Charlotte Hornets 2018-19 Season Grades: Shelvin Mack’s short stint

Shelvin Mack’s smooth start to the 2018-19 season was derailed once he joined a Charlotte Hornets team already loaded at the point guard position.

On February 10th, the Charlotte Hornets claimed veteran point guard Shelvin Mack off of the waiver wire following his release from the Atlanta Hawks. The move came after Charlotte failed to make a move at the trade deadline.

The Grizzlies made some moves, though. One move was trading Mack to the Hawks in exchange for Tyler Dorsey. They also traded Marc Gasol to the Raptors after having some deep discussions with the Hornets on a potential Gasol trade.

With Atlanta in rebuild mode, they had no use for Mack, so they quickly waived him. The Hornets, who were fighting to make it into the playoffs, nabbed him up and signed him to a contract. He was now the fourth point guard on the roster.

Being the fourth point guard on the roster, we all knew that Mack wouldn’t get a ton of playing time. In fact, he only played in four games with the Hornets, and averaged just 2.3 points in 10.5 minutes.

Over the years, Mack has always been a serviceable rotation guard. He continued to prove that with his play in Memphis prior to joining Charlotte. Mack averaged 7.9 points and 3.4 assists for the Grizzlies this season.

During his career, Mack has also suited up for the Wizards, 76ers, Hawks, Jazz and Magic. The best years of his career were easily in Utah, when he was playing with his former college teammate, Gordon Hayward.

Speaking of former college teammates, Mack was able to reunite with Assistant Coach Ronald Nored, who played college basketball at Butler with Mack. Nored was recently a candidate for Vanderbilt’s head coaching gig.

So, Mack didn’t have a memorable stint with the Hornets, but I can’t grade his season based on just what he did with the Hornets. His overall 2018-19 season, including his time in Memphis, will be taken into consideration.

Mack had a really solid season for the Grizzlies, but did not get much of an opportunity in Charlotte. However, he was a good teammate and did not complain about his playing time, which you have to admire.

He will be a free agent this summer, and will likely not be returning to the Charlotte Hornets next season. He should have no problem finding his next NBA stop, though.

Mack is everything you want in a backup point guard. He’s tough, a capable shooter, a solid defender and he’s always been really good with his floaters. Wherever he ends up next, hopefully he gets more of a chance to contribute.

Against the Phoenix Suns back on November 4th, Mack scored a season-high 21 points as a member of the Grizzlies. He also had two 19 point outings, one against the Utah Jazz, and the other, ironically, being against the Hornets.

Shelvin Mack is my guy, so I’m wishing him the best after his four-game stint with the Charlotte Hornets.