Prized free agent acquisition Lance Stephenson has largely underwhelmed so far as a member of the Charlotte Hornets, and it looks like he may not be a Hornet much longer. It is never a good sign for a player when the biggest news he makes on the court all year is a debate over an alleged flop after an elbow, but that is the kind of year it has been for Stephenson.
According to media reports, teams have already started calling the Hornets to see if they will be making Stephenson available once he is eligible to be traded. The NBA has a rule when players sign with a new team as a free agent that prevents them from being traded until either 90 days have passed since they signed or until December 15, whichever is later. For Stephenson, that date is December 15, which means he could be moved as early as next week.
It has been reported that Charlotte is willing to listen to offers for everyone on the roster except for Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson, meaning that the teams calling about Stephenson may be ready to start negotiating. "Four-to-five" teams are said to have contacted the team already.
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The team is holding off on serious talks for now, but it sounds like they are at least listening to gauge the market for Stephenson. Charlotte signed the shooting guard to a three-year, $20.4 million deal this offseason that many thought represented a nice value based on Stephenson's history and youth.
However, Stephenson has not played nearly as well as expected this year. He is averaging 10.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on the season. Those numbers represent a step back from what he did in Indiana last season, and Stephenson has also sen a huge drop-off in his field goal percentage.
Stephenson just turned 24, so it is far too early to give up on him, but is does seem fair to question whether he still profiles as a future all-star caliber player.
Reports have also surface that Stephenson has artificially inflated his rebounding totals this season by going out of his way to steal rebounds from his teammates.
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