Charlotte Hornets: Lin Likely Not Returning
The Charlotte Hornets may not be able to commit the kind of kind of money that Jeremy Lin may command.
The Charlotte Hornets are looking at a busy off season when the calendar turns on July 1. They want to re-sign Nicolas Batum and bring back as much of their nucleus from last year as they can afford. They have Al Jefferson, Marvin Williams, Courtney Lee, Jeremy Lin, Tyler Hansbrough, Troy Daniels, and Jorge Gutierrez all out on the free agent market.
Even with the $94 million salary cap, the Hornets will likely not be able to retain everybody. Batum will cost big money to come back, probably on a maximum contract. Daniels could be brought back relatively easily under the restricted free agent tender, but the team might want to try to save money on bench players to open up money elsewhere.
The team just picked up Marco Belinelli in a draft day trade. Belinelli is worth about $6 million a season, and would theoretically serve as a replacement for Lee. The problem with that theory is that Lee was actually a good defensive player and Belinelli does not have that reputation. Belinelli could also make Jeremy Lamb expendable in some way.
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The big contributors are Jefferson, Williams, and Lin. Jefferson is unlikely to return because of the depth that the Hornets possess as his position. Jefferson would like to come back, but the Hornets can’t really pay him anything near the $13.5 million he made last season.
That comes down to Williams and Lin. Both had good seasons last year. Of the two, Williams has the more unique skill set. Both could potentially price the Hornets out of their salary range.
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Lin might be the more likely of the two to leave. The reason has to do with the number of teams that could use him. The other factor is role. There are a couple of places that Lin could conceivably be the starter. Kemba Walker will occupy that spot here and his $12 million a year contract makes it difficult to justify paying Lin more money than that.
$12 million might seem a little much for a player who made $2 million last year, but Lin is banking on his good season and the cap increase. Zach Harper of CBS Sports at least believes that Lin could get that much money. If that is the case, Charlotte could not keep him.
No free agent guard has Lin’s skill set. If the Hornets were to lose him, the best options that could be brought in would be guys like Greivis Vazquez. Amusingly former Charlotte players Brian Roberts, Raymond Felton, D.J. Augustin, and Ramon Sessions are all free agents this summer.