8 Trade Targets to Help Charlotte Hornets Survive Kemba Walker's Absence
This Kemba Walker guy is pretty important to the Charlotte Hornets.
Fighting for one of the Eastern Conference's final two playoff spots may not seem like much, but that's the Hornets' reality. They haven't made back-to-back postseason appearances since 2001 and 2002, so returning to The Show would be huge—especially knowing they began 2014-15 at 10-24, putting their playoff hopes on the brink of extinction.
Hence why Walker's latest injury is so devastating.
After suffering a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, Walker will have surgery and is expected to miss six weeks, per the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell and Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. Injuries are never convenient, but his absence comes at a particularly problematic time.
The Hornets have just a half-game hold on the East's final playoff spot. Enduring a setback that may last 20 or more games could jerk them out of the postseason picture. Not surprisingly, they're trying to avoid such a collapse.
Wojnarowski says the team is "pursuing trade avenues" to replace Walker in the interim. Though their focus is naturally on point guards, the Hornets are general buyers. We're here, in this space, to identify the best targets.
Aside from potential Walker replacements, the Hornets also need offensive output and floor spacing. They rank 28th in points scored per 100 possessions—a standing that worsens when Walker is off the floor—and 29th in three-point shooting.
Prospective targets may overlap; these are not all players who can be acquired in conjunction with one another. Rather, they're those who give the Hornets what they need more than anything else: a chance to survive Walker's stay on the sidelines and end their season with a second straight playoff berth.
Ramon Sessions (Sacramento Kings) and Norris Cole (Miami Heat)
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Consider this some obligatory name-dropping.
Both Ramon Sessions and Norris Cole are among the trade targets the Hornets are expected to consider, per Wojnarowski. Their inclusion makes sense in theory, because they're both point guards. But these are the types of move that need to portend other ones. Bigger ones.
Sessions has already been in Charlotte. He spent the better part of two seasons with the then-Bobcats before being traded to Milwaukee. Through 116 appearances, he averaged 12.5 points and 3.8 assists per game on 40.8 percent shooting. The combination of Walker and Sessions generated a 24th-ranked offense at its peak.
Neither Sessions nor Cole has extensive experience piloting meaningful attacks. Both are shooting under 32 percent from behind the rainbow for their careers as well.
Still, they're viable options because they're likely to come cheap. Sessions has vacillated in and out of the Sacramento Kings' rotation all season, and the Miami Heat have been noticeably worse with Cole on both ends of the floor.
If Walker really is going to return in six weeks and the Hornets are looking to maintain the status quo, either one gives them an able body to plug behind or beside Brian Roberts. Dangling the seldom-used and wildly ineffective Gary Neal (career-worst 35.6 percent shooting) could get the ball rolling on both fronts.
Possible Trade: Gary Neal for Norris Cole and Justin Hamilton or Gary Neal for Ramon Sessions and Eric Moreland
Pablo Prigioni, New York Knicks
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Just get this done.
Pablo Prigioni is available for the bargain price of one second-round pick, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. If true, there's no reason why Hornets general manager Rich Cho shouldn't phone Phil Jackson before this sentence reaches its conclusion.
Trading for Prigioni nets the Hornets additional playmaking in Walker's absence. He didn't come stateside until he was 35 and has never cracked 20 minutes per game, but the Argentine point guard is dishing out 6.1 assists per 36 minutes for his career.
More importantly, though, he's someone the Hornets can still use even after Walker returns. Prigioni, unlike many other floor generals, can be deadly when moving without the ball. Nearly half of his total shot attempts have come as spot-up three-pointers this season, of which he's drilling 45.9 percent.
Prigioni's shooting off the catch isn't some anomaly or small-sample distortion. He banged in 44 percent of his standstill bombs last season, and he's nailing 41.6 percent of attempted treys for his career.
Let's list all of the active Hornets who have played in at least 10 games and are hitting 34 percent or more of their long balls for 2014-15:
- Brian Roberts
That's it.
Seizing the opportunity to acquire Prigioni is a commitment to floor spacing. The Hornets are shooting just 30.9 percent from deep as a team. They need floor spacing. Ergo, they need Prigioni.
Possible Trade: Gary Neal and 2015 second-round draft pick for Pablo Prigioni
Joe Johnson, Brooklyn Nets
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First, a word: Yours truly is against the Hornets trading for Joe Johnson. Wojnarowski reports they've held discussions with the Brooklyn Nets about acquiring him, but with Johnson set to earn $24.9 million next season, at the age of 34, the cost is too steep.
There's also the fact that Johnson is battling injury himself. As the shooting guard said, per Newsday's Roderick Boone:
"I’ve just got tendinitis real bad in my right knee and in my left ankle. I’ve been playing with both of them, and been pretty banged up for probably about the past month and a half or so. We don’t have time to have guys sit and rest, like some other teams do. We just don’t have the roster for that, so I just have to play through it.
"
All of that in mind, there's merit to this chase, provided Johnson is healthy.
With Walker gone, the Hornets need shot-creators who can dabble in off-ball heroics upon his return. Johnson can be that guy. Isolations are his home, but he's shooting 38.4 percent from downtown since 2011 and putting in 37.9 percent of his catch-and-shoot treys this season.
Johnson's success rate was even higher in those situations for 2013-14 (39.5 percent), making him a better long-term fit alongside Walker than Lance Stephenson. The latter is shooting 14 percent—yes, 14 percent—on spot-up threes since arriving in Charlotte.
That's the other aspect of all this. Dealing for Johnson means the Hornets would rid themselves of Stephenson, plus two other underachievers in Gerald Henderson and Marvin Williams. So, if the Hornets believe Johnson is healthy or will soon be healthy, they have the chance to shed some dead weight while adding another big-time scorer.
While unnecessarily pricey, adverse conditions call for drastic adjustments. If the Hornets' sole goal is to make the playoffs this season, and they're willing to overlook the financial implications and rotational ramifications of this deal (shallow bench), this trigger can—and should—be pulled.
Possible Trade: Lance Stephenson, Marvin Williams and Gerald Henderson for Joe Johnson
Kevin Martin and Thaddeus Young, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Time to think even bigger.
Kevin Martin and Thaddeus Young would be great fits if the Hornets are looking to make a playoff push. Marc Stein of ESPN.com brought word the latter is readily available, and with the Minnesota Timberwolves' youth movement in full force, it's safe to say Martin could also be had.
Young isn't much of a spot-up shooter—28 percent on the season—but he's a jack of all trades. He can score, pass, rebound, run the floor and play defense in the right system. The Hornets run the right system.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist anchors what has been the league's best defense over the past 11 games. Place Young beside him, and the Hornets have two wings who can defend four of five positions.
Taking on Martin would be a risk. A teeny, tiny, infinitesimal risk. He hasn't played since Nov. 19 after fracturing his right wrist against the Knicks, and his return has since been delayed due to further swelling in said wrist, per the Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda.
But Martin still torched the Knicks after fracturing that shooting wrist. He finished with 35 points that night and was tallying 20.4 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting when he went under the knife. He was also draining 47.5 percent of his standstill threes before going down. The potential of an eventual Walker-Martin backcourt, then, is devastating.
Pulling this one off will admittedly take some creative finagling. The Timberwolves are one of the few teams that should be willing to absorb Lance Stephenson's contract. They're not playing for anything now, they can part ways with him after next season, and the defensive ceiling of an Andrew Wiggins-Stephenson dyad would know no bounds.
Slinging a first-round pick in addition to some expiring salary fodder would be a good starting point. From there, Minnesota and Charlotte could talk serious turkey—the result of which may land the Hornets two impact players who assure them of another playoff berth.
Possible Trade: Lance Stephenson, Gary Neal and 2015 first-rounder (top-14 protected) for Kevin Martin and Thaddeus Young
Arron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets
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More than seven games outside of the Western Conference playoff bubble, with little in the way of flowering prospects, the Denver Nuggets need to raze the roof. As in, destroy it.
Charlotte, for that matter, would be happy to help.
Arron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler are two more intriguing fits for the Hornets, pre- and post-Walker's return. Chandler in particular has incited speculation for most of this season. Adam Fromal of Bleacher Report is kind enough to tell us why:
"Wilson Chandler plays on a reasonable contract. He's not the type of player who causes chemistry concerns, and he tends to put forth 100 percent effort no matter who joins him on the roster. There's no lengthy history of injury, and his 27 years on the planet offer little risk of a huge age-related decline in the near future. ...
Is he an elite defender? Not at all, and he actually needs to be in the right system (ideally not the one in Denver) to function as a quality one. Is he one of the league's best snipers? Far from it, though he's an above-average threat from the perimeter.
"
Playing within a strong defensive system like Charlotte's, Afflalo and Chandler project as valuable three-and-D contributors. Chandler can play and defend either forward spot (plus shooting guard), and both players are connecting on at least 34.7 percent of their catch-and-shoot three-balls.
Picture, if you would, a starting lineup of Brian Roberts, Afflalo, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Chandler and Al Jefferson. That's more than enough to get the Hornets by without Walker—even more so if they're able to snare, say, Prigioni in a separate deal.
Now imagine what the starting five would look like with Walker running point. Exactly. It has the right combination of defense, shot creation, off-ball talent, speed, explosion and athleticism. Moreover, their existence should prove feasible.
Include a first-rounder to sweeten the pot and the Nuggets shouldn't balk at the chance to grab Lance Stephenson. At his best, Stephenson adds defense, playmaking and hustle. For a mediocrity-pinned team, it also doesn't get much better than snatching three first-rounders and Stephenson for Timofey Mozgov, Afflalo and Chandler.
To hell with the still-shallow bench that would plague Charlotte's rotation after this. The aforesaid quintet could carry the Hornets through to the playoffs—perhaps even doing some damage once they get there.
Possible Trade: Lance Stephenson, Gerald Henderson and 2015 first-rounder (top-10 protected) for Arron Afflalo, Wilson Chandler and Randy Foye
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate as of games played Jan. 26, 2015 unless otherwise cited. Draft pick information via RealGM. Salary information collected from HoopsHype. All traded vetted by ESPN's Trade Machine.
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