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Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ owner denounces Trump, Is Kemba Walker a top-10 point guard?

By Jerry Stephens

Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan congratulates guard Courtney Lee (1) after the team defeated the Miami Heat on Monday, April 25, 2016, at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. (David T. Foster III/Charlotte Observer/TNS via Getty Images)
Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan congratulates guard Courtney Lee (1) after the team defeated the Miami Heat on Monday, April 25, 2016, at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. (David T. Foster III/Charlotte Observer/TNS via Getty Images) /
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Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.

Could Klay Thompson join the Charlotte Hornets? (UMassMedia.com) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at Michael Jordan denouncing Donald Trump’s comments about players’ protesting, if Kemba Walker is a top-10 point guard in the league and the team’s MVP and X-Factor.

Michael Jordan supports athletes’ protest (CharlotteObserver.com)

"“One of the fundamental rights this country is founded on was freedom of speech, and we have a long tradition of nonviolent, peaceful protest. Those who exercise the right to peacefully express themselves should not be demonized or ostracized.”"

Michael chose to take a stand against the President of the United States who went after NFL and NBA players/teams and side with the players who want to peacefully protest. Kemba Walker also said that the peaceful protests demonstrate athletes coming together from a good place. MJ has been very outspoken over the past few years regarding controversial topics.

Jordan is just one of many NBA owners and executives to denounce Donald Trump’s comments after multiple players like Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant did. Here’s what every team had to say regarding this topic. MJ is obviously the biggest and most polarizing name and credit to him for approaching this head on and releasing a message.

Is Kemba a top-10 point guard in the NBA? (BleacherReport.com)

"Walker has blossomed into one of the NBA’s most dangerous offensive weapons. He’s ditched low-percentage isolations for higher-quality drives, and his jumper is now a strength on which the Charlotte Hornets lean."

Walker keeps climbing the ladder. He was an afterthought in the point guard discussion just a few years ago and now he has cracked into the top-10 and is looking to continue his upward trend with yet another career season and a second straight all-star appearance in 2017-18. If he does, Kemba could reach Kyrie Irving who came in at #8 on the list.

Kyrie, Damian Lillard, Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry, John Wall, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Stephen Curry were the only PG’s to be ranked ahead of the Hornets’ star. In my opinion, Kemba isn’t far off from Lillard and Conley. He may never reach the levels of Westbrook and Curry or top-5 in the league but he could get very close.

Charlotte’s team MVP and X-Factor (UPROXX.com)

"MVP: Kemba Walker. It’s not hard to predict that the Hornets season will only go as far as Kemba Walker takes them offensively. X-Factor: Second Unit. This year’s version of the bench should pack a similar punch with Zeller anchoring the defense and hopefully rookie Malik Monk doing his best Lou Williams impression off of the bench."

Next: Kemba has high hopes and expectations for rookies

Of course, Kemba will be the team’s MVP. He has been for the past three years and the all-star point guard only continues to get better. Expect more of the same from Walker in 2017-18. As for the team’s X-Factor, the second unit will be key. When Charlotte had a strong bench in 2015-16, they not only won made the playoffs but they also won 48 games. The bench wasn’t as productive last year and it showed in the team’s win total and them missing the postseason.

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