NBA: Big Questions for Each Team Following The Offseason

May 12, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Spencer Hawes (10) looks for a call against the Houston Rockets in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Rockets won 124 to 103. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Charlotte Hornets

Question: Can the additions of Spencer Hawes and Nicolas Batum replace the floor spacing and playmaking they lost when Josh McRoberts joined the Miami Heat the previous offseason?

Josh McRoberts played a major role for Charlotte when they made the playoffs their final season as the Bobcats. He was a stretch four playmaker that opened up the paint for Al Jefferson and took away some of the playmaking pressure from Kemba Walker, who’s primarily a score first point guard.

When McRoberts signed with the Heat, Lance Stephenson was brought in to fill in some of that void… and it ended in disaster. This offseason, the Hornets did not acquire one McRoberts, but rather, several players that each contribute various parts of his repertoire: Nicolas Batum is a versatile wing that was often the lead distributor in Portland and who can log some minutes as a small ball stretch four, Spencer Hawes, a center who can step out and shoot threes, though he’s a liability on defense, and also Jeremy Lin, a score first point guard who can provide a spark off the bench.

Will these three find a way to fill that void McRoberts left behind?

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