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Treveon Graham Should Make the Charlotte Hornets’ Roster

By Jerry Stephens

Sep 28, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard/forward Treveon Graham (30) during media day at the Zion Bank Basketball Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz guard/forward Treveon Graham (30) during media day at the Zion Bank Basketball Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the regular season draws closer, the Charlotte Hornets will have some difficult roster decisions to make but Treveon Graham should receive a spot.

Every offseason multiple players are signed to NBA teams with the chance to make a roster spot. Treveon Graham is one of those players for the Charlotte Hornets this summer. He has the rare opportunity to prove his worth and potential make the team’s final roster. Graham deserves a spot on the regular season roster.

With training camp and preseason set to begin in a few weeks, the Hornets’ coaches will get a chance to take a close look at all the players on the roster. The team’s roster is currently at 18 players with the recent signings of Andrew Andrews and Rasheed Sulaimon. They must cut that down to 15 by the start of the regular season.

Sulaimon and Andrews are camp invites for Charlotte so those will be two names who won’t make the regular season roster. That leaves one cut left before the team is at 15 for their final roster. Treveon Graham and Mike Tobey are the two players who are on chopping block for the Hornets.

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Graham and Tobey were both signed to a two-year, $1.4 million contract this offseason. Mike played with the Hornets during the summer league while Treveon played for the Orlando Magic White team. While both had standout performances this summer, only one can make the team’s final roster.

While rosters are limited to a maximum of 15 players, three of them must be inactive for each game. A maximum of 12 players are active for each regular season game. With the Greensboro Swarm set to begin play this year, the extra players on the Hornets’ roster will be able to play in the D-League.

Charlotte already have three point guards, three shooting guards, two small forwards, three power forwards, and three centers on their roster. Those include guarantees contracts and don’t include Sulaimon, Andrews, Tobey, and Graham. Let’s take a look at the roster breakdown:

PG: Kemba Walker/ Ramon Sessions/ Brian Roberts

SG: Nicolas Batum/ Marco Belinelli/ Aaron Harrison

SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/ Jeremy Lamb/ ?

PF: Marvin Williams/ Frank Kaminsky/ Christian Wood

C: Cody Zeller/ Roy Hibbert/ Spencer Hawes

The third small forward spot is the only question mark on the Charlotte Hornets’ roster looking ahead to the 2016-17 season. Treveon is the perfect prospect to help fill that spot. He would be the perfect fit behind MKG and Lamb as the third string small forward. Keeping Mike Tobey on the roster with already six big men seems like the less efficient move.

Although, it is likely that Tobey, Sulaimon, Andrews, and Graham all play for the Hornets’ D-League team this season. Graham may have had an outside shot to make an NBA roster this offseason but it is looking more and more likely that he could stick with Charlotte.

The 22-year old averaged 15.7 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, and 1.6 assists per game with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Developmental League last season. He appeared in 46 games with the team and averaged 30.4 minutes per game. He also shot 45.9% from the field, 32.9% from the three-point line, and 62.2% from the free throw line.

Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress.com had this to say about the Washington, D.C. native:

"“Although his game isn’t exactly flashy, Graham knows how to play a role and doesn’t play outside of himself all that often. Graham’s value is stronger on the defensive end as his tools allow him to check multiple positions in a pinch while also crashing the glass aggressively. He has a high compete level and brings toughness to the floor.”"

The 6’5 alumni from Virginia Commonwealth University can play both the small forward and power forward positions. He is a versatile player who can fill in as an emergency play for the Charlotte Hornets next season. The team will need a third string small forward and he is the only one on their current roster. So unless they decide to sign another free agent or make a trade, Treveon is the best bet to fill that void.

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Graham will still have to prove himself and play for a spot during training camp and preseason. It will be interesting to see how he plays with his new Charlotte Hornets’ teammates. Steve Clifford will have some difficult decisions to make before the regular season begins but Treveon deserves a spot on the final roster.

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