Charlotte Hornets miss out on Jameer Nelson
For a short period of time, the Charlotte Hornets were in the running to sign veteran point guard Jameer Nelson.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, “Free agent guard Jameer Nelson has agreed on a one-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.” The 35-year old point guard became an unrestricted free agent after being waived by the Denver Nuggets and then clearing waivers. Just before signing with the Pelicans, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Charlotte Hornets were “involved” with Nelson.
Charlotte was one of four teams after the NBA veteran. The other three teams included the Houston Rockets, the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans. Woj also reported that “Teams pursuing Nelson told opportunity to play significant role this season is important to decision.” Despite the Hornets need for a solid backup point guard, I’m assuming they couldn’t offer that role to Jameer with Michael Carter-Williams not having played a game yet for them.
The team signed MCW this offseason to a one-year, $2.7 million deal. After undergoing a procedure on both knees this summer, he is being held out of games until he fully recovers. Having just signed him and the uncertainty surrounding his return probably prompted Charlotte to hesitate on a deal with Nelson.
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Rather than taking his chances with a likely playoff contender in the Eastern Conference with the Hornets, Jameer decided to join DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and the Pelicans where he will be the primary backup point guard to Jrue Holiday. It’s a good pickup for New Orleans who were in need of a quality backup point guard with Rajon Rondo out four to six weeks because of a sports hernia.
All four teams interested in Nelson (Charlotte, Brooklyn, Houston and New Orleans), are all dealing with injuries to at least one of their point guards.
There’s a strong argument to be made that the Hornets could’ve used Jameer’s veteran leadership and play off the bench.
Despite being in the later stages of his career, Jameer is still a solid player. During the 2016-17 season with the Nuggets, he averaged 9.2 points per game, 5.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 27.3 minutes. He also managed to shoot 44.4% from the field, 38.8% from three and 71.4% from the free throw line.
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If Charlotte would’ve signed Jameer, it would’ve been a reunion for Nelson, Dwight Howard and Steve Clifford. All three were with the Orlando Magic from 2007-2012. Now the Hornets will move on with waiting for MCW to recover while Julyan Stone plays the backup role to Kemba Walker. Marcus Paige, who is on a two-way contract, is another point guard option for the team.