Charlotte Hornets Gave Up on Bismack Biyombo Way Too Early
The Charlotte Hornets made a mistake when they declined to extend a qualifying offer to the young big man back in 2015 when they gave up on him way too early.
Bismack Biyombo broke into the league after being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets back in 2011. The team used a high first round pick on him as they saw his upside worthy of a long-term investment. As it turns out, they didn’t want to wait around so they cut ties with the young big man way too early.
After four somewhat underwhelming seasons in the Queen City, the Hornets decided not to extend a measly $4.1 million qualifying offer to Biyombo. He instead signed a two-year, $5.7 million deal with the Toronto Raptors. Although he did not have a wildly productive season, Bismack did break out in the postseason.
His outstandingly athletic play led him to receive a huge four-year $72 million contract from the Orlando Magic this past offseason. So why did the Hornets make a mistake? Well looking at their current roster, they need front court depth and a shot blocking center. That is exactly what Biyombo does best.
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Now the move made sense originally as it opened up more playing time for Cody Zeller with Al Jefferson on his way out and in the last season of his contract. The thing is, the team could’ve kept Biyombo on as a third string center because Big Al was often injured but instead, they chose to trade for and use Spencer Hawes in that role.
If Charlotte would’ve kept Bismack around, they could’ve re-signed him to a much cheaper contract this past summer than the one he’s currently on because he never would’ve broken out with the Raptors. With Jefferson now gone, Biyombo would have been a better option behind Zeller than Roy Hibbert was.
Now, instead of paying Biyombo in the $10-15 million range, they are paying $12 million a year to Miles Plumlee. Bismack was only 22-years old when the Hornets gave up on him and he’s still only 24 now. The 6’9 big man is averaging 6.1 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game and 1.3 blocks per game this season with Orlando.
Compare that to the three backup centers who the Hornets have used this season:
Hibbert: 5.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.0 BPG
Hawes: 7.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.7 BPG
Plumlee: 3.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.6 BPG
Almost two years since their decision to move on from Biyombo and Charlotte are still searching for a consistent backup center. Big Al filled the role well enough last season but his style didn’t fit the current Hornets style of play. Bismack’s athleticism, versatility and quickness would’ve been perfect behind Cody because of their similarities.
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The Charlotte Hornets have made a lot of mistakes over the past few years, mainly in the draft, but one of their biggest ones was not believing in a player who they had invested so much in. The team should’ve stuck with Biyombo. Instead, another organization is reaping the rewards that Steve Clifford and the team sowed.