Marco Belinelli has suffered a fracture in his maxilla bone, which represents the bridge between the cranial base superiorly and the dental occlusal plane inferiorly, according to emedicine.medscape.com. In other words, fractures in his upper jaw and face.
Belinelli will wear a mask for about four to six weeks. He may skip the first game of the Pre-Olympic tournament with Italy and should be available for the rest of the tournament, but there shouldn’t be any problems regarding the trade with Charlotte, sources have confirmed with Cowbell Kingdom.
// The trade with the Charlotte Hornets can’t be completed until after July 7, which is an improvement by five days from last year’s free-agent moratorium.
New deals struck this summer may now be signed on July 7 at 12:01 a.m., according to the Associated Press.
Belinelli struggled heavily last season, only averaging 10.2 points on a career-low 30.6 percent from behind the arc. But that didn’t stop the Hornets from making the deal because Rich Cho, General Manger of the Hornets showed interest last season in signing Belinelli but Vlade Divac’s budget and salesman skills were too much to overcome.
Maybe Belinelli can have a better season under Steve Clifford’s Hornets, especially since they are in a win-now mentality and really need some outside shooting. Belinelli has provided that in the past and Charlotte believes he can do it again in a winning environment.
There has also been some speculation about the Hornets including a young player like Jeremy Lamb in the deal, just so they won’t have to absorb Belinelli’s entire salary. But of course, that is only speculation and it should be taken with a grain of salt.
It is also worth noting that Lamb has a Poison Pill Provision contract, meaning he can no longer be traded for a player making equal money. Instead, his current salary is averaged along with the salaries he is to receive in his extension, and that average becomes his incoming salary for trade purposes, according to espn.com.
We will keep you updated with the latest surrounding this deal.
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