NBA Rumors: Charlotte Hornets interested in Jared Dudley
The Charlotte Hornets (well, then Bobcats) had a fantastic 2013-14 season.
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After years of futility, the Hornets improved from 21-61 to 43-39 last season. They used their lottery pick to draft former Indiana Hoosiers’ big man Cody Zeller, but he didn’t make much an impact. There were three main reasons for the Hornets’ improvement – they hired a new head coach, former Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic assistant Steve Clifford, saw improvement from point guard Kemba Walker and most importanly, signed former Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz big man Al Jefferson.
The Hornets clearly need upgrade on the offensive end and love to fill their team with better three-point shooters.
According to Rick Bonnell and Ben Weinrib of The Charlotte Observer, the Hornets could pursue Los Angeles Clippers’ swingman Jared Dudley through a trade.
"The ex-Charlotte Bobcat didn’t have much of a role with the Los Angeles Clippers last season. He’s under contract the next two seasons at $4.25 million annually. He’s versatile, smart and a career 40 percent 3-point shooter. Seems like the kind of player Hornets coach Steve Clifford could use……Dudley is a quality bench player who specializes in three-point shooting (he shot 42.2 percent from the corner last year) and defense. He’s also adept at drawing fouls, although he’s only a career 73.7 percent free throw shooter……Dudley could come off the bench and play both small forward and shooting guard, the role Jeff Taylor was supposed to play this season before tearing his Achillies."
Dudley averaged 6.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He shot 36.0% from beyond the arc and is a career 39.7% shooter from downtown.