Woj: CHA making Kemba available in trade talks

[yosemiteben]

Holy f.

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[-Ian-]

I'm done with this franchise if Kemba gets traded.

[Hornet Mania]

Batum is the only contract on our roster that's really 'untradeable' (and I think even he could be moved for a 1st). If we get fleeced out of (arguably) the best player in franchise history just to unload a bad contract the franchise will deserve the empty arena that follows.

Personally I wouldn't even entertain a Kemba trade offer unless he's privately agitating to leave. At minimum I'd ask for a high-1st this year (ideally with a legit shot at top-6) and an additional mid-round or better 1st to be conveyed within the next two seasons. They could have top-3 protection on the second pick, but the one coming this year would have to be clean. That probably sounds like a lot to fans of other teams (it's Paul George or Jimmy Butler value), but in this case Kemba is worth more to us than he is to you. Without Kemba the Hornets are possibly the league's worst team, with Kemba we have an outside shot at a 7/8th seed. You gotta pay a premium to kick me down to the gutter and take my best guy all at once.

[yosemiteben]

I will be extremely upset as well. I also hate the justification of getting out of other contacts. Just a bad idea all around.

[geraldwallace]

I was all for this trade a month ago but we’ve been playing good lately and got ourselves back into the playoff picture


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[Hornet Mania]

I was all for this trade a month ago but we’ve been playing good lately and got ourselves back into the playoff picture


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That's a good point, this trade makes less sense today than it did a couple weeks back. We need to see if we can get back into the mix before ejecting our core (realistically, Kemba is the entire core) and starting over.

[dmutombo321]

Long overdue.

Sound's like MJ has come to terms with the fact that this current roster is destined for eternal mediocrity and has decided to finally blow it up.

[SeanBobcats]

Our schedule is starting to get easier and Cliff just came back. I have a feeling we will do well and end up keeping our guys. I do however think that starting over is the best move for this team

[Joest2003]

Thanks Batum

[Joest2003]

Been saying it all this year. Tony Parker Era coming to an end. Kemba will be a spur next season and finish his career there with Kawhi and Aldridge

[UNCNYC]

I am all for this trade. Don't see the need to keep kemba. For what? He imo is not a top 5 pg in the league. Might as well get 3 first rounders for him (at least 2) and get rid of his contract.

Cho truly wants to save his job lol.

[Joest2003]

I am all for this trade. Don't see the need to keep kemba. For what? He imo is not a top 5 pg in the league. Might as well get 3 first rounders for him (at least 2) and get rid of his contract.

Cho truly wants to save his job lol.

His contract? Tyler Johnson from the Miami Heat is getting paid more than Kemba... Kembas contract is what's going to get us something good on return

[yosemiteben]

Been saying it all this year. Tony Parker Era coming to an end. Kemba will be a spur next season and finish his career there with Kawhi and Aldridge

What do the Spurs have to offer that would be interesting?

[nickforthreee]

it’s crazy that we might lose kemba just because of batums terrible contract. if we trade kemba without ever really seeing what a kemba and lamb starting backcourt can do for a long stretch of the season i will be rly upset and always wonder if they could have been a great backcourt

we need to get kemba some real help not trade him. i would trade everybody they can for assets besides kemba.

[Rich4114]

I am not 100% surprised to see this news break. We are stuck on a treadmill with a ceiling of a #5 or #6 seed. We can continue to fill the roster with #9-12 draft picks (which we typically miss on) or fight for the last playoff spot for a chance to get dominated by a contender.

This is a tough one. I would not want to see this team without Kemba. He literally is the only player that offers anything desirable for this franchise right now. We were at a crossroads after that playoff series and made some moves that have truly doomed this franchise. At the time, nobody argued with it and it seemed like we had to make the moves we did. But it has not worked out. Batum and Marvin are two of our worst contracts. We dug the hole further by trading for Plumlee when we had Hawes expiring. The team is trying to weave gold out of yarn because we had some success with Lee and Lin. What they never realized is how fragile that chemistry was (and neither did us fans).

Kemba's success was largely attributed towards Batum being here and it simply was not the case. Kemba got better on his own. This team caught fire because we always had a PG on the floor penetrating into the paint opening things up for people like Marvin to look their best. Lee fit perfectly once we got him because he gave us something similar defensively to MKG without clogging the paint on offense. I think if we could turn back the clock two seasons, we would let Batum walk, let Marvin walk, re-sign Lin and Lee and use our extra cap space on someone else + trade MKG.

But since we don't have a time machine, we are at another crossroads. We have the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA and the playoffs are within reach if we go on a run. But then again, our ceiling this year and next year is #5 or #6 while other teams around us like Philly and Chicago are rebuilding and passing us.

Kemba has become what LJ had become for this franchise back in the day. It sucked seeing LJ go and it was a domino affect of what happened with Zo. Ultimately, biting the bullet and trading LJ set the franchise back on track towards contention.

The big issue with all of this though is I don't trust Cho to make a Kemba trade work in our favor. Yes, this team has been good at trading (small trading) but has been 50/50 at best when it comes to making bigger decisions.

This only works if we were walk away with two things. Multiple 1st round picks AND get out of Batum's contract. I believe a team like the Cavs are desperate enough right now to accommodate. This is the part where the leadership of the franchise just needs to figure it out. If they want to win and they want to contend, then they get paid millions of dollars to make smart decisions like this. If a Kemba trade leads us to anything less than having 2x 1st round picks this year + no Batum contract on the books then it's not going to get us anywhere anytime soon.

[BigSleep333]

what ya guys thinking about bayless+luwawu+lakers pick 2018 (6-30) or kings pick 2019 (2-30) for kemba?

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

Trading Kemba is one of the realistic paths forward. I don't like it, but a solid trade could lead to a better future.

I also think that there are other ways to deal with this roster. Trading the 2018 for the right player now could really change this team.

Hiring a new coach might unlock some of the guys already on the roster better ... I'm thinking mostly guys like Frank, Monk, Zeller, etc.

But you can't really call it looking at all options if you don't explore what moving Kemba would really bring back.

Pure speculation on my part, but this may be the result of talks between Kemba's agent and the Front Office. If talks about extension / free agency / etc. went poorly ... or if Kemba's agent ask for a trade then that could be why.

[mrknowitall215]

I'm 100% on board with this happening as long as it lands Kemba in a better organization. Hopefully they include Lamb as a packaged deal as sweetener to get more in return to help build the future for Charlotte with assets

[geraldwallace]

Trade him to the Knicks it’s the best for everyone.

kemba to the Knicks

Cha gets Frank N and Willy Heronwhatever plus a first


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[316Hornets]

Oh boy, I can't wait until I can watch MCW at starting PG for 35 minutes a night!