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Charlotte Hornets: Spencer Hawes Not A Long-Term Answer

By D. Goodman

May 12, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Spencer Hawes (10) looks for a call against the Houston Rockets in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Rockets won 124 to 103. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
May 12, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Spencer Hawes (10) looks for a call against the Houston Rockets in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Rockets won 124 to 103. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Charlotte Hornets have been desperate to move on from the great Lance Stephenson experiment from almost before the ink was dried on his three-year, $27 million contract. His 8.2 points, 3.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game were far from what the Hornets were expecting when they signed him and had been looking to trade 6-foot-5 guard for months.

They finally found a taker in the Los Angeles Clippers, who have obviously entered the “Throw anything against the wall and see if it sticks” stage of trying to win an NBA championship. They agreed to take Stephenson off Charlotte’s hands and in exchange sent center Spencer Hawes and forward Matt Barnes to the Hornets.

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Barnes is 35 years old and averaged 10.1 points, 1.5 assists and four rebounds in 76 games with the Clippers. He is going into the final year of his contract and is owed $3.5 million, but that would be reduced to $1 million if he’s waived by July 1, so the odds are that Barnes will never actually play for the Hornets, which considering his penchant for getting fined isn’t the worst idea ever.

Hawes, on the other hand, is expected to see an increase in minutes from his days with Los Angeles where he fought for time on the court with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Hornets head coach Steve Clifford sees Hawes as a possible solution for one of the team’s biggest issues this past season: three-point shooting.

"“In the offseason you try to make your team fit better together, and I think that’s what this trade does. Our defense is more than good enough to win and our offense isn’t. If you look more specifically into the numbers (the flaw) is our (long-)range shooting. What Spencer will do is improve our range shooting and he’s also a very good passer.”via Rick Bonnell, the Charlotte Observer"

The problem is that even if Hawes does help with Charlotte’s issues from beyond the arc, he is not going to be their long-term solution at center.

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Two years ago the Hornets signed Al Jefferson to a three-year, $40.5 million contract in the hopes he would be the centerpiece around which the franchise could build a contender that would lead them to the NBA Finals.

Instead, last year Jefferson had a terrible season and watched as his stats took a huge nosedive, partly due to injury and partly due to him simply not being in the best of shape. It was a no-brainer that he would take the player option on his contract for the 2015-16 season that would pay him $13.5 million.

Unfortunately the honest fact is the Jefferson is going to be 31 next year and the odds are that once his deal with Charlotte is over, so are his days as a starter in the NBA.

If Jefferson is let go after next season, Hawes could fall into the starter role as he will still have two years left on his current deal at that point. However, while Hawes is a competent player, it shouldn’t be expected that he will be the Hornets’ big man of the future.

Hawes had his best year during the 2013-14 season when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers and then was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the deadline. He averaged 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 80 games, played almost 31 minutes a night and made a memorable off-balance three that season to send a Sixers/Milwaukee Bucks game into overtime.

So there is an argument that Hawes plays better if he is given minutes. On the other side though is how infuriatingly inconsistent he can be. One night Hawes can come out and finish with a double-double and not miss from the three-point line, and the next he won’t be able to do anything except run up and down the court, looking confused.

That is not the caliber of player that is going to help you win an NBA championship.

At best, Hawes will be a good stopgap until the Hornets can figure out what to do once Jefferson’s contract is up. He can provide what the team is looking for in the short-term and maybe help them return to the postseason. However, Hawes is not going to be the long-term solution for Charlotte, not if they are serious about wanting to make a trip to the NBA Finals.

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