Free Agent

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Hornets Free Agent Signing Press Conference - 7/22/15

Press Release | Lin Photo Gallery | Lin Highlights

The Hornets signed free agent guard Jeremy Lin on July 9, 2015. The following is the transcript from General Manager Rich Cho’s conference call with the media after Lin’s signing.

We’re really excited to add Jeremy to our team. He gives us a different dimension to our point guard spot. He has experience in the league. He’s a good ball-handler. We’re really excited to add him to our lineup.

On what makes him different as a point guard:

One thing he can really do is get into the paint. I think with our second unit that’s important because he can create shots for others. We’ve got several guys in our second unit that will benefit from that whether it’s Jeremy Lamb or Spencer Hawes, Frank Kaminsky, Marvin Williams, all those guys will benefit from a guy who can get in the lane and create shots for others.

On the importance of getting this deal done on the first day of free agency:

It was important. We’ve been looking to get more depth in our backcourt and we feel really good about deciding to do this. I think he’s going to bring some energy to our backcourt and our second unit. He’ll be a great addition.

On if there is any concern that by getting better offensively, the Hornets might be sacrificing defensively:

One thing that Coach Clifford and our coaching staff do a great job of is getting our team to play great team defense, and coach has always had good defensive teams. He’ll get these guys to play good defense. We’ve made an effort to upgrade the offense and there’s probably always going to be a little bit of tradeoff, but I’m confident that our coaching staff will get our guys to play good defense still.

On if the Hornets are done in free agency now:

There’s still potential to do something else. We’re still looking at a couple of things. We’re not entirely done yet.

On what part of Lin’s game he thinks will improve the most under Coach Clifford:

I think a couple of things: one, I think his defense will improve because Coach Clifford is a defensive-oriented coach who has had a lot of success with his team in the past defensively. Coach has also worked with a lot of really good point guards in the past, like Steve Nash, so I think that background with coach on the defensive end and offensive end will help Jeremy.

On if he expects to wait for the market to settle down before jumping back into free agency:

We’re still looking around right now and we aren’t going to wait a long time. I think if the opportunity presented itself then we’ll do something.

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GM Rich Cho Transcript on Jeremy Lin Signing

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Jeremy Lin Signs with Hornets - 7/9/15

Lin Photo Gallery | Lin Highlights | GM Rich Cho Conference Call Transcript

July 9, 2015 – Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Jeremy Lin.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are excited to add Jeremy Lin to our lineup,” Cho said.  “He is a talented player who we feel can make significant contributions to our basketball team.”

A five-year NBA veteran, the 6-3 Lin has played in 291 NBA games for the Warriors, Knicks, Rockets and Lakers, with career averages of 11.7 points, 4.8 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 26.9 minutes.  For his career, Lin has shot .437 from the field (1167-2668), .349 from beyond the three-point line (259-742) and .799 from the free-throw line (812-1016).  He has also played in 10 playoff games, all with Houston, averaging 8.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 16.1 minutes.  Lin was not selected in the 2010 NBA Draft following four seasons at Harvard.

Lin spent the 2014-15 season with the Lakers, where he saw action in 70 games and averaged 11.2 points, 4.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 25.8 minutes.  He shot a career-high .369 from beyond the three-point line (65-176), to go with .424 from the field (277-654) and .795 from the free-throw line (213-268).

The first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, Lin was named by Chinese magazine Vivid as one of its eight most influential Chinese-Americans in July 2011 and by Time Magazine as one of its “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World” in April 2012.  He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in two consecutive weeks in February 2012, becoming just the third NBA player to do so in the magazine’s history, and also appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in the second week.  He also received the ESPY Award for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year in July 2012.

In addition to his NBA experience, Lin also played in 20 games in the NBA D-League with the Reno Bighorns in 2010-11 and one game with the Erie BayHawks in 2011-12.  In 21 total D-League games, he averaged 18.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.0 steals in 32.4 minutes, while shooting .480 from the field (135-281), .359 from beyond the three-point line (14-39) and .732 from the free-throw line (104-142).

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Hornets Sign Free Agent Guard Jeremy Lin

GALLERIES: Roberts Visits Charlotte | Roberts Action | VIDEOS: Roberts Press Conference | Roberts One-on-One | Roberts Highlight Video

July 23, 2014 – Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Brian Roberts.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

“Brian is a quality point guard who we believe will play a key role for us,” Cho said.  “We look forward to having him as part of our team.”

The 6-1 Roberts has spent the last two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, averaging 8.2 points, 3.0 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 19.9 minutes in 150 total games.  For his career, he has shot .418 from the field (457-1092), .372 from beyond the three-point line (123-331) and .929 from the free-throw line (195-210).

In 72 games last season, including 42 starts, Roberts averaged 9.4 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 23.2 minutes.  Roberts shot .420 from the field (244-581), .360 from beyond the three-point line (64-178) and an NBA-best .940 from the free-throw line (125-133).

The 6-1 Roberts was not selected in the 2008 NBA Draft after a four-year career at the University of Dayton in which he was named First Team All-Atlantic 10 as a senior and Second Team All-Atlantic 10 as a sophomore and junior.  He spent the 2008-09 season with Galil Gilboa in Israel’s Winner League.  He then played for Brose Baskets in Germany’s BBL from 2009-12, helping the team to three-straight league championships, before signing with the Pelicans in August 2012.

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Hornets Sign Roberts

July 21, 2014 – Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed free agent forward Marvin Williams.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

“We’re excited to add a player of Marvin’s caliber to our team,” Cho said.  “He will be a key piece of our frontcourt rotation with his versatility and ability to play both forward positions.”

The 6-9 Williams was the second overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft after one season at the University of North Carolina and earned All-Rookie Second Team honors.  In nine NBA seasons, he has played in 626 total games for the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz, with career averages of 10.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29.1 minutes.  He has shot .447 from the field (2431-5444), .335 from beyond the three-point line (353-1054) and .804 from the free-throw line (1533-1907).

Williams saw action in 66 games for the Jazz last season, averaging 9.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.4 minutes.  He made a career-high 84 three-point field goals and his three-point percentage of .359 (84-234) was the second highest of his career.