Charlotte Hornets: Marco Belinelli, Undervalued Acquisition?
After spending one season with the Sacramento Kings, Marco Belinelli became an offensive focal point while suffering career lows. Now with the Charlotte Hornets, could the Italian national reignite his career under Head Coach Steve Clifford?
Many fans showed their outrage as well as disbelief during the 2016 NBA Draft. As millions tuned in to see the next player chosen for their respective teams, an announcement was made that would effectively end the process before it began for the Charlotte Hornets.
The Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets agree to trade 22nd draft pick, later to be Malachi Richardson, for 30-year-old guard Marco Belinelli.
For many, the initial shock carried significant weight. Why would General Manager Rich Cho trade a late first round pick for a 30-year old player who suffered career lows the previous season? Well, that answer is fairly simple.
More from Swarm and Sting
Targeting a Champion, A Persistent GM
During the 2015 NBA Free Agency, the Hornets began a series of transactions, spearheaded by Cho, intended to further the team’s success. In surprising moves, the Hornets would trade Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson to the Portland Trailblazers for guard/forward Nicolas Batum and the team would also commit to a series of smaller trades in order to acquire guard Jeremy Lamb from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Lastly, the team would sign undervalued free agent Jeremy Lin after an unfulfilling run with the Los Angeles Lakers. With headlines buzzing regarding the three newest Hornets, fans were intrigued and concerned by the incoming Lamb, Batum and Lin.
Batum, coming from an injury plagued season had just finished a season of statistical lows, was traded from a Trailblazers team that saw four of its starting five find new homes during the offseason. Lin, after years of ridicule while playing for the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers, would seek greener pastures and less hostile environment away from the multitude of bad chemistry and subpar coaching.
Lamb, once the trade chip in the famed trade that saw James Harden leave the Oklahoma for Houston, never had a chance to develop or improve in a system crowded with young talent as well as ball dominant stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Want your voice heard? Join the Swarm and Sting team!
However, one transaction less known was attempted and failed. The Hornets attempted to sign Belinelli, then a free agent, prior to him joining the Kings on a three-year, $19M contract. Belinelli, a highly sought after three-point shooter, enjoyed a tremendous run with the San Antonio Spurs. During the two years in San Antonio, Belinelli would help contribute to an NBA Championship well as a deep playoff run with the Spurs.
Another way that Belinelli could fit would be helping in the development of younger players, I.E. Jeremy Lamb. Lamb, the long rangy guard/forward is a gifted young athlete who hasn’t been able to put things together consistently. Capable of a scoring explosion on any night, could benefit from the tutelage of the savvy veteran with eerily similar skillsets. Both players are long-range shooters who have the athleticism to drive the lane and finish as well.
Lamb is the more athletic of the two, but Belinelli possesses the IQ to know when to take chances and when to finish. Under Belinelli’s wing, Lamb could learn the nuances better than in any other point of his career, something that he never had before last year with Charlotte or before that in Oklahoma. A proven veteran with the same skillset could be just what Lamb needs, and Charlotte has both players for atleast the next two seasons.