So our Charlotte Hornets have gone past another trade deadline, and for some, they are upset. They wanted Al Jefferson out of Charlotte. From his first season here, to this season where we haven’t seen him any, I can understand why folks have felt this way. I wanted him gone last year. That was not smiled upon by many, but here we are at mid-season, in the last year of his contract, and his “cost per game” continues to rise with every game he misses. I am hoping and praying that all of the angry fans have motivated him to play like he did when he first arrived in Charlotte. I also hope that the coaching staff eases him back in so that he can get back into playing shape safely, all while getting him back into rhythm, without killing the team flow we currently have without him. With that said, Al is not the purpose of this article.
The reason I wanted to write this was for multiple reasons. First off, getting Courtney Lee was a necessity as soon as we knew for a fact that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was going to opt for surgery, and miss the remainder of the season. With the Lee pickup, we snagged a starting caliber NBA player with great defense and the ability to shoot the 3-point shot at a +40% average. He’s a shooting guard, so, in having Nic Batum, it should be a seamless move for him to start at small forward, and Lee can start at shooting guard. It wasn’t a flashy move, but every single year, Rich Cho makes a trade that is barely a blip on the radar, but the payoff for the team is usually tremendous. Does Lee lead us to the NBA Championship? No. Does he fill the defensive motor that we lost when we lost MKG? Yes. Are playoff hopes still alive in Charlotte? They should be.
Some folks are upset with the Lee signing because it may cut into Jeremy Lin’s playing time. I’m not seeing it that way. Bear in mind that I understand their point of view. However, these are the same people that complained about Jeremy having to play shooting guard when point guard is his natural position. I see this move as a positive for Lin and for Kemba. Lin gets to play point guard, and if the organization is smart, where Kemba is averaging 35.8 minutes a game, that number can recede a bit. Remember the knee pain that kept him out of the Cleveland game? That’s because of too many minutes. These guys have to have minutes limited, and for a 6’ point guard (I’ve stood beside the guy and I’m 5’11”, so I know how tall he is) there’s an even heavier toll on his body as he drifts past that 30 minutes a night. Jeremy Lin is averaging 26.9 minutes a night right now, but that’s playing PG and SG. I’d like to see his minutes remain and Kemba’s fall, but even if they each played 24 minutes a game, the health of each will vastly improve. Lin’s will because he doesn’t have to guard the bigger SGs, and Kemba’s because he’s not carrying the weight of the team for the entire game. Time will tell though. The organization isn’t dumb, regardless of what SOME may say. They have battled half a season with lots of injuries that left them extremely depleted for the entire season so far. It’s been a half season of looking for combinations that work. The second half should see some constants come into play. Regular rotations appearing will happen. Good basketball in Charlotte will happen. Have patience my friends, just have patience.
Are you bummed that we missed Dwight Howard? Yeah, I am a little. If the cost for him would have been Al and a combination of Frank, Cody, or Marvin Williams, plus a 1st round draft pick, we would have mortgaged our entire future. The offer we gave Houston was Al and Hawes. Howard played half a season last year and this year, his team has done better without him than with him. Do I think it would have been different in Charlotte? Yes. The 2 problems were that Houston wanted too much, and Charlotte smartly didn’t want to take that gamble on a player that could have just walked away at the end of this season. Let him play out his season in Houston, and then, after Charlotte locks down Batum (I assume we will), we can watch the market and see what it would take to get Howard. Whatever happens, I would almost guarantee we will be center shopping this summer. I just don’t think Al will be back. If he is, again, common sense tells us to not overpay for him. I didn’t think that his style fit the Hornets new game plan, and so far, I haven’t gotten much of a chance for him to prove me wrong.
This team has seen its fair share of dysfunction. Rich Cho is making the ship right. Letting bad contracts go, making strategic trades for pieces that pay off well for us, making good free agent acquisitions, and just being patient has helped this team tremendously. As a fan of the Hornets, Bobcats, and Hornets, I’ve seen the good, and I’ve seen the downright awful. I can say that we are on the right track. Then again, I’m also a patient person. Patience Hornets fans, the brightest of days are yet to come.
Let’s Go Hornets!
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