The Hornets need Jordan Clarkson. Here’s why and how they get him.
The NBA trade deadline is on February 8th and the Charlotte Hornets desperately need to make a trade.
Charlotte has been abysmal offensively.
One reason is the team’s bench. The Hornets’ bench is 5th in turnovers and 22nd in true shooting percentage. The poor performance is mainly a function of below-average point guard play. The Hornets offensive schemes rely heavily on the point guard and many offense sets include front-court pick and rolls.
That approach works best when Hornets’ starting point guard, Kemba Walker, is on the floor. He orchestrates the team well, but it gets painful when he’s off the court.
As a remedy, the team signed NBA journeyman, Michael Carter-Williams, during the 2017 off-season. But what was presumed to be a remedy has turned into something very different. Carter-Williams is averaging just 4 points and 2.4 assists a game with an ugly 30% true shooting percentage and a very unappealing 26% from the three-point line.
Courtesy: Lakers Nation
What can be done now? I think the answer is LAL’s 6’5” guard, Jordan Clarkson.
Clarkson, a top-tier NBA backup guard, was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2014 NBA draft. He’s averaging 14 points and 3 assists per game and shooting 50% on total shooting percentage, 34% from the three.
Clarkson is on the trade block and insiders say that his departure from the Lakers is inevitable.
If Charlotte were to grab Clarkson, I think the most realistic trade would be a player-for-player swap–Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for Clarkson. It would be an equal salary transaction, too. Clarkson is getting paid $11.5 million per for the next three years, while MKG is getting $13 million a year for the three 3 years.
If the Hornets were to make this trade, the team has an opportunity to recreate what Jeremy Lin did for Charlotte during the 2015-2016 season. That year (as the point guard) Lin averaged 11.7 points, 3 assists, and hit 46% from the field. The one-two punch of Walker and Lin helped the Hornets win 48 games that year.
What I also like about the trade prospect is that it would move current shooting guard, Nic Batum, to his natural position, small forward. That would open up the starting shooting guard spot, which could be filled ably by either Jeremy Lamb or rookie Malik Monk.
The Hornets need Jordan Clarkson. He’s a young, backup point guard, who’s capable of running the offense when the team’s star is off the court.
