Trade Grades
Charlotte gave up: SF Matt Barnes, 2016 second-rounder
Charlotte got: SG Jeremy Lamb
Excellent move by the Hornets to partially cover up their glaring hole at shooting guard, while giving up next to nothing in exchange. PG/SG Luke Ridnour was actually in between here, as Barnes was dealt to the Grizzlies in exchange for the combo-guard (oddly, the swap occurred immediately after the Grizzlies had acquired Ridnour from the Magic). Then, the Hornets instantly turned around and traded Ridnour to the Thunder in the deal that’s bringing Lamb to Charlotte, if you follow. Since the in-between stuff doesn’t really matter from the Hornets’ perspective, I’ll just be grading who they gave up in the Ridnour-frenzy (Barnes and the second-rounder), and who they got (Lamb).
Barnes was acquired from the Clippers just a few days prior to this deal in the Lance Stephenson trade, and the 35 year old was never supposed to stick long in Charlotte. He’s a solid role player, averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds per game this past season, which is actually one of the better ones of his career. Barnes’ main attributes are his toughness, solid ability to stretch the floor as a shooter, and his defensive tenacity. With SF’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and now Nicolas Batum on Charlotte’s depth chart, Barnes was fairly expendable and the Hornets would never have really had a role for the vet. He’s better off in Memphis, where his skillset and physicality will fit right in.Not a big loss for Charlotte.
Second-rounders are really the penny stock of the NBA, having little value and generally just being throw-ins on deals. Sure, occasionally you’ll find a solid rotational piece, or even a starter, or a once-in-a-decade Manu Ginobili floating in round #2, but generally the picks never really pan out. They have little actual value other than merely being General Manager’s currency. For a Hornets team that is clearly looking to contend sooner rather than later,tossing in a second-round draft pick is really no big deal.
Jeremy Lamb is the ultimate prize of this deal. Picked 12th overall just three years ago, the Thunder were never able to carve out a role for the knockdown shooter, but that’s also partially on him. Lamb has been somewhat of a disappointment, as he averaged just 6.3 points per game and 0.8 threes on an average 34.2% shooting from downtown in just 13.5 minutes, and was injured for half the year. Perhaps most alarming is his lack of development, as he was slightly better across the board in 2014 than in this past season; this could cap his upside. However, this was just the perfect opportunity to buy-low on the youngster. Lamb is still an excellent three-point shooter and actually won a title at UCONN with Charlotte’s PG Kemba Walker. He has proven to be an excellent fit next to Walker before, and should be able to do the same at the next level.
All in all, this was a low-risk, high-reward trade for Charlotte: they gave up rather worthless assets in exchange for a young prospect with upside. Even if Lamb never really pans out, the worst he can be is a backup that can knock down threes. This plugs a hole for the Hornets, as they had a glaring deficiency at shooting guard after dealing away their best two players at that position (Gerald Henderson and Lance Stephenson). Charlotte also needed more three-point shooting, which is what they got in Lamb. They will probably need to do a thing or two at the two-guard spot via free agency anyways, but this is still a nice pickup at little to no cost.
Grade: A-
Charlotte gave up: SF Matt Barnes, 2016 second-rounder
Charlotte got: SG Jeremy Lamb
Excellent move by the Hornets to partially cover up their glaring hole at shooting guard, while giving up next to nothing in exchange. PG/SG Luke Ridnour was actually in between here, as Barnes was dealt to the Grizzlies in exchange for the combo-guard (oddly, the swap occurred immediately after the Grizzlies had acquired Ridnour from the Magic). Then, the Hornets instantly turned around and traded Ridnour to the Thunder in the deal that’s bringing Lamb to Charlotte, if you follow. Since the in-between stuff doesn’t really matter from the Hornets’ perspective, I’ll just be grading who they gave up in the Ridnour-frenzy (Barnes and the second-rounder), and who they got (Lamb).
Barnes was acquired from the Clippers just a few days prior to this deal in the Lance Stephenson trade, and the 35 year old was never supposed to stick long in Charlotte. He’s a solid role player, averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds per game this past season, which is actually one of the better ones of his career. Barnes’ main attributes are his toughness, solid ability to stretch the floor as a shooter, and his defensive tenacity. With SF’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and now Nicolas Batum on Charlotte’s depth chart, Barnes was fairly expendable and the Hornets would never have really had a role for the vet. He’s better off in Memphis, where his skillset and physicality will fit right in.Not a big loss for Charlotte.
Second-rounders are really the penny stock of the NBA, having little value and generally just being throw-ins on deals. Sure, occasionally you’ll find a solid rotational piece, or even a starter, or a once-in-a-decade Manu Ginobili floating in round #2, but generally the picks never really pan out. They have little actual value other than merely being General Manager’s currency. For a Hornets team that is clearly looking to contend sooner rather than later,tossing in a second-round draft pick is really no big deal.
Jeremy Lamb is the ultimate prize of this deal. Picked 12th overall just three years ago, the Thunder were never able to carve out a role for the knockdown shooter, but that’s also partially on him. Lamb has been somewhat of a disappointment, as he averaged just 6.3 points per game and 0.8 threes on an average 34.2% shooting from downtown in just 13.5 minutes, and was injured for half the year. Perhaps most alarming is his lack of development, as he was slightly better across the board in 2014 than in this past season; this could cap his upside. However, this was just the perfect opportunity to buy-low on the youngster. Lamb is still an excellent three-point shooter and actually won a title at UCONN with Charlotte’s PG Kemba Walker. He has proven to be an excellent fit next to Walker before, and should be able to do the same at the next level.
All in all, this was a low-risk, high-reward trade for Charlotte: they gave up rather worthless assets in exchange for a young prospect with upside. Even if Lamb never really pans out, the worst he can be is a backup that can knock down threes. This plugs a hole for the Hornets, as they had a glaring deficiency at shooting guard after dealing away their best two players at that position (Gerald Henderson and Lance Stephenson). Charlotte also needed more three-point shooting, which is what they got in Lamb. They will probably need to do a thing or two at the two-guard spot via free agency anyways, but this is still a nice pickup at little to no cost.
Grade: A-