Charlotte Hornets: 5 Best Decisions Of 2015
By Jon Shames
3. Trading for/extending Jeremy Lamb
Jeremy Lamb has been given the best opportunity of his career, and he has Rich Cho to thank for that.
Lamb was buried in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s deep backcourt rotation last year, and was a non-factor by season’s end. When the Charlotte Hornets traded Luke Ridnour (acquired for Matt Barnes) and a conditional second-rounder for Lamb, it seemed like a steal in Charlotte’s favor. Six months later, that is still the case.
Even though he had appeared in just two games and scored a combined 20 points with Charlotte, the Hornets decided to extend Lamb on Nov. 2 for three years and $21 million. Though his production has dropped off a bit since a scorching start to the season, Lamb is still averaging 11 points per game off the bench and has seen success on both ends of the floor under Steve Clifford’s guidance.
Lamb is a streaky shooter who tends to fall in love with his jumper a little too much, but he’s a heck of an athlete and knows how to draw and finish through contact at the rim when he chooses to get into the paint. His ball-handling could improve and he could be more patient offensively, but the Hornets have three years to groom him however they’d like to.
For now, it’s important to appreciate what he does bring to this club, which is primarily floor spacing and a scoring punch.
Next: Coach Cliff Gets Paid