Swarm and Sting
Fansided

Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets need to find time for Zeller, Kemba cleared to play

By Jerry Stephens

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 2: Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets takes part in the Jr. NBA Special Olympics clinic as part of Basketball Without Borders Africa at the American International School of Johannesburg on August 2, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 2: Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets takes part in the Jr. NBA Special Olympics clinic as part of Basketball Without Borders Africa at the American International School of Johannesburg on August 2, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest and greatest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.

Kemba Walker the humanitarian is out in South Africa hosting camps for kids and building homes for families in need. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at why the Charlotte Hornets must find minutes for Cody Zeller, Kemba Walker being fully recovered following knee surgery and Marcus Paige is back home in North Carolina.

 Hornets need to make time for Zeller at center  (BleacherReport.com)

"Balancing his court time with Howard is a problem—the problem. In a perfect world, Clifford seldom, if ever, plays Howard and Zeller at the same time."

Steve Clifford is going to have his work cut out for him this season. Cody is coming off of a career year while Dwight just had a somewhat down season. Howard will probably start the season as the starter but it could be a close battle as Zeller was a good fit with the starting five last season when healthy.

The Hornets’ two centers take up about 31% of the team’s salary cap as they are scheduled to make a combined $36 million in 2017-18. (Spotrac.com) Zeller shouldn’t play power forward and he will not share the floor with Howard so it will be tough to get both of them sufficient playing time on a nightly basis. With that being said, I think coach Clifford will figure it out.

Kemba Walker cleared to play after knee surgery (CharlotteObserver.com)

"Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker said Thursday he’s fully healed, following May surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus. That means Walker is still considering playing in an NBA-sponsored exhibition in South Africa Saturday."

After the surgery took place on May 17th, Walker was expected to be out for around six weeks. It’s now been over 11 weeks, Kemba is recovered and he is cleared for full contact activities. Despite being good to go, it is still unclear if he will play in South Africa. If he does, it will most likely be in limited fashion.

The Hornets’ organization will probably want their all-star point guard to continue resting his knee in preparation for the upcoming season. We’ll have to wait and see what Kemba (and maybe the team) decides to do. The fans in South Africa will want to see him play but the fans back home may want him to wait.

Marcus Paige is back home in Charlotte (JournalNow.com)

"“It’s going to be great being here in North Carolina,” Paige said. “I live in Chapel Hill in the offseason, so this really is home. It’s been great to hear from so many people.”"

Next: Rumor: Hornet offer Julyan Stone a two-year deal

Even though Paige was born and went to high school in Iowa, he is an adopted son of North Carolina after spending four years at UNC. After one year away in Salt Lake City, Marcus is now back home in Charlotte/Greensboro. Hopefully now that he’s back to the state in which he lives in the offseason, the point guard can reach some of the success that he had while in college at the pro level.

Home/Hornets News