Charlotte Hornets Round Table Discussion: Potential Moves
2. Is there a player being discussed in trade rumors (either linked to the Hornets or not) that you feel would be a good addition to the team?
Jerry Stephens: Greg Monroe and Rudy Gay are the first names that come to mind. They are the biggest players on the trading block at the moment and making a deal for either one could immediately make the team a contender. I would rather see the team make a move for Monroe who has a player option for next season. He is a quality big man who could start at center for Charlotte. He would give them a low post presence on the offensive end and would help solidify their starting five as one of the top-10 in the league.
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Luke Spencer: The Hornets could use an extra wing this upcoming season and Rudy Gay has been mentioned multiple times in trade rumors. I personally believe that the Hornets would have to give up too much to get him though. The Kings already have a boatload of players on their roster and I doubt a package deal of players would entice them to give up Gay. The Hornets would probably have to give up a first round pick and/or a valuable team member to get Gay.
Realistically, Bojan Bogdanovic is probably the best option for the Hornets to try and acquire via trade. He hasn’t been mentioned in any trade rumors recently, but his name tends to pop up frequently around the All-Star break (as did starting players Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson for the Brooklyn Nets). He has been linked to the Hornets for the past two seasons during the trade deadline and is probably still on Rich Cho’s radar. As with Marco Belinelli, it’s not inconceivable that Cho will eventually make a move for him. He’s a very good scorer and is significantly cheaper than Gay. Adding him as a wing would help solidify the Hornets line-up.
Max Seng: I’m not of the opinion that the Batum, Kidd-Gilchrist and Williams experiment will work particularly well. I understand it absolutely has to be attempted considering the investment the team has in that trio, but I don’t think it will work in terms of spacing against the majority of the league. The obvious need in the lineup is at the two guard, and my two nominations are Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic and Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets. Fournier just signed a shiny new 5 year/$85 million deal with Orlando, and would be an upgrade (albeit expensive) upgrade from Courtney Lee.
He’d be another guy who could knock it down from deep, create for others off the bounce and more than pull his weight defensively. The best thing is, he’s only 23 so we still don’t know what he is, and he averaged 15 a game last season. Orlando’s asking price may be too high, so if that’s the case, Barton is coming off of a career year for Denver last year in a sixth man role. Denver is a team that is very much in flux, and no one is untouchable. It’d be worth a call for the 6’6 shooting guard who averaged just under 15 points, six rebounds and three assists last season.
Deshawn White: I actually think the team could stand to get another forward. I love the thought of Marvin Williams coming off the bench, but Kaminsky isn’t ready to start at all. Having a bonafide starter at the 4 would be great, BUT I’m not paying a bench player $54 million. So I’m content.
Max Teddy: Like my fellow staff writers, I would love to see Rudy Gay on the Hornets. Just think: either Gay or MKG would most likely be coming off our bench. Financially, it most likely will not happen. The same is true for Greg Monroe, unless we decide to part ways with someone (i.e. Jeremy Lamb) taking up a significant amount of cap space.
Laieke Abebe: If the Hornets could make a move for a quality wing player for our second unit, that would be pretty nice. Depending on who that is, the asking price is the most important aspect in this situation. The Hornets lack a second small forward so they need to fill the void there.
Next: Should the Hornets Trade Jeremy Lamb?