Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Kemba Walker is in the top-10 for offensive real plus-minus ahead of Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler. (Twitter/ @AndrewDBailey) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at a possible general manager candidate for the Charlotte Hornets, Shannon Sharpe praising Dwight Howard and Damien Wilkins dropping 37 points in the Greensboro Swarm’s loss to the Grand Rapids Drive.
Hornets’ possible GM candidate (CharlotteObserver.com)
"Bower is No. 2 in the Pistons’ front office, working for Stan Van Gundy. According to a source familiar with the situation, Bower is under contract with the Pistons through the end of this season. That same source said Bower, 56, would have interest. Bower worked in Charlotte previously, in the original Hornets’ front office."
Charlotte’s reportedly been targeting Mitch Kupchak and Gersson Rosas with Kupchak as the front-runner for the GM job. It now appears that Jeff Bower could be entering the conversation as a possible candidate. Although it’s unclear if the Hornets are looking at him, Bower is interested in the job opportunity.
The current Pistons’ general manager has worked the New Orleans Pelicans (Hornets) from 2009-10 and has been with Detroit since 2014. Although his track record isn’t as long as Mitch’s, Jeff has helped build what the Pistons’ squad is today which hasn’t been all that successful.
Shannon Sharpe praises Dwight Howard (Twitter/ @Undisputed)
"“Dwight Howard will go down as a Top 10 center. He could have been much more. Nobody other than Wilt had his God-given ability.”"
Sharpe compared Dwight to the great Wilt Chamberlain and also said that he will be a top-10 center once his career is over. Even though Shannon praised Howard, he also added that the big man could’ve been so much more if he would’ve expanded his game earlier in his career. The NFL Hall-of-Famer said that D12 could’ve been possibly a top-five center all-time if he would’ve worked more on his post game when he was in his prime.
The conversation that Sharpe and Skip Bayless had about Dwight was whether or not he has been underappreciated throughout his career. Injuries and bad fits with Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta derailed Howard’s career but it has been somewhat resurrected during his time with Charlotte. The Hornets have brought out the best in the 32-year old in the later stages of his career.
Greensboro Swarm fall to the Grand Rapids Drive (Gleague.NBA.com)
"Jamel Morris scored a team high 26 points and Landry Nnoko finished with 22 points and 19 rebounds as the Grand Rapids Drive (21-18) defeated the Greensboro Swarm (13-25). The final score was 123-118. Damien Wilkins was on fire for the Swarm, finishing with 37 points on just 23 field goal attempts."
Next: Rumor: Hornets, Knicks discussed Malik Monk trade
Since joining the Swarm, Wilkins is averaging 26.8 points per game, 6.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists. The 38-year old has been a game-changer for Greensboro and has made them a somewhat competitive team. Two-way player Marcus Paige added 18 points and eight assists. I know the Hornets’ rotation is already crowded but what if Damien was called up for the rest of the season or on a 10-day contract?