After many rumors of a blockbuster trade involving the Charlotte Hornets, nothing has come to fruition and nothing will. At least not in this scenario.
It was rumored that a three-team trade involving the Hornets, Nets, and Thunder was all but done, however, Lance Stephenson seemed to be the deciding factor.
According to reports, Brooklyn was going to receive Lance Stephenson and Kendrick Perkins, Oklahoma City was to receive Brook Lopez, and Charlotte would get Jeremy Lamb and Jarrett Jack.
Since that time, Charlotte has been booted out of talks, as Oklahoma City and Brooklyn began looking into only a two-team deal. According to reports, Brooklyn had no interest in receiving Lance Stephenson.
We knew Lance’s trade value had fallen, but I don’t think anyone expected it to be that low.
While Jarrett Jack and Jeremy Lamb aren’t terrible players, neither of them addresses the Hornets’ most pressing issues.
For any trade to be considered successful, it would need to address either perimeter shooting or frontcourt depth.
Jarrett Jack would have provided nothing of value to the Charlotte Hornets, other than unneeded backcourt depth. He certainly wouldn’t provide anything in the form of three-point shooting, as he’s averaging a laughable 16 percent from beyond the arc this season. Jack has played nine years in the NBA, so there’s no surprising anyone, we know exactly who he is.
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He’s also played for seven teams during those nine seasons, if that tells you anything about how valued he is by front offices.
Jeremy Lamb would have brought a little more potential, as he’s only in his third season, but still not what the Hornets need. He has only shot 34 percent from long range in his young career, so he’s not keeping anyone up at night and he’s definitely not drawing attention away from Al Jefferson.
In an already crowded backcourt, Lamb would have only given the Hornets another name on the roster.
What does it mean?
All of this talk means that general manager, Rich Cho, and company are looking to get rid of Lance Stephenson seemingly at all costs. It’s full-on buyer’s remorse in Charlotte. So much so, that the Hornets’ front office essentially said the team is better off without him, even if they get nothing in return.
What’s concerning is that Brooklyn was believed to be one of the few teams actually interested in taking on the Lance Stephenson project, especially after talk coming out of Indiana’s camp was not positive. Now, it’s looking as if no one wants him, and clearly not his current team.
What should the Hornets do?
At this point, the Charlotte Hornets are much better off hanging on to Lance Stephenson for the remainder of the season. After all, his trade value has clearly hit rock bottom. I’m not sure his value really could get any lower, so as the saying goes, there’s nowhere to go but up.
I still think it’s a little early to pull the trigger, particularly with the amount of time he’s missed with injuries. If Charlotte moved him to the second unit, allowing him to be the primary ball-handler without getting in Kemba Walker‘s way, things just might turn around.
Playing with the second unit really helped Marvin Williams and it just may do the same with Lance Stephenson.