More than halfway into another losing season, the Charlotte Hornets have elected to make some key roster moves as the All-Star break approaches. Just one day after Charlotte agreed to a contract buyout with veteran forward Marvin Williams, the team announced they have also waived former second overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Once billed as one of the most promising prospects of the 2012 NBA draft class, Kidd-Gilchrist hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations as the No. 2 overall pick. The combo forward was known as a premier defender during his first few years in the NBA but his offensive production has continued to lag behind.
After starting each game at small forward for the Hornets over his first six seasons, Kidd-Gilchrist had been relegated to a bench role the last two years. His production has taken a significant dip since his demotion, and he was averaging 4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while appearing in just 12 contests for Charlotte this season.
In a league catered more and more towards perimeter-oriented players, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist simply doesn’t have the offensive arsenal to keep pace. The Kentucky product has attempted only 100 3-pointers in his eight-year career with 47 of them coming last season.
However, despite his struggles on the offensive end, Kidd-Gilchrist’s ability to defend multiple positions at a high level could be attractive to a number of playoff teams searching for a complementary piece. Kidd-Gilchrist has already been linked to the 31-21 Dallas Mavericks according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Despite his lack of scoring ability, expect a playoff team to scoop up Kidd-Gilchrist within the coming days. There should be a few different suitors for his services, but all current indications point to him eventually landing with Dallas.
