Howdy Hornets fans! Has this summer been exciting or what? There have been trades, a draft pick, free agent signings, and summer league to boot! What has all of this meant for our beloved Charlotte Hornets? Well, it means so much as we approach the 2015-2016 season. I’ll touch more on that in a bit. Let’s take a quick recap of the 2014-15 season.
Having a top-10 defense in the NBA is a great thing, but when you struggle to score the basketball, defense goes only so far. The 2014-2015 season was not a kind one for the Hornets, and it did not result in a return to the NBA playoffs. A 33-49 (.402) record was not a pretty one. There are many things that we can blame on such a weak season. We were 30th in our 3-point percentage and steals. We were 29th in fouls and field goal percentage. We were 28th in assists and offense, 27th in efficiency, & 26th in offensive rebounds, field goals made, and 3-pointers made. You see what I’m talking about, right? For a lack of better words; our offense sucked. Should I include that we were 1st in turnovers? Yeah, I probably should have left that out.
There were bright spots to the season. We were 6th in defensive rebounds, 7th in defense & blocks, and 10th in rebounds. The Hornets name returned last season as well. OK, so the negatives outweighed the positives by a good bit. What can I say? I mean, at least we haven’t gone 7-59 in a season before…never mind.
Last year had a good dose of terrible, but it was a different kind of terrible. Injuries to Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Al Jefferson were not good things for this team. Having our 9th pick miss the Summer League, training camp, and pre-season was a bad thing. The Lance Stephenson experiment…that was a bad one.
Let’s just move past last season and look to the upcoming one. I’ll start with the Hornets drafting Francis Stanley Kaminsky III with their 9th pick. You guys may know him as “Frank the Tank” from Wisconsin. The Charlotte fans were very concerned that Charlotte went this route instead of grabbing Winslow, a Duke product, with the 9th pick. As I always say, “In Cho I trust.” Charlotte has been burned many times in the draft, grabbing project players and then trying to make it work. Frank was more NBA ready than most in the draft at the #9 pick, so they played it smart and went with Frank. As Summer League came to an end, there were many who came to the realization that this guy can ball. Even Rick Bonnell, beat writer for the Charlotte Observer, said that he didn’t realize the amount of skill that Frank possesses. Everyone knew of his ability to shoot the ball, especially the 3-pointer, but his ball handling skills, basketball IQ, moving without the ball; it all points to a 7 footer that could really fit into today’s NBA where positions are beginning to fade away. A 7-foot tall ball handler with the passing and shooting skills that Frank has is something that Charlotte really needed to add. Did I mention he’s good playing in the paint as well? Obviously, he will need to add some strength and muscle to his 7’, 240lb frame, but I think he can do it, and will do it. He’s a hard worker and was a great addition to this team. I should mention that, even though it was just summer league, Frank averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds per game. He was also shooting 39% from 3-point land. Charlotte, that should make you smile.
Prior to the draft, Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh were both traded to the Portland Trailblazers for Nic Batum. On paper, the Hornets fans were extremely upset. In their eyes, we gave up our #9 prospect from last year’s draft and Hendo, for a player who is coming off of a season where his numbers were slumping. What they don’t realize, in a grander scheme, Vonleh will basically be having his rookie season this year. We have been running out of time to develop prospects, and my guess is that it took Vonleh, with Hendo, to get the 6’8” Batum. We want to win now, and we want to do it without sacrificing the future. Batum, though his career numbers are similar to Hendo’s, are still a tick better. At 6’8”, he will create a matchup nightmare for shooting guards in the league. Charlotte plans to use him at the 2, and he can also be utilized at the 3. Could Vonleh become something special in the NBA? Possibly, but we couldn’t hold tight and keep hoping for it. We’ve done it enough times.
We also traded Lance Stephenson away to the LA Clippers for Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes. I know very little about Spencer Hawes, but by Media Day, I’ll have the right questions to ask him so we ALL know who he is and what he can bring to the team. Barnes was basically a trade piece that eventually turned into Jeremy Lamb, a 6’5” shooting guard and former teammate of Kemba Walker with the NCAA Champion UConn Huskies. Acquiring Lamb was taking place while Luke Ridnour was being bounced to every team in the league (I may be stretching the truth a little bit), so you may have missed that one.
For me, the biggest move was picking up Jeremy Lin in free agency. After our season ended, and Mo Williams signed with the Cleveland Cavs, we had zero depth at point guard. Picking up Lin, who was coming off a season in Lakerland where the system did not fit his playing style, well, let’s just say that in my eyes, he was a steal to be able to pick up. Given the freedom to play his kind of game, running the point or even playing beside Kemba, I truly believe Linsanity 2.0 will sting Buzz City very soon.
So, where do we stand? What happens now? We sacrificed some defense to get to some offense. Bismack Biyombo was not kept, and it broke my heart. I believed he could become what Ben Wallace used to be (look at my previous articles if you want to see what my thinking was). That removed our rim-protecting, rebounding, hustle-center. We still don’t have that piece back in place (Al Jefferson & Spencer Hawes are the main centers, but Frank Kaminsky or Cody could step in for limited minutes if they had to). At power forward, I believe Frank Kaminsky starts, with Cody Zeller coming off the bench. Part of this will still be dependent on how well the players mesh in practice. I believe that Marvin Williams will see limited minutes at PF and possibly more time at SF. In the SF position, MKG gets the start, with PJ Hairston behind him. Nic Batum can moonlight at SF some, but he’ll be starting at SG. We have Troy Daniels, who averaged 14 points, 8 rebounds, & 2.5 assists in the summer league (he was also 12-22 from 3-point land – that’s 54.5% if you were wondering) as a shooting guard, as well as Jeremy Lamb. Daniels, who was a throw in on a trade last season, could prove to be quite a valuable asset with his skill set. There will definitely be a battle for playing time at the shooting guard position. At Point Guard, Kemba Walker will be our starter with Jeremy Lin coming in to give him a break. We have also been promised by Coach Clifford that there will be some times where Lin will play alongside Kemba. I didn’t really mention PJ Hairston in this mix because, honestly, I really don’t know how he fits on the team. He had a mediocre summer league, and though he showed lots of hustle, that 3-point shot did not fall for him. He was 10-34 from 3-point land, giving him a 29.4% shot percentage.
So let me list our team by position, and this is by MY opinion:
Point Guard:
Kemba Walker
Jeremy Lin
Aaron Harrison
Brian Roberts
Shooting Guard:
Nic Batum
Troy Daniels
Jeremy Lamb
Small Forward:
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Marvin Williams
PJ Hairston
Power Forward:
Frank Kaminsky
Cody Zeller
Center:
Al Jefferson
Spencer Hawes
With these players, keep in mind that several can slide from one position to another. Lin, Harrison, and even Lamb and Daniels can play PG or SG. Batum and Hairston can play SF or SG. Marin Williams can play SF or PF. Zeller, Kaminsky, and Hawes could all play PF or C, though I know very, VERY little about Hawes and would most likely keep him at C.
So there you have it Hornets fans. I think the future looks bright for the 15-16 season. There are some question marks that we will all have. No one will know the answer until the training camp begins and these guys start playing together. Having so many players that are able to play multiple positions is a great thing, but I have a little concern at the center position. I’m not going to lie. We need what Biz provided on defense, and we don’t have it now. I really don’t know what else we could do to beef up the interior defense, but if the rest of the perimeter defense steps up, maybe it won’t be as big of a deal as we all think it currently is.
In Cho I trust.
As Always,
Let’s Go Hornets!
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