Lance Stephenson is available but Kings aren't interested
By Aykis16@Aykis16 Dec 14, 2014, 3:12pm PST
Share All sharing options for: Lance Stephenson is available but Kings aren't interested
Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
The Charlotte Hornets surprised a lot of people last year by finishing 43-39 and making the playoffs as the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. It is the East, but even still, it was a great improvement from the season prior when they were just 21-61. The biggest reason for the improvement was the addition of Al Jefferson and a much improved defense that ranked 5th in the entire NBA.
This year however the Hornets are back to struggling, having started the season at just 6-17. Charlotte had hoped to improve their offense by signing former Pacers guard Lance Stephenson but so far the offense has gotten even worse and the defense has fallen precipitously to just 22nd in the league. As such, ESPN's Marc Stein has reported that the Hornets are in the process of trying to find a deal for Stephenson if one could be found, although they're not in a rush.
Sacramento has been struggling a lot themselves lately, particularly with their bench, and as such could possibly be interested in a sixth man of Stephenson's quality. However, Stephenson comes with his own problems and issues, and that seems to have dimmed any interest the Kings might have had per USA Today's Sam Amick.
Relating to all this Lance Stephenson talk, I've been told that Sacramento, like so many other teams, does not have interest b/c of concerns
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) December 14, 2014
It should be noted that tomorrow, December 15th, is the first day that players who signed with their teams this summer can be traded. The Kings have shown they still have many needs and Pete D'Alessandro has been very aggressive since taking over the GM job last year. I fully expect there to be a move or two in the coming months to help fill some of those needs.