Charlotte Hornets and the Atlanta Hawks agreed upon a deal to send center Dwight Howard to Charlotte!

Only hours after the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks were making trades for ‘snap with a puppy filter’ and ‘right to swap ’18 draft tweets’ on Twitter. The Hornets and Hawks have agreed to a deal to send center Dwight Howard and the 31^st pick for center Miles Plumlee and guard Marco Belinelli and the 41^st pick. First reported by the great Adrian Wojnarowski, the trade came out of nowhere with no one even disgusting the idea of the Hornets making any kind of deals before the draft. The trade is great for the Hornets on many fronts in my opinion. The first front is the fact that we got rid of Plumlee ridiculous 3 years 12 million per year contract. I know whenever we traded for him midway through the season that I said the trade was great, which it was because we got rid of both Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes who both terrible and at the time I was for the most OK with the bad contract if Plumlee was able to come off the bench and score points for the Hornets, something the other two players did not do and help the Hornets make the playoffs. But for most of the season Plumlee was bothered by an ankle injury and when he was able to come back, Hornets playoffs chances were all but dead. I know Dwight contract isn’t much better, 2 years 23 million per year. But is a possible starter who averaged 13 points per game last season and even not in his prime anymore a way better player than Plumlee. Howard contract times really well for Kemba free-agency, Miles extra year could’ve really messed things up for Charlotte. Dwight Howard best season was when Hornets head coach Steve Clifford was on the coaching staff helping him personally if anyone who can get him to play well it's Clifford. Also with this trade, the Hornets moved up to have the first pick in the second round. With this year draft being so deep the Hornets could possibly get someone that could be a decent bench player. Charlotte did have to give up Marco Belinelli who I liked, mostly because of his crazy circus three-pointers and Eric Collins reactions to them, however Jeremy Lamb looked like he was finally getting his crap together in the second of last season and with this season being a contract year for him I imagine he wants to go out and prove to teams that they should sign him in free agency. The only question I have after this trade is who is going to Hornets starting center, Cody Zeller, or Dwight Howard?

To keep the good news coming ESPN Chad Ford new mock draft came out today and he’s taking the Hornets to draft point guard Malik Monk from Kentucky! Malik Monk is a dynamic scorer and an elite shooter. While he’s a tad undersized (6’3), Monk finds ways to create space and shoot over defenders. He has an excellent pull-up jumper and he’s comfortable shooting off screens. He also has unlimited range. While most identify him as a perimeter shooter, Monk is very agile and can explode to the hoop. He’s fearless and always in attack mode. He plays with relentless energy and is fairly crafty when he accelerates inside. Because of his size, some wonder if Monk can transform into a point guard. While his court vision and game management need improvement, Monk is more unselfish that he gets credit for. Who I believe will be good in the NBA and would be a great backup point guard or even starter for the Hornets next season.

What do you think of this trade and the new mock draft? Tell me in the comment section below! And make sure to check back here Thursday after the draft to read what I have to think about the moves the Hornets will make. For me. It’s so far so good!

Five Hornets players scored in double-digits help the Charlotte Hornets blow out the Atlanta Hawks 105-90

Charlotte Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks 105 to 90 and are undefeated this season when facing the Hawks. It’s the second straight win for the Hornets while the Hawks have lost four straight. Hornets pulled within three games of the eighth-place Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Kemba Walker became the third player in franchise history to make 200 three-pointers in a single season. Atlanta was without All-Star forward Paul Millsap due to a tenderness in the right knee and was without top reserve guard Kent Bazemore due to a bone bruise in right knee. Hornets starting forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left the game with a right ankle strain in the third quarter and did not return. Charlotte went on 23-4 run to start the second quarter and took a 51-42 at halftime. Hornets stretched its lead to 22 early in the fourth quarter after Frank Kaminsky drove and dished it to Marvin Williams for a dunk. Around the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter, Atlanta threw in the white flag and put in their bench players to play the rest of the game.

            The MVP for the Hornets for this game would be Nicolas Batum who scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting and dished out 6 assists. Ever since Batum came back from his migraines problems the Hornets are 2-0. Batum is a key part of the Hornets offense, from his passing to his ability to shot the three ball to posting someone up and hitting a fade away on one foot and his rebounding. When he’s out the entire offense suffers from it. Charlotte did a lot of good things in this game, scoring 17 points off 18 Hawks turnovers. In the first half, Dwight Howard killed the Hornets on the boards but after halftime Hornets did a better job of containing Howard, especially on the offensive boards. Another stat that I like was Hornets bench outscored Hawks bench 43-22. I think the one of the reason Hornets bench has been playing so much better of late has been the play, Briante Weber. Weber brings a burst of energy when he comes in, from full court press to handling the ball well and not turning the ball over. He not a scorer but he brings so much other stuff to the team and can get to the line and score if he has too. The leading scorers for the Hornets this game were Kemba Walker with 16 points, Frank Kaminsky with 14 points 5 assists, Marvin Williams with 13 points 8 rebounds and Jeremy Lamb with 12 points. Leading scorers for the Hawks this game were Dennis Schroder with 20 points 6 assists, Dwight Howard with 13 points 10 rebounds, Ersan Ilyasova with 13 points 6 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. with 11 points. Charlotte Hornets (31-39) travel to Orlando tomorrow to face off against the Magic Wednesday night. 

Charlotte Hornets snapped four game losing streak, beating the Atlanta Hawks 107 to 99

Charlotte Hornets beat the Atlanta Hawks 107 to 99 Saturday night, ending their five-game road trip, and snapping a four-game losing streak. The Hawks has lost five of their six at home and are 0 of 2 against the Hornets this year. Charlotte only shot 4 for 16 from the first quarter, but went on a 30 to 10 in the second quarter to have a 11-point lead at halftime, 53 to 42. Atlanta would go on 13 to 1 run to cut the lead to four, then Tim Hardaway Jr. would hit a pair of free-throws to put the Hawks up by one. Then Cody Zeller and Dwight Howard got in a little scrape when Howard kicked Zeller in the face, both players got a technical foul and when that happened Atlanta lost all their momentum. That the second time in two game where those two players have gotten into a scrape. Atlanta went on a little run in the fourth quarter but Marvin Williams three with 27 seconds left in the game sealed the victory for Charlotte.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Cody Zeller who scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Every game he has played this season this year Cody has looked great and the deal we gave him in the begging of the year looks better each game. He has developed a good looking mid-range jumper to keep his defender honest, has gotten stronger so he has finish strong at the rim and to be honest having Nicolas Batum on the team helps him score him. Other leading scorers for the Hornets are Marco Belinelli with 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting and 3 of 4 from the three-point line, Marvin Williams with 19 points 6 rebounds and Kemba Walker with 18 points 10 assists. His third double-double of the season and he has scored in double figures in every game he has played this season. Atlanta Hawks leading scorers are Tim Hardaway Jr. with 21 points, Paul Millsap with 20 points, he scored 14 of his 20 in the third quarter and Dwight Howard with 10 points and 23 rebounds which is a season best in rebounds and only three shy of a career best. Charlotte Hornets (15-13) host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.