UPDATE June 25, 10:05 am: This trade was never finalized, and at the last minute the Hornets found a better deal and moved Matt Barnes to Memphis for Luke Rindour. This saves Charlotte some money, and Barnes is pretty much a perfect fit for the grit-and-grind Grizzlies.
June 24, 8:30 pm: Getting Nicolas Batum out of Portland was not the only trade the Charlotte Hornets made on Wednesday.
Looking to add more three-point shooting (the Hornets were last in the NBA in three-point percentage last season) the team has added a young, athletic wing player with potential in Jeremy Lamb, something reported by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
I am told the @hornets will also end up with Jeremy Lamb in a separate deal involving Matt Barnes' contract. Barnes isn't going to OKC.
— Rick Bonnell (@rick_bonnell) June 24, 2015
Matt Barnes is a solid, hard-working veteran rotation player that would fit on a lot of teams and seems destined for free agency (the Clippers sent him to Charlotte in the Lance Stephenson deal). He has a $3.5 million contract for next season but only $1 million is guaranteed and the Thunder seem likely to buy him out. Why? Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports explains.
Sources: OKC engaged on fronts trying to unload a contract to solidify ability to keep Enes Kanter, Kyle Singler in restricted free agency.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 25, 2015
Lamb didn’t play a big role in OKC but he will get another chance in Charlotte. Hcan certainly score from the wing and did that often off the catch-and-shoot in Oklahoma City. He’s a career 34.8 percent shooter from three and more than 40 percent of his shots come from beyond the arc. He’s incredibly athletic and shows flashes of potential.
But his defense often kept him on the bench in Oklahoma City — and it will do the same for Steve Clifford in Charlotte if Lamb doesn’t play better on that end.
That said he will get a chance. The Hornets need to space the floor and are on a mission to get some shooting on the roster (which is why they may draft pick-and-pop big man Frank Kaminsky out of Wisconsin).
