Spencer Hawes Trade Rumors: Latest News, Speculation Surrounding Hornets C
Spencer Hawes enjoyed a relatively productive season with the Charlotte Hornets in 2015-16, but that may not be enough to guarantee the 28-year-old is still on the roster for the start of next year.
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Hornets Prefer Moving On from Hawes
Monday, July 4
The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday the Hornets may be looking to trade Hawes in order to free up a roster spot. According to Wojnarowski, Roy Hibbert and Zaza Pachulia would be Charlotte's top targets to replace Hawes.
If Hibbert and Pachulia are among the centers Charlotte is targeting, the Hornets value rim protection over what Hawes offers on the offensive end of the floor. According to Basketball-Reference.com, he averaged 11.8 points per 36 minutes and connected on 37.3 percent of his three-point attempts.
Hibbert is no longer the force inside he was for the Indiana Pacers, but he's still capable of defending the paint at a fairly high level. He saved more points at the rim per 36 minutes (5.00) than both Hawes (4.55) and Pachulia (4.13), per Nylon Calculus.
Hawes is signed through the next two years, but he's unlikely to exercise his player option for the 2017-18 season. According to Spotrac, he'll earn a little over $6 million as part of the option, but he could likely command more on the open market.
Few teams will be banging down Charlotte's door to acquire Hawes, but the Hornets should be able to move him if they're content to get little back in return.
