Charlotte Hornets: Roy Hibbert Signs One-Year Deal

With the moratorium now over, the Charlotte Hornets have officially announced the signing of Roy Hibbert on Thursday afternoon.

For the Charlotte Hornets, this offseason has largely been a mixed bag so far.

We’re only one week into free agency, but they’ve been able to retain some key players that made major contributions to their successful season last year like Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams (especially on very team-friendly deals).

On the other hand, the departures of Courtney Lee, Jeremy Lin and Al Jefferson left the Hornets looking for help in hopes of bolstering both their frontcourt and backcourt depth.

It’s been only a few days since then, but the Hornets have recovered by addressing those needs by agreeing to sign Ramon Sessions and preemptively acquiring Marco Belinelli (Belinelli was acquired as part of a draft-day deal with the Sacramento Kings).

However, the most interesting pickup for the Hornets lies with the big man down low in Roy Hibbert, who the Hornets officially signed to a one-year, $5 million deal, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

After emerging as one of the league’s best rim protectors in the beginning part of the decade as part of the Indiana Pacers, Hibbert’s last two-plus seasons have been marred by declining production on both ends of the floor.

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Hibbert’s effectiveness around the basket has declined steeply over the last few seasons (since his All-Star season in the 2011-12 campaign, Hibbert’s field goal percentage has hovered at 44 percent) as well as his ability grab offensive rebounds (per 36 minutes, Hibbert averaged 4.7 offensive rebounds in the 2012-13 season, and this past year, it dropped to 2.5 offensive rebounds, according to Basketball-Reference.com)

Additionally, while Hibbert has still shown signs of being a capable defender, Hibbert’s shot-blocking ability has declined in recent years. He averaged only 1.4 blocks per game this season with the Los Angeles Lakers, compared to the 2.6 blocks per game he accrued in the 2012-13 season with the Pacers.

Hibbert’s struggles in Indiana and Los Angeles have quickly turned him into an NBA journeyman, which has now obviously led him to Charlotte.

It’s hard to envision Hibbert suddenly returning to his All-Star status with the Hornets, but he does bring some skills and qualities the Hornets have lacked for some time.

As we saw during their first round series against the Miami Heat in last year’s postseason, the Hornets had trouble matching up with the physicality of the Heat’s big men, namely Hassan Whiteside.

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The Hornets do have a solid, young, mobile big man in Cody Zeller, who will act as the antithesis of Hibbert and that dynamic could lead to a good pairing for the Hornets.

The biggest challenge facing the Hornets now that they have brought in Hibbert is his fit within the team’s pace and space offense. They made it work with Jefferson this past season, but Hibbert’s hardly the dynamic offensive presence that Jefferson is.

Bringing in Hibbert isn’t a big risk for the Hornets and he brings something to the table the Hornets have been searching for in the last few years with physicality and rim protection.

As they did with Batum and Lin last season, it’s another chance for head coach Steve Clifford and his staff to help reinvigorate Hibbert’s career.

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Of course, we’ll have to wait and see if Hibbert will do his part to help rebuild his career, otherwise his stay in Charlotte may be very short-lived.