Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets missing piece, Trade deadline guide
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
I’m not saying Michael Carter-Williams has been bad for the Charlotte Hornets but he is only shooting 26% from the field. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at Charlotte’s missing piece, a guide to the trade deadline for the Hornets and Mark Price potentially coming back to the team.
Charlotte’s missing piece isn’t on the bench (CharlotteObserver.com)
"The Charlotte Hornets are a baffling team. They lose two at home to teams they should have beaten, first the Chicago Bulls and then the Los Angeles Lakers. Charlotte’s starters are fine. But when the reserves come in, there’s often a JV feel to them."
The Hornets’ bench simply isn’t good enough for this team to compete. While they have dealt with their fair share of injuries, it’s evident that their second unit has problems that won’t be fixed just by being healthy. I think it starts with the backup point guard spot as MCW not only underperformed this season but he’s probably been the team’s worst player.
Until Charlotte makes a move for a better backup point guard, their bench will continue to struggle. What looked to be one of the strongest second units in the league prior to the start of the season, now plays like one of the worst. We’ll see if they can turn it around or if trades are made to right the ship.
Hornets’ trade deadline guide (ESPN.com)
"The Rudy Gay model: Back in 2013, Toronto traded starter Rudy Gay to Sacramento for a package of role players. The move turned a 7-12 team that had lost its way into a squad that finished the season 48-33. Could the Hornets turn a starter like MKG, Marvin Williams or Nic Batum into a package of players that turn their season around?"
While making a blockbuster-type trade to move one of those three players could boost the team’s roster going forward, I don’t see the Hornets being able to get back a good package of players. With Batum’s struggles, bad contract and injury concerns, it would be almost impossible for Charlotte to trade Nic as his value is at an all-time low.
If the Hornets are still near the bottom of the Eastern Conference when the trade deadline comes around, a fire sale might be in order with only Kemba Walker and Malik Monk being off limits. If it comes to that, the question would be if the team wants to acquire players to re-tool or picks to rebuild. It’s also worth noting that Charlotte’s $1.8 million below the luxury tax.
Should the Hornets bring back Mark Price? (MyAJC.com)
"Two and a half seasons into his first job as a head college basketball coach, Georgia Tech great Mark Price was fired Thursday at Charlotte."
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The former NBA All-Star was an assistant with Charlotte from 2013-2015 and was important in helping Kemba Walker improve his shot. Now that he’s been fired from his head coaching role at UNC Charlotte, maybe the Hornets should look to bring the respected coach back. Although he picked his replacement when he left in 2015, it wouldn’t hurt to have an experienced shooting coach like Mark Price back with the team.