Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Rich Cho’s contract has been terminated and the Queen City team has already started their search for a new general manager. (Twitter/ @SteveReedAP) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at why the Charlotte Hornets need to give Willy Hernangomez minutes, Malik Monk being cited by the police and Kemba Walker proving haters wrong in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.
Hornets need to play Willy Hernangomez (FadeAwayWorld.com)
"Willy Hernangomez finally got the hell out of the New York Knicks, as he looked like a lock to be the team’s starting center this season but completely fell out of the rotation, trying to kick-start his career with the Charlotte Hornets."
The only move that Charlotte made at the trade deadline was acquiring the 23-yeard old big man from NY so they clearly believe in him. Hernangomez showed plenty of promise last season as he was named to the All-Rookie First Team after averaging 8.2 points per game, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Even if his ceiling isn’t all that high, the Hornets should still give him plenty of minutes as he is one of their most promising prospects outside of Malik Monk and Dwayne Bacon.
Playing time may be hard to come by for Willy as he sits behind Dwight Howard and Cody Zeller on the depth chart. Steve Clifford will probably have to bench one of the two centers in order for Hernangomez to get some playing time but it will be worth it in the long run if he is going to be an important part of their future. The Hornets haven’t been great at developing their young players as of late but with the playoffs pretty much out of reach this season, this would be the best time to give Monk, Bacon and Hernangomez minutes.
Malik Monk involved in car crash… cited by cops (TMZ.com)
"Charlotte Hornets rookie Malik Monk — the 11th overall pick in the draft — was involved in a car accident early Sunday morning … and was cited by cops for careless driving. According to police documents obtained by TMZ Sports, Monk was driving near the University of Arkansas around 5:46 AM when his red 2002 Lexus ran off the road and crashed into a gate."
Oof. This is not good news for the Hornets’ rookie. His car had to be towed from wreck and Malik told the police, “I was driving, looked down for a second then I just hit a bump. Happened fast.” Luckily, the situation was not more serious and Monk wasn’t arrested but it’s still not a good look, especially not having insurance.
Hopefully, Malik wasn’t injured in the car accident and he will be okay to return to the team. This may complicate things for Monk going forward as was already not receiving consistent playing time. Steve Clifford or Charlotte’s front office could punish Monk for the incident by benching him or using it as a reason for not giving him minutes.
Kemba Walker proves haters wrong at 2018 ASG (iSportsWeb.com)
"Walker’s performance was not elite in any shape, but it was solid. Not only was it solid, but he out-performed Dragic (Two points, four rebounds) in scoring and assists. He threw up one of the only highlight reel alley-oops to LeBron. Kemba Walker showed that he at least deserved to be there and that his game is as good as anyone."
Next: Predicting the second half of the Hornets' season
In limited minutes (14), Kemba managed to score 11 points to go along with two rebounds and one assist while shooting 50% from the field. He joined Paul George and Joel Embiid as the only three players to record 10+ points and zero turnovers or fouls in the 2018 All-Star Game. One thing that was different about Walker in this year’s ASG compared to last season’s event was that he looked more comfortable and looked like he belonged out there with the other all-stars.