Charlotte Hornets Trade Deadline: Grading the Courtney Lee Deal
The Charlotte Hornets have acquired Courtney Lee from the Memphis Grizzlies to replace the injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Did they make the right move?
When Michael Kidd-Gilchrist went down with a season ending shoulder injury that opened a spot in the Charlotte Hornets‘ starting lineup. Most expected Steve Clifford to insert struggling second year wing P.J. Hairston back into the starting five just to keep things simple. He had started at small forward before MKG got hurt, why shake things up?
That was an underwhelming option due to Hairston’s poor defense and worse three-point shooting. Unless Clifford suddenly changed his tune and decided to start Jeremy Lin or Jeremy Lamb, it appeared to be Hairston or bust unless Charlotte made a trade.
Apparently the Hornets front office was just as worried about starting Hairston as the fans were.
The Hornets have successfully navigated the choppy trade waters to acquire Courtney Lee from the Memphis Grizzlies. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the trade will be a three-team deal between the Hornets, Grizzlies and Miami Heat.
Memphis is trading Courtney Lee to Charlotte, sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 16, 2016
Charlotte gives up P.J. Hairston, Brian Roberts, and two second round picks. Memphis gives up Courtney Lee and the Heat are parting with Chris Andersen and two second round picks.
The Hornets get Lee, the Grizzlies land Hairston, Andersen, and four second round picks, while the Heat come away with Brian Roberts. Got all that? Yeah, it’s a bit complicated, but the important part of the deal is that the Hornets have their temporary replacement for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
I love this deal for the Hornets. It’s not the type of trade that makes a huge amount of noise, but it will undoubtedly help them on the court. This is exactly the type of move they had to make if they are going to stay in the playoff hunt. They gave up minimal talent to fill a glaring hole on their roster. That’s how it’s done.
Lee is not a star or anything close to it, but he can instantly slide into their starting lineup next to Nicolas Batum, giving them a reliable defender (that can potentially guard the opposing team’s best wing scorer) and three-point shooter so the creative Frenchman can focus on being a playmaker.
Lee took a bit of a step back this season, but he’s still having a decent year. He’s currently averaging 10 points per game on 45.8 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range. Last season he shot 40.2 percent from outside and for his career he is a 38.3 percent three-point shooter.
His three-point shooting may be the most attractive part of his game to Charlotte. The Hornets have adjusted their offense to become more three-point heavy, they have attempted the third most three-pointers in the NBA this season, so Lee’s 38.3 percent will fit right in.
Defensively he can’t come close to replacing Kidd-Gilchrist’s impact, but who could? Lee is miles better than Hairston by most defensive metrics and by reputation. His defensive real plus/minus is only plus 0.13 placing him 15th among shooting guards, still much better than Hairston’s minus 1.65.
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Lee definitely had a positive impact on Memphis’ defense. The Grizzlies’ defensive rating was at 104.5 with Lee on the court this season and 107.1 without him. Metrics from 2015-16 aside, Lee has been known as a good defensive player for most of his career and should fit in nicely in Clifford’s defensive system.
He doesn’t have to be MKG on defense for the Hornets to be happy with this trade. If he can keep knocking down 37 percent of his threes and be a net positive on the defensive end then the trade will accomplish everything it needs to.
As far as his contract situation goes, Lee is fairly cheap and his deal only runs until the end of this season. It even creates cap room by sending away Hairston, a player that was under contract for the 2016-17 season.
The only downside of the trade is that it means they’re giving up on P.J. Hairston after less than two seasons. Is that a big deal? Not really. I suggested trading him a few weeks ago when MKG returned. Hairston just hasn’t panned out as an NBA player.
He was billed as a shooter coming out of North Carolina and the D-League, but he is only a 30.7 percent outside shooter through parts of two seasons. He’s a shooter that can’t shoot and he doesn’t possess any other noteworthy skills that suggest he’s going to develop into a reliable NBA rotation player. Moving him now is worth the risk of him someday figuring it out.
Brian Roberts is a solid backup point guard, an outstanding free-throw shooter, and has a reputation of being a great voice in the locker room. Charlotte probably didn’t want to trade him, but there was just no room for him in the rotation if both Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin are healthy.
Then there are two second round picks. Second round picks are like lottery tickets. Maybe one day you’ll hit it big. The more likely scenario is that you’ll strike out. They can live without a pair of second round picks.
More hoops habit: NBA Trade Rumors: 15 Landing Spots For Al Horford
In the end the Hornets filled a need without giving up much talent. Even if it doesn’t end in a playoff appearance it doesn’t seem like a trade they’ll ever regret. This deal makes it clear to their fan-base that the organization is committed to making the playoffs this season.