Charlotte Hornets: 5 Best Decisions Of 2015
By Jon Shames
5. Trading Lance Stephenson for Spencer Hawes
The Lance Stephenson experiment in Charlotte did not work. At all.
The Hornets settled for Stephenson after missing out on Gordon Hayward in the summer of 2014, but few could’ve predicted that Stephenson would be as bad of a fit as he was in the Queen City. The now-Clipper averaged 8.2 points, 3.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game with Charlotte, but he appeared in just 61 games and was regularly benched in late-game situations by Steve Clifford.
It was known that Stephenson’s value would be low, but acquiring Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes in an offseason trade with the Clippers has actually paid out big time for Charlotte. Not only did they rid themselves of Stephenson, but they actually got back a productive floor-spacing big in Hawes, and used Barnes to eventually acquire Jeremy Lamb, which we’ll get to.
Hawes is averaging just under six points per game with the Hornets, but he contributes more than stats can measure on most nights. His excellent passing is indispensable for a team that has been in need of a playmaking big since the 2014 departure of Josh McRoberts, and his 38.6 percent clip from deep makes Hawes an effective floor spacer as well.