The Charlotte Hornets recently began taking trade offers this week for guard Lance Stephenson, but none of the offers made were enough for them to seriously consider parting ways with him.
As many as seven teams are known to have shown interest, including Brooklyn and Miami, but no offers seemed to intrigue Charlotte. Several of the other teams that called to inquire about Stephenson did not actually end up make any trade proposals.
Another major factor in the Hornets’ decision to keep Stephenson for the time being is the belief that a groin injury has hindered him all season long, playing a significant role in his lack of production. Stephenson is expected to miss the next two games because of the nagging injury and did not travel to Philadelphia for Friday’s 109-91 win against the 76ers.
The Hornet’s organization feels the injury has significantly affected Stephenson’s movement and conditioning, according to league sources. Stephenson, just as he appeared to be getting healthy, reinjured the groin Wednesday in a game against Phoenix. Ideally, the Hornets want to rest Stephenson, let him fully heal, and see if he can either fit in and perform up to expectations with Charlotte or re-establish his trade value for potential suitors later in the season after his output increases.
The emphasis on the groin injury definitely helps to explain the poor start Stephenson’s had to this season.
Stephenson, who is in his fifth NBA season, spent his entire career prior to the Hornets with the Indiana Pacers, who drafted him with the 40th pick in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft. Stephenson saw his playing time increase significantly during the 2012-2013 season, and responded in 2013-2014 by averaging career highs with 13.8 points per game, 4.6 assists per game, and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 49 percent from the field. He also led the league in triple doubles with five.
He is currently averaging 10.2 points, 4.8 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game for this season. Not far off from his numbers last year, but there is one glaring negative: his field goal percentage has dipped to a dismal 38 percent, even as he has been taking less shots on average compared to last season. Stephenson has reached double figures only 14 times out of 25 games played this season.
Sources have also stated that Stephenson’s free-wheeling style of play and often negative body language has hurt the team chemistry. The attitude and performance issues have resulted in Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford often opting to bench Stephenson during crunch time, as fellow GMS writer Geoff Harvey noted in an earlier article hinting at the possibility of Stephenson being put on the market.
Although Stephenson’s playing level reached a high for him during his final year with the Pacers, his final months with the team were rather tumultuous.
Pacers teammates were reportedly upset with Stephenson after he was baited into his second technical foul and ejected in a March win over Miami. His teammates were bothered again when he publicly challenged LeBron James and his teammates during the playoffs. Stephenson also got into a practice scuffle with teammate Evan Turner during the playoffs, and later became the first NBA player to be fined for flopping during a playoff series when he crashed hard to the floor following a light shove from James during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
And of course there was the infamous and hilarious ear-blowing incident Stephenson had with James during the series, which was enough for Pacers president and Hall of Famer Larry Bird to criticize him for his antics. The remarks from Bird were significant at the time due to Bird being one of Stephenson’s biggest fans.
Stephenson entered the free agent market following the season, and after entertaining deals with Houston and Dallas, opted to sign with the Hornets for a three-year deal worth $27 million. His agent stated at the time that the main reason for Stephenson leaving Indiana was due to the team not offering a shorter contract. The minimum the Pacers were willing to offer was a five-year contract.
Charlotte’s decision to keep him around for the time being is probably a good one, if in fact any reported deals are indeed underwhelming to the organization.
The ideal scenario for Charlotte would of course involve Stephenson fully recovering from the injury, fixing his attitude, and becoming the contributor the Hornet’s hoped he would be, helping the team to get back to or even improving upon the form that saw them reach a surprising 43-39 record last year. The Eastern Conference is even worse than it was last season, and despite the Hornet’s current mark of 7-19, they are only 4 games back of the 8th seed, with plenty of season left.
An improved Stephenson would go a long way in closing that gap, and would save team owner Michael Jordan and the Charlotte organization the embarrassment of being forced to trade their biggest offseason pick-up just two months into the season.
