NBA Draft rumors: Sacramento Kings send Marco Belinelli to Charlotte Hornets

The Sacramento Kings have traded their NBA veteran shooting guard Marco Belinelli to the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 22 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical of Yahoo! Sports, the Sacramento Kings have traded their veteran shooting guard Marco Belinelli to the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 22 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

This seems like a deal that helps both the Kings and the Hornets. For whatever reason, Belinelli wasn’t able to bring his strong shooting prowess he once showcased with the San Antonio Spurs to the Kings in 2015-16.

Sacramento still isn’t a good basketball team and it’s a good move for the Kings to get another late first-round draft pick for a player who frankly never seemed to fit in Sacramento.

Charlotte wisely used its late first-round pick on a strong outside shooter to possibly overcome the loss of popular Nicolas Batum in 2016 NBA free agency. Like Belinelli, Batum was coming off a bad year the season before arriving in Charlotte.

After opting out of his contract with the Hornets, Batum is set to make a near maximum salary is his most recent multi-year deal. Batum plays at a premium position in small forward, so he’s bound to get paid a handsome amount that Charlotte may not be comfortable dishing out.

The Hornets have at least five key pieces hitting free agency this summer. They weren’t going to be able to keep more than three of them. By getting Belinelli, Charlotte at least fills one of the roster spots largely expected to be vacated in 2016 NBA free agency. Getting point guard Kemba Walker another strong jump shooter will only help in head coach Steve Clifford’s offensive game plan.

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