Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets pay homage to their past, Possible trade return for Kemba Walker
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
Ettore Messina and Ime Udoka, who were both interviewed by the Charlotte, are expected to meet with the Toronto Raptors for their vacant head coaching position. (Scout.com) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets celebrating their past, possible trade returns for Kemba Walker and the team’s draft history.
Hornets pay homage to their past (Forbes.com)
"If you’ve been paying attention to the various social media feeds of the Charlotte Hornets, then you’ve probably noticed that they have a throwback taste to them. That’s because the Hornets have already gotten things going when it comes to their 30th year of basketball in Charlotte, as they’ve marked the occasion with a commemorative logo."
Charlotte’s 30-year logo includes a vintage Hugo the Hornet and a pinstripe background. The NBA first came to Charlotte in 1988 and has had a strange build up to their 30th year after the team left from 2002-04. It’s great to see the team pay homage to their past with the logo.
The Hornets brought back the teal pinstripe uniforms last season and will wear the white pinstripe jersey in 2018-19. That’s another way that the Queen City team is honoring their past. They are a team with a lot history and celebrating it is the right thing for them to do as fans still have fond memories of the past.
Possible trade return for Kemba Walker (YardBarker.com)
"A lottery pick and a young player would be a reasonable return in any trade involving Kemba Walker, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. All-Star caliber point guards are highly valued but any suitor would want to feel they could re-sign Walker"
Kemba’s trade value has only decreased since this past season. Charlotte probably could’ve gotten more for Walker if they would’ve traded him at the deadline but by deciding to hold onto him, they lost a bit of leverage in trade talks. Still, a lottery pick and a young player isn’t a terrible return for a player on the wrong side of 25 and on the last year of their deal.
Although, if the Hornets continue to hold out, they may could risk losing Kemba for nothing or having to agree to a trade that doesn’t necessarily give them the best return. But, if Mitch Kupchak does decide to try and keep Walker, they could re-sign him to a max deal and build around their two-time all-star point guard going forward. That is still a real possibility.
Charlotte’s draft history (HoopsHabit.com)
"They’ve had a decent amount of top-five picks in their time as an NBA team, but some (not all) of those have been pretty disastrous. For example, a few of their top five picks include Cody Zeller (No. 4), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (No. 2), and Adam Morrison (No. 3)."
The Hornets have arguably had the worst draft history of any team in the NBA over the past 15 years. Time and time again, they’ve had top-3 picks, top-five picks and lottery picks but they’ve only selected one all-star in Kemba Walker. With a new general manager and front office, they will be hoping to change their fortune.
Next: Taking a look at Kevin Knox
Including this year, Charlotte’s had 13 lottery picks in the last 15 seasons. Despite their multiple lottery selections, they’ve never had the 1st overall pick in the last 15 years. Luckily for the Hornets, a number of great players have been selected with the No. 11 pick in the past including Reggie Miller, Klay Thompson and Myles Turner.