Rookie of the Year: The Marco Belinelli Thread

[fatlever]

Draft Grades

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-am-grading-the-2016-nba-draft/

Charlotte Hornets

Round 1: N/A

Round 2: N/A

Eh, I get it. The Hornets wanted another veteran and opted to trade what ended up being Malachi Richardson for veteran shooter Marco Belinelli. To be far, while Belinelli is a known quantity, there were players on the board at 22 who could have helped the Hornets, and at a lower cost.

Trading out of the draft usually earns a team an incomplete grade, but in this case it’s hard not to ding the Hornets because they did not get better in the short-term in this deal. We’ll see what the Hornets do with the roster spot, but overall this does not look like a good move.

GRADE: D-

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/grading-the-2016-nba-draft-160550197.html

Charlotte Hornets

The Haul: Marco Belinelli (via trade with Sacramento).

Faced with the possible free agent defections of Nicolas Batum, Courtney Lee, and Jeremy Lin, the Hornets needed to find NBA-caliber talent at a perimeter position straightaway. The team might someday rue dealing a No. 22 pick for a 30-year old in Belinelli, but these are the team-sustaining transactions you often have to take.

Grade: B+

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/2016-nba-draft-grades-winners-and-losers-062416

Charlotte Hornets
Round 1: N/A
Round 2: N/A
Grade: N/A

With Nic Batum and Courtney Lee both hitting free agency, the Hornets needed perimeter scoring, and decided that trading for Marco Bellineli was a better alternative than drafting an unproven college player.

Hard to argue with their logic here.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2016-nba-draft-grades-how-each-team-finished-up-on-draft-night/

Charlotte Hornets

Brought In: Marco Belinelli

Sent out: No. 22 overall (Malachi Richardson)

What the Hornets were thinking, I'm not entirely sure. The team traded the No. 22 overall pick to Sacramento for a 30-year-old Marco Belinelli, who is coming off his worst season since 2010 after shooting 38 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arc. I get that the No. 22 overall pick likely won't help you next season, but I'm not convinced Belinelli is either, and he's still owed about $13 million over the next two seasons. Not the best cap management or asset management here from the Hornets. The higher variance, higher upside, better play here would have been to keep the pick and gone from there.

Grade: D

http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nba/63411/223/2016-nba-draft-grades

CHARLOTTE

Key Move: Acquired Marco Belinelli from the Kings for No. 22 overall pick Malachi Richardson.

Analysis: I like Richardson as a prospect. I don’t like trading him for a 30-year-old role player in Belinelli. I can’t quite give out an F when there was only one move to screw up, but this is a pretty strange move from Charlotte.

Grade: D-

http://www.chatsports.com/nba/a/2016-nba-draft-grades-results-winners-and-losers-both-rounds-29631

Charlotte Hornets - D+

Traded Malachi Richardson (No. 22 pick) to Kings for Marco Belinelli

Charlotte wanted to trade this pick to save cap space to re-sign some of their free agents, but instead took on money in this deal. Belinelli is an established vet that fits their three-point shooting offense, yet he won't be anything more than a back-end-of-the-rotation guy.

any others out there?

[fatlever]

On the scale of a Draymond Green moving screen to the Joe Smith under the table deal, how illegal would it be for the Hornets and Kings to create a trade around a free agent-to-be prior to July 1st?

Not at all, just can't talk to FAs (which everyone does anyway).

How do the Kings build a trade around Lee w/out talking to Lee's agent to make sure Lee wants to sign with the Kings?

[LofJ]

Of course, staying over the cap would only make sense if we were trying to keep Batum, Marvin and either Jefferson or Lee.

Or if we planned to take on salary via trade (such as by a three way deal where we S&T Lee and receive Monroe).

Koufos could also be coming back to Charlotte.

[yosemiteben]

On the scale of a Draymond Green moving screen to the Joe Smith under the table deal, how illegal would it be for the Hornets and Kings to create a trade around a free agent-to-be prior to July 1st?

Not at all, just can't talk to FAs (which everyone does anyway).

How do the Kings build a trade around Lee w/out talking to Lee's agent to make sure Lee wants to sign with the Kings?

Well we talked to his agent four months ago and to him during his exit interview, and I'm sure they've talked to his former coach who seems to have an unusually strong relationship with him. Also Dan Fegan is Lee's agent, as well as DMC's.

There's obviously risk there, not denying that.

[fatlever]

this thread makes me feel like:

[BobsBuddy]

Well Fats now that Bellineli broken his jaw playing Euro Ball,can we keep Richardson and back out of the trade?
What do you thinks we should do?

[fatlever]

:o Well Fats now that Bellineli broken his jaw playing Euro Ball,can we keep Richardson and back out of the trade?
What do you thinks we should do?

Very doubtful we'd cancel the trade over a broken jaw. Obviously we wanted Marco or we wouldn't have made the trade, so Hornets have no motivation to cancel. Its not like he ripped up his knee or something else that would cause him to miss any time.

[BobsBuddy]

Thanks,I guess? A broken jaw can get rebroken pretty easy. I'd keep Richardson,run through summer league and then, if NO defensive skills , trade him. We can find somebody as good as Belinelli in late July or August.

[Braggins]

The more I think about this trade the more embarrassed i feel to be a Hornets fan right now. I really hope Im wrong, but i have a feeling that the people expecting more are giving our front office too much credit. The simplest explanation is that we are just waiting to renounce contracts so we can absorb Bellinelli. We probably just traded a 1st round pick that could have netted us some legit talent for a 30 year old who isnt even a clearly established rotation player. To me, it is literally the equivalent of trading a 1st round pick for Spencer Hawes. This might end up being the dumbest transaction we've made since i started following this team. Hard not to be completely pissed.

[Vae Victus]

Quick question from a Laker fan desperate for size. Was there any validity to rumors saying CHA was wanting to dump Lamb or Hawes and attaching the #22 as a sweetener? In the end trading the #22 for Bellinelli makes me think that CHA didnt value the #22 much if at all, cuz i'd feel that Bellinelli is the type of player that coulda been gotten for straight cap space and no need to trade any asset for.

Cuz if that rumor was true im pisssed off beyond belief in that we Lakers coulda had our backup stretch 5 lined up AND gotten a #22 for our trouble, in which try to package it with Nick Young to dump somewhere else

But yea, ive been following you guys due to being a Lin fan and have kept silent out of lack of new Lin stuff to talk about (i dont give 2 **** about the off season stuff that other Lin fans fixate on), Hawes could still be useful on a size starved squad and the fact that we coulda had him for nothing (even without a #22 id be willing to take him outright, or at least gimme a future 2nd), makes me wonder wtf Cho was thinking giving up any sort of asset to absorb Bellinelli of all people.

[fatlever]

Their was some talk of Hornets shopping 22 and Hornets need cap space, so I think more than anything people were adding rumors with logic and coming up with Lamb/Hawes + 22 for cap space. I'm not sure anything like that was every really discussed. And I value Hawes much more than Lamb. I think Hawes on his deal is solid value. A skilled legit sized center who can pass and shoot and is not a problem in the locker room is certainly worth what Hawes is making.

[yosemiteben]

I think more than anything people were adding rumors with logic and coming up with Lamb/Hawes + 22 for cap space. I'm not sure anything like that was every really discussed.

You may be right, but Woj was the one that put it out there that we were looking to move the 22 and Hawes / Lamb to create space.

[fatlever]

James Plowright
‏@JPlowright_NBA
Cho/Guelli and my sources all just keep saying "Just wait until next week" when asked about the trade, makes me think there is more to it

[Vae Victus]

Well yea but I original assumed guys needed money freed up to resign Batum, Marvin, and Lee on sizable deals who were much more important than Haawes. You already have Zeller and Kamisky (he just needs to hit the weights) at center who both work in an up tempo offense, with Marvin at PF and i bet MKG playing some PF too due to his lack of shooting and the current trend of teams going small. I would think retaining Lee would be of way more import than holding on Hawes, who i admit isnt a bad player, just a flawed one but with obvious strengths hence why for awhile i was a huge advocate on the LAL board to trade for Hawes and absorb him outright as a plan C/D type of move for starter or plan A as backup.

However adding Bellinelli onto the payroll makes me boggle and wonder wtf is the plan for the backcourt? You KNOW Lamb has major issues on D and it allowed Lin to take his lunch and made the Lee trade later on a godsend. Bellinelli is also another no D shooter who adds to the glut of crap D in the backcourt. Kemba is undersized, Lamb is always lost, Bellinelli is just plain bad, Batum IMHO has totally lost all interest on D as he's now focused all on O. MKG covers many sins but you'd need at least 1 more plus defender back there to not subject your big men to be constantly attacked by penetration, which ideally woulda been Lee in either a starting or 6th man capacity.

I guess Lee wants too much and Cho is covering himself just in case, but Bellinelli is hardly an answer.

[spaceballer]

On the scale of a Draymond Green moving screen to the Joe Smith under the table deal, how illegal would it be for the Hornets and Kings to create a trade around a free agent-to-be prior to July 1st?

Not at all, just can't talk to FAs (which everyone does anyway).

How do the Kings build a trade around Lee w/out talking to Lee's agent to make sure Lee wants to sign with the Kings?

One possibility is that the two (or multiple) teams have an agreed arrangement with several different scenarios game-planned out. So they can modify the trade with one scenario if the FA agrees to a S&T, and a different scenario if the FA doesn't wish to partake.

It does seem rather unlikely and overly complicated, but I suppose its technically possible.

[spaceballer]

I swear I hope I am wrong about all of this magical 3-way trade stuff. That would be the best tasting crow I've had in a long time.

But yeah, nobody has come close to persuading me yet.

Plural, 30 second mark.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article85693467.html

Yeah, I saw that, but could have just been figure of speech, Cho being vague to be vague, a mistake, him using "teams" to suggest Hornets and Kings. I get that its a straw to grasp on to, its something, but not much. Its still a massive leap to jump from that, to Lee being included as well as the Bucks.

That's a fair point. And given the long day of negotiations, a slip up like this due to fatigue is certainly possible, with people grasping at straws to make something out of it.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[amcoolio]

All this hype and in the end, its just gonna be #22 for Belinelli...I hope I'm wrong, but this is all too familiar

[fatlever]

Brogdon and Papagiannis have already had their introductory press conferences with their respective teams. Richardson on the other hand has not been introduced by either Hornets or Kings. Would either the Kings or Bucks introduce a player that they knew was included in a trade? That seems rather harsh to do to a brand new player. Sure, crazier things have happened, but why do that if something was brewing?

[Mystical Apples]

Brogdon and Papagiannis have already had their introductory press conferences with their respective teams. Richardson on the other hand has not been introduced by either Hornets or Kings. Would either the Kings or Bucks introduce a player that they knew was included in a trade?

No, but I doubt the teams know the exact outcomes as of now. Can't keep the players hanging, either.

[yosemiteben]

All this hype and in the end, its just gonna be #22 for Belinelli...I hope I'm wrong, but this is all too familiar

How is this familiar? When was the last time we traded a 1st round draft pick on or before draft night? The only example is us holding Napier hostage for MIA and we ended up with an additional second and the guy we really wanted anyway (which in the long run netted us CLee).

What was the last time we made an offseason trade that wasn't part of a massive roster overhaul?

When was the last time Cho got poor value out of a trade?

I really don't understand why people expect the worst out of a Cho trade.