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.
Frank Kaminsky has a cannon of an arm that he displayed on a football field. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ offseason report, Kemba Walker‘s NBA 2K18 player rating and Michael Jordan‘s latest investment.
Hornets’ offseason report (TheFourPointPlay.blog)
"If it does work (and the Hornets stay relatively healthy), Charlotte could find themselves in the top four in the East. Such a high finish won’t re-make Howard’s legacy, but it could just help start the re-defining process."
Dwight Howard wasn’t only the biggest name brought to Charlotte this summer but he will also be the team’s most important player in ’17-18. Their success hinges on Steve Clifford being able to get the most out of the eight-time all-star. While Kemba Walker and others will need to perform as well, that group already had their chance and missed the playoffs last season.
This article gave Charlotte a “B+” grade for their offseason and named Michael Carter-Williams as the player to watch this year. The four biggest questions surrounding the Hornets are if MKG can improve enough to live up to being a second overall pick, if Dwight and Cody Zeller can coexist, if Malik Monk can be a legitimate ROY candidate as a sixth man and if Kemba can reach the next level?
Kemba Walker NBA 2K18 player rating (Twitter/ @NBA2K)
"Get a look at The Top 10 highest rated PGs in #NBA2K18!"
The Hornets’ all-star point guard will start the 2017-18 season with an 86 overall rating. That’s good enough for the tenth best among point guard with Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry leading the way at 94 overall. Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Isaiah Thomas, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley are all ahead of Walker as well.
Despite having a career-best season, Kemba continues to be underrated in 2K. While 86 is a pretty high rating, it is still less than other point guards who failed to an all-star team last or averaged less than Charlotte’s star last year. 2K regularly updates player ratings throughout the season so hopefully they up Walker’s at some point.
Michael Jordan invests in startup Gigster (Bloomberg.com)
"San Francisco-based startup Gigster announced today that it has raised $20 million from a group of investors that includes the six-time NBA champion and Charlotte Hornets majority owner."
Next: A look back at Larry Johnson's legacy
After already investing in SportRadar, MJ continues his business interests by helping fund Gigster. The startup helps match freelance tech workers with companies. The owner of the company is hoping that Charlotte’s owner can help strike a deal with the NBA.