For the Charlotte Hornets, it has been a summer filled with excitement after yet another disappointing season of missing the playoffs. After the Hornets held some hope for the future by making the playoffs in the 2013-2014 season, last year was plagued by injuries to Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson and the team finished 33-49, 10 fewer wins than the previous season. A year ago, there was plenty of excitement and hope surrounding the signing of Lance Stephenson, but that plan didn’t work
There’s a strong case to be made that the Charlotte Hornets signing point guard Jeremy Lin to a two-year, $4.3-million deal was one of the better bargain signings of the NBA’s nearly-complete offseason. [Read more…]
On this date in 1984, the Chicago Bulls signed their 1st-round pick, Michael Jordan to his first professional contract. Jordan reportedly made about $600,000 as a rookie. **Jordan is one of three players in NBA history to win at least 5 MVP awards and 5 NBA titles, joined by only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell. [Read more…]
THE BEST OF THE BEST: On June 25, the Hornets drafted Frank Kaminsky with the 9th overall selection in the 2015 NBA draft. Later in the offseason, Charlotte added free agent Tyler Hansbrough. The duo will join Larry Johnson (1990-91) as the only Naismith award winners to play for the Hornets. And there are also two more in the front office. Hornets Naismith Award Winners Role 2014-15 Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin Current Player 2007-08 Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina Current Player 1990-91 Larry Johnson, UNLV Former Player 1984-85
Despite it being the dog days of the NBA offseason, there’s always a lot to talk about in the NBA. From the Hornets’ offseason to the NBA playing in Africa, this hour-long podcast covered a lot of ground. In the first episode of a new weekly podcast, Shlomo Sprung of SheridanHoops and Max Kirshblum were joined by ESPN Radio’s Josiah Turner to talk the winners and losers of the NBA offseason and by SheridanHoops contributor Jacob Eisenberg to discuss Noah Vonleh, Kyle
The latest NBA news is interesting: If you win your division, you can hang a banner from the rafters. But that doesn’t mean you are going to the playoffs. Which begs the question: Why even have divisions? It makes no sense. Then again, things that make no sense are part of the NBA landscape. Take Andrea Bargnani, for example. He should be playing in Europe. Or China. That has been clear for years and years and years. But the New York Knicks
Last week at the Las Vegas summer league, a 19-year-old, seven-foot rim protector averaged 17.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. It was not Kristaps Porzingis, but Noah Vonleh, who has somehow become Portland’s summer afterthought in spite of his overwhelming potential. After excelling in Vegas, all Vonleh has to do is try and fill LaMarcus Aldridge’s shoes as the Blazers— who acquired Vonleh and Gerald Henderson from Charlotte in exchange for Nicolas Batum on the night before June’s draft— begin
The dust has pretty much settled on the NBA offseason. Sure, there’s still a player or two out there and a move or two some teams can make. But for the most part, teams have put together their rosters for the 2015-16 season. Have any teams in the Eastern Conference improved enough to climb out of the lottery and into the playoffs? And can any team threaten the Cleveland Cavaliers for conference supremacy? The Sheridan Hoops staff offers its take in this edition