5 Former Hornets the team can re-sign this summer
By Jack Simone
3. Cody Zeller
Okay, just listen.
At this point in his career, Cody Zeller isn’t going to be contributing big-time minutes at the NBA level. Since leaving the Charlotte Hornets, he hasn’t done much, going through stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, and New Orleans Pelicans.
In fact, in the three seasons he’s played in since leaving Charlotte, Zeller has only appeared in 85 NBA games. This past year, he played in 43 contests but only averaged 7.4 minutes for the Pelicans.
Should the Hornets look to bring him back, it would be for one reason and one reason only: A legacy signing for him to be a veteran leader in the Hornets locker room.
Zeller spent eight years with the Hornets, and for the majority of them, he was a crucial part of the starting lineup. At the beginning, he was anchoring the Kemba Walker-led teams, and by the end, he was hooping with LaMelo Ball.
The veteran big man was never incredible, but he got the job done. And he was in Charlotte for a long, long time. If they could bring him back on a veteran minimum contract, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. If anything, it would be a fun storyline.