5 Hornets whose roles are not safe after NBA trade deadline

Leaky Black

Leaky Black has been a fun, and positive story for the Hornets this season. An immediate fan-favorite, Black hails from Concord, NC, and was a five-year standout down the road for the Tar Heels in college. Announcer Eric Collins’ high-pitched yells of “Leeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaky!” have already become iconic.

But the 6’9”, 24-year-old, undrafted rookie was playing largely out of necessity for the Hornets, and probably should never have been on an NBA floor to begin with. The kid is more polished than some, having so much experience playing major minutes in the ACC, but his upside is limited as an athlete, and there’s a reason you don’t see many 24-year-old rookies.

He played valiantly for the Hornets, averaging just under 10 minutes a night in the 22 games he appeared in, and was a relative bright spot. He played over 30 minutes on a few occasions and hit all three of his three-point attempts in a game, providing a career-high 11 points.

But that’s likely the extent of what we’ll see this season from Black, as he’ll almost certainly be relegated to the G-League for the rest of the season. It would be great if he could keep improving and eventually earn a spot with the big club, but that’s not likely going to happen any time soon.