

"Sources: Indiana is hiring Charlotte executive Chad Buchanan as GM. He’ll work under President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard."

It looks like the organization has a new front office position to fill going forward. Buchanan only spent two seasons with Charlotte working under Rich Cho. Before that, he worked for the Portland Trail Blazers as the director of college scouting and as the interim GM for one season. This will be Chad’s first general manager job in the league.

Given his history, the former Hornets’ assistant GM should help Indiana rebuild through the draft. He has an extensive background in talent evaluation which is a good quality for a team going through a rebuild. It will be interesting to see how Buchanan handles the Paul George situation now that he’s taken over.

Point guard options in free agency (HeraldSun.com)

"Maybe Shelvin Mack, who has played for four teams in six seasons, most recently the Utah Jazz. Or Jose Calderon, who spent time with the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks last season. Or the Hornets could investigate retreads such as veterans Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole."

Aside from the lackluster name listed above, the article also mentions Darren Collison, Patty Mills and Shaun Livingston. Although, the Hornets might not have enough cap space to sign those top free agent point guards. They may be forced to settle for a lesser player like Mack, Calderon, Chalmers or Cole.

If the team is priced out of their ideal targets like Collison, Mills and Livingston, I’m not sure any other options move the needle enough. It’s clear Charlotte needs an upgrade behind Kemba Walker. They better be hoping that Darren, Patty or Shaun comes on the cheap this offseason.

Christian Wood to play for Mavs’ summer league team (Twitter/ @All_Things_Mavs)

"Notable additions to Dallas’ Orlando Summer League team: Cat Barber, Christian Wood, Brandon Ashley, Ding Yanyuhang"

Next: Low-risk-High-reward options in free agency

This all but confirms that the Hornets will not extend a qualifying offer to Wood that would make him a restricted free agent. Instead, the big man who only spent one season with Charlotte will hit the open market this summer. It’s worth noting that Cat Barber who played with the Greensboro Swarm will also be on Dallas’ summer league team.

Home/Hornets News