According to ESPN’s Marc Stein on Twitter, the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a trade tonight and are extremely close to finalizing it:
Hearing that Clippers and Hornets have agreed in principle on a Lance Stephenson trade and on course to proceed with trade call tonight
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 16, 2015
Stein went on to say that the deal should be completely finalized by tomorrow, if not tonight:
Trade, I’m told, is on course to be completed as early as tonight to make Lance Stephenson a Clipper in exchange for S. Hawes and M. Barnes
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 16, 2015
Big news for both teams, but it’s quite odd to see the Clippers make a move like this with Stephenson’s struggles on the court and his injury issues. Still, we know what impact Stephenson can have on a team if he keeps his act together on and off the court. While he will mostly play on the wing, he could be a huge help to taking some of the load off of Chris Paul’s shoulders if needed.
Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes will also immediately step into big roles for the Hornets, of course with the assumption that this trade will be finalized. Hawes will back-up Big Al who has consistently been dealing with injury problems, and has decided to pick up his player-option and play at least one more year in Charlotte. Matt Barnes will have to battle for a spot in the starting lineup next season with the continued progression of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but should be the front-runner at this point to gain the starting nod.
Now, keep in mind that Matt Barnes’s situation is reliant on the fact that Charlotte would keep him. That is not too certain now:
It is unlikely Charlotte keeps Barnes, who’ll become a free agent.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 16, 2015
While the Hornets won’t keep Barnes, needless to say, this deal makes great sense for Charlotte who were looking to deal Stephenson throughout their season. It’ll be intriguing to see how much of his contract they will still have to pay and how much they will get back if they do indeed decide to let go of Barnes. For Los Angeles this deal is a little more odd, but as I said, if they can get the best basketball out of Lance on the floor every night without any external issues or distractions, then this deal is one that Clippers fans will be able to rejoice about.