PIVOT! PIVOT!
If you don’t know who the guy pictured above is and/or haven’t watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S. before, you probably won’t get the heading.
ANYWAYS!
The Hornets playoff hopes are slowly fading as they are on a steep decline, losing 9 of their last 10. While playing Golden State twice in a week isn’t the best time to try to get out of your slump, losing 3 in a row to the struggling Knicks, Kings, and Blazers may be a sign that things should change.
Apparently Charlotte’s upper management agree with me, as they moved Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes for Miles Plumlee. That move could pan out for both teams (believe it or not), but I think Charlotte needs to surround Kemba with the best talent available, and it just so happens there is one disgruntled veteran forward on the trade market.
After being removed from the starting lineup, veteran forward Wilson Chandler publicly stated he wouldn’t be opposed to a move. If I’m His Airness, I am calling Denver immediately and offering Michael Kidd-Gilchrist without hesitation.
MKG (I think) is a top-5 individual defender in this league. At the same time though, his shot looks like this:
Now, I could be very wrong on interpreting this, but according to BasketballReference.com, 98% (!!!) of his FGA are 2-pointers. NINETY EIGHT!!
To be fair, he’s a career 21.2% shooter from 3, and is only making 12.5% of his 3PA this year; but it’s hard to get scoring from your starting 5 when one member is very one dimensional in the 3PT Era.
Kemba and Batum can create space to get shots off, but Marvin is more of a catch and shoot guy; and the starting 5 spot has been a revolving door all year. I think Clifford would cry tears of joy if he acquired a guy that can play the 3 and 4, defend both of those positions, and is averaging 15.6 PPG this year. While losing MKG’s defense would hurt, I think it would open up their offense a lot.
Denver has already made a move by moving disgruntled big man Jusuf Nurkic to the Blazers, and I think they will be fairly active leading up to the deadline. Gallinari (when he returns from injury) and Chandler’s skill sets are a little redundant, so adding premier defense and opening up minutes for rookie combo-guard Jamal Murray and co. would be a good move long-term.