Swarm and Sting
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Difficult offseason for Charlotte Hornets’ free agents

By Jerry Stephens

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 13: Ramon Sessions
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 13: Ramon Sessions /
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It’s been a challenging summer for the Charlotte Hornets’ unrestricted free agents as none of them have been signed by a new team.

For whatever reason, this has not been a good year to be a Charlotte Hornets‘ free agent. None of their three unrestricted players have been signed nearly a month into free agency. With team’s filling out their roster, it will only get tougher for Ramon Sessions, Brian Roberts and Christian Wood this offseason.

Charlotte’s free agents were highly sought after last summer. Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams were receiving interest from a number of teams but the Hornets managed to re-sign them in the first couple of days into free agency. Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin got big contracts and starting roles with the Knicks and Nets respectively while Al Jefferson got $10 million a year from the Pacers. Even Troy Daniels was picked up by the Grizzlies in a sign and trade.

Of Charlotte’s eight free agents last offseason, only two of them (Tyler Hansbrough and Jorge Gutierrez) went unsigned. There is a good chance that all three of the Hornets’ free agents go unsigned this summer as interest surrounding them has been almost non-existent.

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Ramon Sessions’ (6.2 PPG, 2.6 APG, 1.5 RPG in 2016-17) team option was declined by the Hornets making him an unrestricted free agent. The 31-year old tore his meniscus after 50 games last season. He missed the entire second half of the year and is now looking for a new home after Charlotte replaced him with Michael Carter-Williams. Sessions will probably land with an NBA team on a minimum deal this offseason and he has already been linked with a move to the New York Knicks but so far, it’s been a quiet summer for him.

Brian Roberts (3.5 PPG, 1.3 APG, 1.0 RPG in 2016-17) signed a one-year minimum deal with Charlotte last summer but he hasn’t had any luck in free agency this year. There haven’t been any reports of him being linked to any teams. If the veteran does get signed, it will probably be as a third string point guard or as an injury replacement midseason. It may be time to call it a career, at least in the NBA, for the 31-year old.

Christian Wood (2.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG in 2016-17) was waived immediately after the regular season ended as his contract for the 2017-18 campaign would’ve become fully guaranteed five days after the last game. Even though he would’ve been a cheap option for Charlotte, they decided to move on from the 21-year old. He has spent the summer by playing with the Dallas Mavericks’ summer league team in Orlando and the Phoenix Suns’ summer league team in Las Vegas but there is no sign that he will be signed by an NBA team.

The UNLV product averaged 10.0 PPG/ 4.3 RPG for Dallas and 2.0 PPG/ 2.7 RPG for Phoenix.

He may have to go back to the D-League in order to create some buzz and get back into the NBA or he can always choose to go overseas. Wood has shown that he has NBA potential and can play in the association. He should get another chance on a team’s bench.

Next: Projecting Charlotte's 2017-18 starting lineup and sixth man

Fortunately, there is still plenty of time for Sessions, Roberts and Wood to be picked up. They all have shown that they at least deserve a bench role for an NBA team. Best of luck to them in their future endeavors.