Charlotte Hornets rumors: Losing Josh McRoberts could be playoff difference
By Bryan Rose
Essentially the laughing stock of the NBA for the past decade or so, the Charlotte Bobcats are no longer as they’ve re-branded into the Charlotte Hornets.
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For those new to the league, they may not recall the Hornets glory years which included Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning. However, the franchise spent a handful of seasons atop the Eastern Conference and recent additions to the team have renewed hope that such can happen again.
Of course, losing a key free agent in Josh McRoberts was a blow to the Charlotte Hornets franchise and one that may prevent them from being a major player in the postseason.
That’s the belief of RealGM’s Benjamin Cantor who hints the loss may be difficult to recover from, at least in the short term.
"Perhaps Stephenson, who is a dynamic playmaker and scorer off-the-dribble, will be able to fully assume McRoberts’ offensive responsibilities. However, it is hard to find players who are able to “connect the dots” as well as McRoberts did for Charlotte. Those players become even more important on teams like Charlotte, that do not have the same star power as the perennial contenders. Failing to keep McRoberts in the mix with a core of Stephenson, Kidd-Gilchrist and Jefferson might ultimately wind up preventing Charlotte from legitimately contending in the Eastern Conference."
It’s hard to suggest a player like Josh McRoberts would be the difference between failure or success in the postseason, though there’s no doubt McRoberts is undervalued by many. The Hornets will certainly miss his versatility, though it’s doubtful he’d be the main reason as to why the Charlotte Hornets were a contending team or not.