Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ starters, Why Cody is one of the most valuable big men
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
After missing the entire summer league because of a minor injury, Malik Monk is in the Queen City getting shots up at the team’s practice facility. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ starting five according to Steve Clifford, why Cody Zeller is so valuable and skyrocketing NBA franchise values.
Hornets’ starting five (Twitter/ @Rick_Bonnell)
"Clifford: Starters going into camp are Walker, Batum, MKG, Williams and Howard."
As expected, Charlotte’s starting five will look a lot like last seasons with the lone exception of Dwight Howard starting over Cody Zeller at the center spot. The biggest question mark in the team’s starting lineup is Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at the three. Although, Steve Clifford backed MKG and said that there is “No consideration of MKG off the bench.”
Looking at the Hornets’ starters, their spacing may struggle at times with MKG and Howard’s lack of outside shooting ability. Aside from that, they seem to be pretty well rounded but it will be interesting to see how Dwight works with Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum because Cody Zeller has developed great chemistry with the two lead guards over the past two seasons.
Why Cody Zeller is one of the most valuable big men in the NBA (HoopsHype.com)
"Even though Zeller is not as well known as some of his peers, his value becomes obvious once you look past his basic counting stats and understand his game."
Most will overlook Cody because he doesn’t put up double-doubles or massive scoring numbers but he has proven to be a perfect fit with Charlotte. He’s developed into a highly productive big man who is solid on both ends of the floor. While he excels in the pick and roll, Zeller really doesn’t do anything great but he does do everything pretty well.
In some ways, Cody Zeller is an analytics all-star. All of the advanced numbers support the claim that he is a top center, or at least well above average, in the league. It will be interesting to see if the addition of Dwight Howard will hinder or help the 24-year old’s growth and development.
MJ has helped grow Charlotte’s franchise value (CharlotteObserver.com)
"So it’s not automatic the Rockets selling for $2.2 billion means a bump for Jordan and his minority partners. The Rockets have two past NBA championships, plus two marketable stars in guards James Harden and Chris Paul. But, even by conservative estimate, Jordan has roughly tripled the franchise’s worth. No small turnaround in the space of seven years."
Next: MCW underwent offseason knee procedure
Even though Forbes puts the Hornets’ value at $780 million (up from $278 million in 2009), they could probably be sold for close to or over $1 billion. Although there is no indication that Michael will sell the team anytime soon, he could make a boat load of money by doing so. The values of NBA teams look like they will only continue to rise each year with the steady growth of the league.