Charlotte Hornets Blog – Page 26 – NBA Blog

Hornets sign Jeremy Lin

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Jeremy Lin.

“We are excited to add Jeremy Lin to our lineup,” Cho said. “He is a talented player who we feel can make significant contributions to our basketball team.”

With Kemba Walker already established as the Hornets’ starting point guard, it is assumed Jeremy Lin will come off the bench as a backup.

A five-year NBA veteran, the 6-3 Lin has played in 291 NBA games for the Warriors, Knicks, Rockets and Lakers, with career averages of 11.7 points, 4.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 26.9 minutes. For his career, Lin has shot .437 from the field (1167-2668), .349 from beyond the three-point line (259-742) and .799 from the free-throw line (812-1016). He has also played in 10 playoff games, all with Houston, averaging 8.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 16.1 minutes. Lin was not selected in the 2010 NBA Draft following four seasons at Harvard.

Lin spent the 2014-15 season with the Lakers, where he saw action in 70 games and averaged 11.2 points, 4.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 25.8 minutes. He shot a career-high .369 from beyond the three-point line (65-176), to go with .424 from the field (277-654) and .795 from the free-throw line (213-268).

The first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, Lin was named by Chinese magazine Vivid as one of its eight most influential Chinese-Americans in July 2011 and by Time Magazine as one of its “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World” in April 2012. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in two consecutive weeks in February 2012, becoming just the third NBA player to do so in the magazine’s history, and also appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in the second week. He also received the ESPY Award for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year in July 2012.

In addition to his NBA experience, Lin also played in 20 games in the NBA D-League with the Reno Bighorns in 2010-11 and one game with the Erie BayHawks in 2011-12. In 21 total D-League games, he averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.0 steals in 32.4 minutes, while shooting .480 from the field (135-281), .359 from beyond the three-point line (14-39) and .732 from the free-throw line (104-142).

P.J. Hairston cited for driving violations

Here’s the Charlotte Obsever reporting now on an incident back in June:

P.J. Hairston cited for driving with revoked license

For a third consecutive summer, Hornets guard P.J. Hairston is facing legal trouble.

Hairston was cited around noon on June 18 for driving with a revoked license, speeding, driving left of center and driving on expired tags.

According to the citation, Hairston’s 2015 black Cadillac Escalade was traveling at 51 mph in a 35 mph zone on Toddville Road heading toward Freedom Drive. The tags were expired and his vehicle went more than half its width over the double yellow line for 25-30 yards, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer N.S. Bush in his report.

Hornets hire Bruce Kreutzer as an assistant coach

The Charlotte Hornets announced today that the team has hired 38-year coaching veteran Bruce Kreutzer as an assistant coach on Head Coach Steve Clifford’s staff. Kreutzer, whose coaching experience includes stints at all levels of the sport from the professional ranks to high school, will focus much of his attention on working with the Hornets players’ shooting skills.

“I’m excited to add Bruce to our coaching staff,” said Clifford. “He is a veteran coach at all levels of the game and brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and teaching experience. He has a proven track record of helping players improve their shooting fundamentals, mechanics and ability.”

In 2006, Kreutzer joined former Hornets assistant coach and four-time NBA All-Star Mark Price to form the Mark Price Shooting Lab at the Suwanee Sports Academy, where he served as lead shooting instructor and player development coach. Kruetzer’s professional experience also includes serving as the head coach of the ABA’s Atlanta Vision (2006-2008), where the team won the Southern Division and made an Elite Eight appearance. He has also served as a shooting consultant for the NBA D-League (2008-2011) and the Philadelphia 76ers (2008-2010).

No stranger to the Charlotte area, Kreutzer served as an assistant coach at Queens University – reaching the NCAA Division II Final Four in 2003 – and UNC Charlotte, as well as head coach at Garinger High School. Garinger High School won the 4A Boys State High School Title in 1989 with Kreutzer at the helm. Kreutzer also served as head coach at Massanutten Military Academy (Woodstock, Va.), leading his team to a No. 9 ranking nationally in 2006 and developing more than 20 Division I college players during his tenure. In total, In total, Kreutzer has amassed more than 300 wins at the high school and prep levels.

Hornets trade Matt Barnes to Grizzlies for Luke Ridnour

The Memphis Grizzlies acquired forward Matt Barnes from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for guard Luke Ridnour, General Manager Chris Wallace announced today.

Barnes (6-7, 226) holds career averages of 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 779 games (296 starts) over 12 seasons (2003-15) with the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. He owns career postseason averages of 7.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 79 playoff games (44 starts) with the Warriors, Magic, Lakers and Clippers.

A key member of the Los Angeles Clippers over the past three years, Barnes averaged 10.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in a career-high 29.9 minutes in 76 games (74 starts) last season. The 35-year-old shot .362 from three-point range and set personal bests for three-point makes (136) and attempts (376). He was traded by Los Angeles with Spencer Hawes to Charlotte for Lance Stephenson on June 16.

The Santa Clara, Calif. native originally was drafted by Memphis in the second round (46th overall) of the 2002 NBA Draft following a four-year collegiate career at UCLA and traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on draft night.

Ridnour (6-2, 175) owns career averages of 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 26.1 minutes in 830 games (493 starts) over 12 seasons (2003-15) with the Seattle SuperSonics, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte and Orlando. The 34-year-old was drafted by Seattle in the first round (14th overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft after a three-year collegiate career at the University of Oregon.

The Blaine, Wash. native was acquired by Memphis yesterday from Orlando, where he averaged 4.0 points in 47 appearances last season, in exchange for the draft rights to Janis Timma.

Thunder trade Jeremy Lamb to Hornets for Luke Ridnour

Thunder trade Jeremy Lamb to Hornets for Luke Ridnour

The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired guard Luke Ridnour and a conditional 2016 second round draft pick from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for guard Jeremy Lamb, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.

Ridnour (6-2, 175), a 12-year NBA veteran, has played in 830 career games (493 starts) with five teams, averaging 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.00 steals in 26.1 minutes. The University of Oregon product spent the 2014-15 season with the Orlando Magic, appearing in 47 games and averaging 4.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 14.5 minutes. Ridnour was acquired by the Memphis Grizzlies on June 24, 2015 before being traded to Charlotte in a separate transaction earlier today.

Lamb appeared in 47 games (eight starts) for the Thunder in the 2014-15 season, averaging 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes. In three seasons with the Thunder, Lamb saw action in 148 games (eight starts) and averaged 7.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15.7 minutes.

Blazers trade Nicolas Batum to Hornets

The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired forward Noah Vonleh and guard Gerald Henderson from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for forward Nicolas Batum, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey.

Vonleh (6-10, 240) enters his second NBA season in 2015-16 after Charlotte selected the Indiana standout with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft. In 25 career games with the Hornets, Vonleh, 19, is averaging 3.3 points (39.5% FG, 38.5% 3-PT, 69.2% FT), 3.4 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 10.4 minutes.

In his lone season at Indiana, Vonleh averaged 11.3 points and led the Big 10 in rebounding (9.0 rpg) on his way to Big 10 Freshman of the Year and All-Big 10 Third Team honors.

An NBA veteran, Henderson (6-5, 215) holds career averages of 12.0 points (44.3% FG, 30.9% 3-PT, 79.4% FT), 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 27.5 minutes in six seasons with Charlotte. Selected with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft out of Duke, Henderson, 27, ranked 26th in the NBA in free throw percentage last season (84.8%), while leading the Hornets in scoring 17 times.

“Nic Batum was a key contributor to all of our recent success,” said Olshey. “He will truly be missed as a person and a player. We wish Nic all the best for the future.”

In 481 career games (428 starts) with the Trail Blazers, Batum posted averages of 11.2 points (44.6% FG, 36.3% 3-PT, 83.4% FT), 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 30.8 minutes. Acquired in a 2008 draft day trade with Houston, Batum’s 751 career 3-pointers are the third-most in franchise history.

Charlotte will host NBA All-Star 2017

The NBA announced today that Charlotte has been selected to host NBA All-Star 2017. The 66th annual game will take place at Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the Hornets, on Sunday, Feb. 19. The 2017 game will mark the second NBA All-Star celebration in Charlotte, which hosted the event in 1991.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement this morning during a press conference at Time Warner Cable Arena, where he was joined by Charlotte Mayor Dan Clodfelter, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, Mecklenburg County Commission Chairman Trevor Fuller, Hornets President & COO Fred Whitfield, and Hornets Chairman Michael Jordan, who was the leading scorer of the 1991 NBA All-Star Game at the Charlotte Coliseum.

“As a thriving city with a proud basketball tradition and a deep passion for the game, the city of Charlotte is a terrific All-Star destination,” said Silver. “We thank Michael Jordan, the Hornets organization and the Charlotte community for their support and congratulate them on bringing our All-Star festivities back to North Carolina.”

“It is an honor to bring NBA All-Star back to Charlotte,” Jordan said. “I remember the excitement of playing in the 1991 All-Star Game, the first one held in my home state, and I take pride in being able to host NBA All-Star 2017 as the owner of the Hornets. This is a great moment for our fans, our city, and our franchise. We are excited to welcome the world to Charlotte and Time Warner Cable Arena in 2017.”

Report: Charlotte to host 2017 NBA All-Star weekend

The 2017 NBA All-Star game will reportedly take place in Charlotte

Here’s the Charlotte Observer reporting:

Charlotte has won a bid to host the 2017 NBA All-Star Weekend, the Observer has learned.

A formal announcement is expected on Tuesday, with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in attendance at a news conference. Charlotte officials and the Hornets’ organization formally made a bid for the event last summer…

The city agreed last fall to pay for $33.5 million of what will be $40 million in improvements to the arena. The NBA saw those improvements as key to any All-Star bid.

Gerald Henderson exercises Hornets contract option for next season

Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that guard Gerald Henderson has exercised his player option for the 2015-16 season.

Initially selected by Charlotte with the 12th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Henderson played in a team-high 80 games with 72 starts last season and averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per game. He shot a career-high .848 from the free-throw line (184-217), ranking 26th in the NBA, and made a career-best 45 three-point field goals. Henderson scored in double figures 51 times on the season, including 11 games of 20 points or more. He had two double-doubles, setting a career high of 14 rebounds in one and a career high of 11 assists in the other.

In six seasons with Charlotte, Henderson has played in 391 career games with averages of 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.5 minutes, while shooting .443 from the field (1783-4029) and .794 from the free-throw line (995-1253).

Hornets badly need 3-point shooters

Hornets badly need 3-point shooters

Here’s the Charlotte Observer letting you know just how bad Hornets 3-point shooting is (and has been):

To say the Hornets’ 3-point shooting was bad last season would be overly kind. It was awful. As in historically awful.

The Hornets shot 31.8 percent from the 3-point arc last season, last among 30 NBA teams. But that really doesn’t convey how bad it was. Over the last decade of NBA basketball, only eight teams shot as bad or worse from 3-point range. So they were tied for 291st among the last 300 NBA teams to finish a season in 3-point accuracy.

Granted it’s not good to be last at anything, but 3-point percentage is a pretty significant NBA statistic. If you were last in steals or last in offensive-rebound percentage, you’d try to improve but you wouldn’t necessarily conclude that’s a back-breaker. This was a back-breaker.

It’s no coincidence the top two seeds in this season’s Eastern and Western Conference playoffs – the Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers – finished in the top five in 3-point percentage during the regular season. The Clippers were the only one of those teams not to reach the conference finals, and they blew a big series lead to the Houston Rockets.