Old North Banter Daily Links 6/2: DJ Moore, Kemba Walker, Frank Kaminsky
By Joseph Ochoa
Carolina Panthers: NFL.com’s All-Under-25 Team features familiar face-Danny Jaillet
"I am glad the Panthers have Moore. The Ridley-Moore comparisons will be going on for the rest of their careers. Both of them are extremely good wide receivers, but Moore fits better for the Carolina offense. Cam Newton has shown that he can get Moore the football and that’s all you really need to do. Get Moore the football, and let him go to work. Watching him with the ball in his hands is fascinating. Especially in one-on-one coverage, he finds ways to juke out the defenders and gain that extra yardage.It’ll be interesting to see if he suffers a sophomore slump in his second year. My guess is that he will not. Especially with veteran Devin Funchess no longer in the picture, this will give Moore additional opportunities to get the football. Secondaries will certainly be busy this season and I am sure that is music to head coach Ron Rivera’s ears. The offense needs to make an impact this season, and it starts with Moore. If he can put up a 1,000-yard season, that should serve as a springboard and motivation to other members of the offense."
I’ll be the first to say it, I was skeptical of the Panthers when they passed up Calvin Ridley in favor for Moore. I’ve been pleasantly surprised from what I’ve seen from Moore, and with another season of playing with Cam Newton and playing in the Norv Turner offense, I think he will be a larger part of the offensive scheme.
The real question will be if he can avoid the plague that has afflicted a plethora of Panthers of wideouts: chronic underperformance. The Panthers have largely missed the mark when it comes to drafting wide receivers since they entered the league. Outside of Muhsin Muhammed, Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, Kelvin Benjamin, and Devin Funchess, no Panthers-drafted wideout has had more than 2000 career receiving yards. Here’s a running list of all the others they’ve drafted that failed to live up to the hype:
- Rae Carruth (1997, 27th overall)
- Donald Hayes (1998, 106th overall)
- Walter Young (2003, 226th overall)
- Keary Colbert (2004, 62nd overall)
- Dwayne Jarrett (2007, 45th overall)
- Ryne Robinson (2007, 118th overall)
- Armanti Edwards (2010, 89th overall)
- David Gettis (2010, 198th overall)
- Kealoha Pilares (2011, 132nd overall)
- Joe Adams (2012, 104th overall)
- *Curtis Samuel (2017, 40th overall)
*The jury is still out on Samuel, who needs to avoid getting hurt like he has the last two seasons.
Kemba Walker: Charlotte Hornets are “first priority” in upcoming free agency – Zachary Padmore
"Walker has been one of the more loyal players in the NBA, but with the Hornets’ lack of success over the years, you couldn’t really blame him if he wanted to leave. However, he seems to be on board with the idea of re-signing in Charlotte, which just says a lot about his character and love for the city of Charlotte.You just don’t see a whole lot of loyalty from NBA players these days. Multiple stars have forced their way out of situations, and Walker has stuck with the Hornets through thick and thin.Obviously nothing is set in stone at this point, but I would consider the Hornets likely to re-sign Walker this summer. With that being said, Charlotte must prioritize getting better players around him. It seems that they have been doing their due diligence on the trade market, which is a positive sign"
The city of Charlotte will be breathing a *slight* collective sigh of relief over the fact Walker wants to stay in Charlotte. But that’s pretty much where it stops.
Since Walker made an All-NBA Team (albeit a third All-NBA Team, but it still counts), he now qualifies for a supermax deal. All that is to say that Walker’s deal with the Hornets could payout over $200 million if they want to keep him in the Queen City. But that’s under the suggestion that loyalty and money are what matter to Walker.
The Hornets have been been to the postseason twice during Walker’s eight-year stay with the team, and both have been first-round defeats, and let’s not forget the Hornets had the NBA’s worst regular season record of 7-59 (I understand that it was a strike-shortened season and they were still the Bobcats, but it still counts. I don’t make the rules).
I believe that Walker really wants to stay, but if he feels that the team isn’t doing enough to win during his prime years, he could jettison himself to the Lakers or a franchise that is better positioned to win now.
NC State and Eastern Carolina will meet, just not where anyone expected – Steven Muma
"It’s funny how sports sort themselves out sometimes—NC State dropped a disappointing game to Campbell, and then ECU followed this same fashion. So everybody is going to get the State-ECU game they were looking forward to, but it isn’t in the winner’s bracket.Quinnipiac knocked the door on this regional wide open by beating East Carolina, and NC State has the pitching to take advantage. But, of course, the getting there means going through the Pirates, who are bound to be angry after such a disappointment at home."
Okay, did any of us have a Quinnipiac-Campbell matchup in the winner’s bracket of the Greenville regional?
So far The Wolfpack and Pirates on the brink of elimination after the first weekend of the tournament have been the most stunning result of the regional matchups, especially after the Wolfpack had its best start in school history earlier this season.
Should the Wolfpack lose this game and get bounced from the tournament after the first weekend of play, it will be one of the most disappointing finishes in school history and will extend the team’s College World Series and NCAA Super Regional drought to six seasons.
NBA trade rumors: Dealing Chris Paul won’t give Rockets pieces they need to contend – Sean Deveney
On the surface, a story about Chris Paul doesn’t really belong here, but the most compelling thing about this article was about a third of the way through
"NBA free agency rumors: Frank Kaminsky to the Bucks?The Bucks have a quandary in the frontcourt with the possibility that big man Brook Lopez was so productive this season that he played himself out of Milwaukee’s price range. We’ll dust off an old Badger favorite as a possibility to help replace him: former Wisconsin star Frank Kaminsky.Kaminsky was on the outs for most of the season in Charlotte, and according to sources, the Bucks attempted to trade for him at the deadline but were turned down and eventually acquired Nikola Mirotic. As free agency approaches, expect Milwaukee to have Kaminsky as an option again should the Bucks lose Lopez."
Personally, I thought Kaminsky was serviceable, but never really worth being a top-10 draft pick. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out with Kaminsky plays out. Kaminsky could be a casualty of Kemba Walker’s potential supermax deal, as the Hornets could potentially dedicate nearly 35 percent of their cap space to retain him.
Kaminsky has a $4 million offer from the Hornets for one year, but I highly doubt he will sign that. Should that happen, the next step will be deciding to make Kaminsky an unrestricted free agent or a restricted free agent. I think the best situation would be to let Milwaukee scoop him up and find someone to replace him in the free agent market at a value comparable to Kaminsky’s now.
Panthers emerge as surprise suitor for Gerald McCoy – Rucker Haringey
"The real question regarding McCoy’s free agency is which team will ultimately offer him the most money to sign the dotted line. It’s unlikely that any of the three teams on the player’s current list will break the bank for his services. That means the Panthers have a shot to swoop in and add a dynamic player to their defensive line."
Personally, I think the Panthers would be an odd fit, especially since this season they are switching from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 scheme on defense, but I always felt he was the best defensive player to come out of the 2010 draft and I still believe that.
While winning will be his primary motivation for signing with a new team, I think a little bit of sticking it to the Bucs will also be a factor for McCoy.
As it currently stands, the Panthers have little to no cap space, but following today’s release designation of Matt Kalil, they will have about $7 million in cap space, which should be enough to get McCoy on a 1-year rental contract.