Hornets General Manager Rich Cho addressed the trade for Miles Plumlee on a conference call on Feb. 2. The following is the transcript of that call:
On bringing in a lesser known Miles Plumlee for two veterans like Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes:
“Well, we felt like we needed more physicality on the frontline, and athleticism. And those are two things Miles can bring. Those are two of his strengths. He might not be as well known as the other guys [Hawes and Hibbert], but he has been in the league for a while. He’s 28-year-old. We’ve seen him a ton and I think he’s pretty well known within the NBA circle, maybe not to the fans out there as much, but he’s pretty well known within the NBA circle”
On if they plan on making more moves as the trade deadline approaches:
“We’re definitely trying to be active and make a lot of calls, [we’re] taking a lot of calls. We’re trying to improve the team as much as possible. It takes two teams to make a trade, so we’re trying to be active, but at the same time we’re probably not panicking or anything like that.”
On if the losing stretch recently is influencing moves going forward:
“We think we have a solid core, and it’s not an excuse, but one thing you have to keep in mind [is that] we’ve had Cody [Zeller] out for a number of games and he’s a big part of our team. We’re on a tough stretch lately, but I think you have to keep in mind the injuries and hopefully when Cody gets back we can be running at full strength, play better and win some more games.”
On Roy Hibbert’s time in Charlotte:
“Well, I think that we had pretty high expectations when we signed Roy and, as you know, he had a really good first game, but then he had some injuries and it’s kind of tough to get in a rhythm, into a groove when you’re up and down with the injuries. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for Roy here, but one thing that you have to do when you’re a team, when you feel like something’s not working, [you have to] try and move on quickly.”
On what they liked about Miles Plumlee:
"Well, we need physicality and athleticism on the front line and just some more help on the defensive end. [As well as] more help rebounding [and] shot blocking, hopefully he’ll bring some of that. I think he’s a good fit culture-wise with our guys too. We’re excited to have him.”
On if Miles Plumlee’s game mirrors Cody Zeller’s at all:
"They do have a lot of similarities. They’re both very athletic, good defenders. They do a lot of the dirty work… They’re good in the transition-game, up-tempo. They do have some similarities so when Miles comes in for Cody or Cody comes in for Miles, it should be a seamless transition.”
On Spencer Hawes’ time in Charlotte:
"Spencer did a good job when he was here. We’ll miss his basketball I.Q. and his passing and his shooting.”
On if he can confirm the team will be signing Mike Tobey to a contract:
"Yes, yes, we’re going to be signing Mike to a 10-day [contract]. He’s going to fly out tonight to Utah [for the team’s matchup against the Jazz on Saturday]. If everything goes as expected, we’ll sign him to a 10-day tomorrow.”