CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Where to begin with the Charlotte Hornets. It truly is a tall task, but here goes.
- The Hornets got a new general manager, new head coach, new draft picks and a new veteran free agent guard
- Kemba Walker desires to remain with the Hornets after this season
- The Hornets will look to a rebounding-by-committee approach, starting with the likes of Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminsky, and Bismack Biymobo
New General Manager. New Head Coach. New draft picks. New veteran free agent guard.
What isn’t new, is Kemba Walker’s desire to remain with the Hornets after this season. Walker could become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, but wants to stay in Charlotte to see things through. He sounded like the chances are good that he will get his wish.
“I just got the feeling,” Walker told reporters at the team’s media day on Monday. “I’ve been saying it. This is where I want to be. This is the place I love, and I’m just really confident that I’ll be here. I think they’ll figure it out.”
The prospect of Walker teaming up with newly signed guard Tony Parker had Walker and new Head Coach James Borrego thinking of what could be this season. Late game situations, where the outcome is on the line, might be a key spot to have both Parker and Walker on the floor together.
“We’re both two aggressive guards,” Walker said. “I’m looking forward to being out there, late game situations, with him. It’s gonna be fun.”
“I envision those two playing at times in the fourth quarter,” Borrego said Monday. “Tony has closed a number of games in his career. He’s very comfortable in fourth quarter situations. We’re gonna be in that fourth quarter situation a ton this year, and we gotta close. I think Tony feels comfortable there. It’s up to me and my staff to figure out a way to close it with those two guys on the floor.”
Those players that were with the team last year admitted it was a difficult season. Marvin Williams admitting the coaching staff had them prepared, but as players, they did not execute. Williams and others, however, weighed in on the perception that former center Dwight Howard was the problem.
“Dwight, in the locker room, was not a problem,” Walker said. “He wasn’t a problem in the locker room. He didn’t do anything in the locker room to anyone. He was actually really good in the locker room.”
“I will also say, again, that Dwight Howard was not a problem in our locker room,” Williams said. “He was one of the most fun guys to be around. He almost plays too much, I would say sometimes. He just likes to have a good time.”
What the Hornets will lose from Howard is a double-double per game. The Hornets will look to a rebounding-by-committee approach, starting with the likes of Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminsky, and Bismack Biymobo, who returns to Charlotte after playing for the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic.
If things come together under the first-year coach in Borrego, Parker’s career-long NBA playoffs streak will continue. He has gone to the post-season in each of his 17 NBA years. A streak he intends to keep in tact.
“I told them (the younger players), ‘don’t mess with my playoff streak,’ ya know 17 in a row. You can’t mess up my playoff streak.”
Don’t think for a second he isn’t serious.
