Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Something big is coming for the Charlotte Hornets as they’ve been teasing their new jerseys on social media. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets’ strong offseason, the somewhat bright future for the team and Frank Kaminsky wins $100 bet.
Hornets had a strong offseason (FanRagSports.com)
"Even if you don’t believe in Howard as a consistent, capable player right now, he upgrades the position over what Plumlee could do… They didn’t have to do a lot, either. The exodus from the East by so many quality players opens up a return to the playoffs for Charlotte."
Charlotte made one big splash by trading for Dwight Howard. Then, Malik Monk fell to them at No. 11 and they signed MCW to a team friendly deal. Even though they didn’t get immensely better, they did enough to put themselves back into the postseason picture. Like Zach Harper mentioned, with the East getting weaker, the Hornets didn’t have to do a lot this summer.
Even though their offseason was rather quiet, the team upgraded their center position, the backup point guard spot and added more scoring off of the bench. The team was also savvy with their money as they stayed below the luxury tax. Even if they only got marginally better, this should be considered a solid summer.
Good things are coming for Charlotte (BleacherReport.com)
"You can be slightly concerned about the team’s lack of depth, even after it acquired Michael Carter-Williams to back up point guard Kemba Walker… They may not be tracking toward title contention, but they’re continuing to move in the right direction."
The Hornets didn’t make quite the jump that the Minnesota Timberwolves or Houston Rockets made and they don’t have a future as bright as the Philadelphia 76ers but they are still projecting upwards. The team isn’t rebuilding and they aren’t contending for a title. Some would call that mediocrity but others would call it trying their best to compete.
Whatever the case may be, the future is at least somewhat bright for Charlotte. They have an all-star in Kemba Walker, a promising rookie in Malik Monk and a solid core that can compete for a playoff spot for the next few years. They are in a much better spot than they were just a decade ago.
Frank Kaminsky wins $100 bet by throwing baseball 85 MPH (FanSided.com)
"He and his friends were side-tracked by a speed-pitch game. He and his friend agreed to a $100 bet. The terms were whether or not Kaminsky could throw an 85 MPH fastball."
Next: Predicting Charlotte's 2017-18 statistical leaders
I guess Kaminsky can throw a baseball 85 mph. That’s pretty impressive. He may have hit the batter and his control needs some serious work but he still managed to hit 85. With some work, he may be able to get above 90 mph and probably be the tallest pitcher ever. Here’s the video.