NBA free agency has been well underway for quite some time and that has left quite a few names available on the market. Some of the players still available should sound familiar to fans of the Charlotte Hornets considering they used to play for the organization. This is not necessarily a list of options that the Hornets should consider, but rather a compilation of players who used to call Charlotte home. Although, maybe they could be helpful in the right context.
(Note: this list does not include Hornets from last season who are currently free agents).
Ish Smith
The Charlotte native only recently played for the Hornets and although his stay was possibly shorter than what he would have hoped for, Ish Smith was still able to play for his hometown team.
Smith appeared in just 37 games for the Hornets with all but one of those appearances coming off the bench. While his 4.5 points and 2.6 assists per game are not impressive by any means, that did not deter the Wizards from reacquiring the veteran guard after leaving Washington during the previous offseason.
The 13-year veteran remains a free agent after appearing in 43 games for the eventual NBA Champion Denver Nuggets last season. Smith continues to find work in the league, even if it is in a very limited role at this point in his career.
Christian Wood
The 27-year-old big man is currently a free agent, but that may not last much longer with all the rumors swirling around him. Christian Wood made a brief stop in Charlotte early in his career but was not able to catch on with the Hornets. Wood appeared in just 13 games for Charlotte as he had multiple stints with the Greensboro Swarm.
In fact, it took a few other stops before he was able to put enough together to warrant a team giving him an extended look. It was his play in Detroit after being claimed off waivers that he was able to parlay into a three-year $41-million deal with the Houston Rockets in 2020.
What it came down to was finding the right opportunity. Landing on a very bad Pistons team in the 2019-20 season afforded Wood the chance to showcase that he deserves a legitimate shot in this league.
Michael Carter-Williams
The 76ers determined that things were not going to work out with Michael Carter-Williams during his second season with the team and thus began his journey of bouncing around the league. Carter-Williams spent time in Milwaukee and Chicago before finding his way to Charlotte.
Carter-Williams spent only 52 games (two starts) with the Hornets, averaging a then-career-low in points (4.6), rebounds (2.6), and assists (2.2). Additionally, his career lows in field goals made (1.5) and field goal percentage (33.2%) still stand to this day. Things have not worked out well for Carter-Williams as he has not gotten back to the level of play he displayed early on in his career.
A brief 16-game stint with the Houston Rockets following his time with the Hornets preceded his most recent stay with the Orlando Magic. Carter-Williams’ three-plus seasons in Orlando is the longest he has remained with a single team in his career, although the 92 games played remain second to his time in Philadelphia (111).
Inconsistent play has plagued the career of Carter-Williams and he has certainly not lived up to his 11th overall pick status. At just 31 years old, there may be a way for him to carve out a role on a team, but the actual tangible impact of such a proposition may be minimal.
Frank Kaminsky
The Charlotte Hornets selected Frank Kaminsky ninth overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. Kaminsky came into the league after spending four years at Wisconsin, which is more often than not something to be concerned about when it comes to potential Draft Lottery selections. Nevertheless, Charlotte still opted to take Kaminsky.
The seven-foot big man appeared in 282 games for the Hornets, most of which were off the bench. Kaminsky was not able to crack the starting lineup on a regular basis, making just 23 starts in a Hornets uniform. The former Badger was fine, but mostly unspectacular during his four years in Charlotte, averaging 9.8 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Upon leaving the Hornets, Kaminsky had his best-run post-Charlotte during his time with the Phoenix Suns. In 95 games (26 starts) with Phoenix, Kaminsky averaged 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, the former his second-best mark and the latter his best with one organization.
Last season saw Kaminsky split 36 games with the Atlanta Hawks (26 games) and Houston Rockets (10 games). 2022-23 saw Kaminsky play the fewest minutes of his career, 6.8 with Atlanta and 5.9 with Houston. There is always a place for big men in the NBA, so Kaminsky should find a home somewhere at some point in the future.
Bismack Biyombo
This goes all the way back to the Charlotte Bobcats era. Bismack Biyombo ended up in Charlotte via a draft night trade with the Sacramento Kings. Biyombo experienced some ups and downs with the Bobcats and eventually Hornets, as he saw his playing time drop in his third season before seeing a slight uptick in his fourth and final year in his first stint in Charlotte.
Biyombo would go on to sign with the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic, showcasing his abilities as a shot-blocker and rebounder. Mostly came off the bench for Toronto and Orlando, with just 74 starts in 245 games with the two organizations.
After finishing his second season in Orlando, Biyombo returned to Charlotte and managed to average a career-high 7.4 points per game in the second season of his second run with the Hornets. The trend as a bench player continued with 97 starts in 173 games over three seasons.
After taking time off to grieve the loss of his father, Biyombo signed with Phoenix, playing the last two seasons for the Suns. Biyombo’s time in Phoenix is just a tick below his career averages in points per game (4.8 – 5.1), blocks per game (1.2 – 1.3), and rebounds (4.4 – 5.9). The 30-year-old veteran can still be a productive option off the bench in the right situation and that may persuade a contending team to bring him in as an option should one be needed.