Charlotte Hornets forward Frank Kaminsky is on a tear right now, and his strong play could increase the odds of him returning next season.
Earlier on this season, if you told me that Frank Kaminsky could be on the Charlotte Hornets roster next season, I would have looked at you funny.
It’s crazy how things can change. Kaminsky went from consistently picking up DNP-CD’s to becoming a likely trade candidate at the deadline. He wasn’t traded or bought out after the deadline, and has finally entered the Hornets rotation.
He has taken the opportunity and ran with it, and he’s not looking back.
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Kaminsky has played a key role in the Hornets late season playoff push. He has had three straight 20+ point games, and is averaging 16.8 points so far this month, to go along with 6.8 rebounds.
Over the past 15 games, Kaminsky has failed to score in double-digits just five times. He’s never been a great defensive player, and that’s what’s hurt him throughout his career, but he even looks better on that end of the floor in recent weeks.
Most recently, Kaminsky scored a season-high 24 points in a must-win game against the Detroit Pistons in their home turf. He added five rebounds and two assists, and was a huge reason as to why the Hornets were able to come away with the victory.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Kaminsky is an NBA player, and he fits well in today’s league. Like I mentioned earlier, his defense has slowly improved, so if he can keep getting better on that end and space the floor with that shooting ability, he’ll be a solid rotational player for a long time.
Kaminsky has a lot to prove, not only to the Hornets for not playing him earlier in the season, but to all of the other NBA teams. He’ll be a free agent after this season, but there’s still a chance that he returns to Charlotte, being that he will restricted, rather than unrestricted.
However, despite the strong play, we shouldn’t jump for joy or assume that he will be back next season. There are many things to take into consideration with this situation.
Is Kaminsky’s relationship with the Hornets repairable? Is this strong play directly related to his impending free agency? What do the Hornets even offer? Has he shown enough in the past few weeks?
All of these questions will be answered by next season. The direction of the team could be the piece to the puzzle. If the Hornets are rebuilding, holding onto a young player like Kaminsky could be worthwhile. If they are all-in on winning, maybe they look for an upgrade.
One thing is for sure, the Charlotte Hornets need Kaminsky to keep up this level of play for the final two games of the season against Cleveland and Orlando in order to even have a chance at making it into the playoffs.