After making the NBA Playoffs last season there was some optimism for the Charlotte Hornets heading into this season. The Hornets had a good inside-outside combination in center Al Jefferson and point guard Kemba Walker that combined to account for more than one-third of the Hornets offense last season. This past off-season Hornets owner Michael Jordan saw the need to take some of the offensive burden off of Jefferson and Walker while also attempting to make the Hornets tougher on the defensive end as well when he signed shooting guard Lance Stephenson to a three-year, $27 million deal. But to this point of the season Jordan appears to have overpaid on Stephenson in the same manner that consumers do when they purchase Air Jordans.
Lance Stephenson
The Hornets record of 15-24 is currently fourth in the Southeast Division and they have never been over .500 at any point of the season. Stephenson has only appeared in 25 games this season for the Hornets and in the games that he missed for the most part he was a “healthy scratch” as he has not seen game action since December 17, but now he has been sidelined with an injury to his pelvis.
Stephenson was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft as he was a project. Stephenson’s numbers improved in every season with the Pacers. Last season Stephenson led the Pacers in rebounds (7.2) and assists (4.6) as he helped Indiana reach the Eastern Conference Finals for a second consecutive year. As Stephenson was set to hit free agency, Pacers team president Larry Bird expressed his desire publicly to re-sign Stephenson, but the team didn’t go overboard in their efforts to bring him back and when the Hornets came calling that was end of it. It also didn’t help Stephenson’s case that he was a bit of a loose cannon during his time with the Pacers which included him blowing in the ear of then Miami Heat forward LeBron James.
This season Stephenson’s numbers are down as he has not bought into the system of Hornets head coach Steve Clifford. At times Stephenson appears to be unenthused on the basketball court while playing for himself which was also part of his downfall with the Pacers. The Hornets have put Stephenson on the trading block, but with his contract and his perceived reputation as a locker room cancer, no NBA team is willing to take a bite.
I don’t see the Hornets making a drastic move this season, but next summer I could see Jordan and team general manager Rich Cho taking a page out the Detroit Pistons book and simply parting ways with Stephenson by releasing him. Stan Van Gundy is the new president of basketball operations as well as being the head coach of the Pistons and he had a player that didn’t mesh with his system in forward Josh Smith. Instead of trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole, Van Gundy and the Pistons simply released Smith when no NBA team was willing to take on his contract that paid him $14 million a season. The results have worked out for both parties as the Pistons just saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end while Smith has gotten a fresh start with the Houston Rockets. Jordan and the Bobcats must realize that they are better off by simply cutting their losses and paying Stephenson to simply go away.
Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker
Last season for the Hornets it was all about Jefferson and Walker that carried them to the postseason and if that system isn’t broke, then don’t fix it. The Hornets play in the Eastern Conference which means that all is not lost as they can rebound from their slow start. In spite of their inept start to this season the Hornets are only four games out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and now is the time for them to make a move as Stephenson could be the modern day J.R. Rider of the NBA.
Source: Basketball-reference.com
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