Spencer Hawes feels refreshed in the wake of the offseason trade that took him from the Clippers to the Hornets, and he’s shown signs of bouncing back after a poor season last year, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines. Hawes regrets his decision to sign with the Clippers in 2014.
“When you feel like you made the wrong decision, it adds a lot of pressure and it builds and builds. Good as it looked on paper, it just wasn’t the right fit for whatever reason. That’s what ate at me the most, that I felt like I kind of failed myself,” Hawes said to Bonnell. “Then when you get a clean cut, it allows you to start over and build a new foundation and get your career back on track. I feel like going out there, individually it took a turn and not for the better.”
The 27-year-old center is seeing about the same amount of playing time with the Hornets that he did in L.A., but he’s shooting 52.0% compared to last year’s 39.3%. See more on the Hornets and other Southeast Division insight:
- Al Jefferson doesn’t understand why the Thunder buried Jeremy Lamb on the bench before the trade that brought him to Charlotte this summer, citing his scoring ability and basketball IQ, and coach Steve Clifford has been impressed, too, notes Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer. The Hornets committed a three-year, $21MM extension to the former lottery pick this week. “The thing he possesses is size and skill,” Clifford said. “He can really shoot. I think he’s capable of shooting 40% from three. But this is what I didn’t really understand. He’s better off the dribble than I thought. And he can really pass.”
- Shabazz Napier doesn’t see much meaning behind the show of enthusiasm that LeBron James showed for his game before the 2014 draft, and he thinks his year with the veteran-laden Heat will help him as he adjusts to the Magic following an offseason trade, as he tells Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.
- The question for the Heat as they reportedly ponder trading Mario Chalmers is whether they see themselves as title contenders this season or think it wise to take a step back in the short term, avoid the tax and better align themselves for a run in the future, opines Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
I’ve been saying that about Lamb for 2 years. It wasn’t just him either. They did the same to Perry Jones