Jeremy Lamb Reportedly Traded to Charlotte Hornets

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jeremy Lamb has reportedly been traded to the Charlotte Hornets for point guard Luke Ridnour and a 2016 second-round pick, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. 

The Hornets reportedly traded away 2-guard Gerald Henderson on Wednesday as part of a deal to land Portland swingman Nic Batum, per Wojnarowski. With the departure of Lance Stephenson in an offseason trade, Lamb would figure to have a chance to compete for a starting job in Charlotte.

Lamb hasn't gotten much of an opportunity to show what he can do in the pros, though maybe he didn't merit it. The 12th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft didn't carve out a significant role with the Thunder, averaging just 13.5 minutes per contest in his third NBA season in 2014-15.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress added context in his analysis based on what he'd heard:

Mayberry reported what Lamb had to say about his role after the season ended, when the 23-year-old seemed somewhat open to a new start.

"I just want an opportunity," said Lamb. "I'm focused on getting better. If the opportunity is here or it's somewhere else, I can't really focus on that. I'm just going to try to get better, work on my game, focus on my game and whatever happens, happens.".

The following report from Wojnarowski also gives further reason for the Thunder to ship Lamb out of town:

Especially with the move to acquire Dion Waiters in January as the potential 2-guard of the future, Lamb seems to be an odd man out in OKC.

The Thunder have bigger fish to fry as it is. The salary-cap increase is coming in 2016-17, and Russell Westbrook will be in a contract year that season. Even more pressing, Kevin Durant is slated to hit unrestricted free agency next summer.