Charlotte Hornets Rumors: Mavericks are interested in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
As the trade deadline approaches, trade speculation is starting to pick up for the Charlotte Hornets.
With a week until the NBA’s trade deadline, the Charlotte Hornets may be getting some offers soon for one of their veterans. As of late, the Hornets have been static at the trade deadline, not making any moves.
As for now, one team may be zeroing in on possibly trading for the Hornets’ veteran forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. According to Brad Townsend of Sports Day, the Dallas Mavericks have “kicked tires” on Kidd-Gilchrist.
Reporting with @rick_bonnell, Mavericks are mulling whether to add a 3/4 defender. I'm told they have "kicked tires" on Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Toronto's Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, but purely exploratory at this point. Trade deadline is one week from today.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) January 31, 2020
This report comes after the minor ankle injury that Luka Doncic picked up in practice on Thursday. This injury will likely keep Doncic out for the next two weeks; the Mavericks expect him to at least miss six games.
If the Mavericks are interested in a defensive forward, then Kidd-Gilchrist may be the person for them. For the majority of his career, Kidd-Gilchrist has been more known for his defense than offense.
After seven years of experience with the Hornets, Kidd-Gilchrist has averaged 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. However, Kidd-Gilchrist has not received a lot of playing time this season.
Due to the amount of forward depth that the Hornets have, this has caused him to fall out of the rotations. Kidd-Gilchrist has only played in twelve games this season, and he’s averaged 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
With the Mavericks being interested in Kidd-Gilchrist, he joins Malik Monk in being one of the only two players that teams are interested in on the roster. Trading away Kidd-Gilchrist could help the Hornets get much-needed draft assets.
Next. Knicks, again, have interest in Malik Monk. dark
The Hornets have not made a midseason trade since the team traded with the New York Knicks for Willy Hernangomez in 2018. If the Hornets make a trade now, then they will break their current streak of not making midseason trades.