Charlotte Hornets have to find minutes for Dwayne Bacon
It’s easier said than done but somehow the Charlotte Hornets need to give Dwayne Bacon consistent minutes in their rotation.
Dwayne Bacon’s rookie season will be important for his development in the NBA. The Charlotte Hornets must not waste his talent and youth by giving him limited minutes on the end of the bench. With their roster, it may be difficult for the second round pick to break into Steve Clifford’s rotation.
Before the summer league, Bacon was expected to be nothing more than a developmental player to fill out the team’s roster but after his impressive showing, the swingman proved that he may be more NBA ready than previously thought.
In five games at the Orlando Pro Summer League, the Florida State product averaged 15.4 points per game and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 41.8% from the field and 100% from the free throw line. Although he had his struggles from beyond the arc, that was to be expected as it was never a strength of his in college. Still, Dwayne showed that he could consistently create space and make tough shots on the offensive end.
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Although the Hornets already having scorers coming off of the bench with Malik Monk, Jeremy Lamb and Frank Kaminsky, they can never have too much scoring and that’s exactly what Bacon brings to the table. Also, Lamb has been benched on multiple occasions while under Coach Clifford. While he is an athletic scoring option, Jeremy hasn’t always been the most consistent and maybe (just maybe) Dwayne could be an upgrade.
If anything, he may be a younger, more affordable Jeremy Lamb.
Looking at Charlotte’s roster, it will be a challenge for Clifford to get Bacon playing time as there are arguably five wing players ahead of him in the rotation. Nicolas Batum and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are expected to be the starters with Monk and Lamb backing them up. Second-year player Treveon Graham may also be ahead of Dwayne in the pecking order.
Like I said before, consistent playing time will be hard to come by for the rookie. In one sense, having Bacon on the roster gives the team flexibility as they could trade Lamb or if an injury occurs, he could be able to step in.
There’s a good chance that we see Bacon spend more time in Greensboro with the Swarm of the G-League than in the NBA during his rookie season. In a year or two, Dwayne could take over Lamb’s role off the bench and be a low-cost scoring option off the bench.
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Dwayne Bacon needs playing time during his rookie season. Period. Whether it be in the NBA or in the G-League, the Charlotte Hornets must not hinder his development. Experience at any level is key. Based on what we’ve seen from the 21-year old, he has the ability to come off the bench for just about any NBA team.