At 4-12, the Charlotte Hornets are struggling so far this season and as many are trying to figure out what the problem is. One reporter is pointing the finger at off-season free agent acquisition Lance Stephenson.
Was told a few weeks ago Lance Stephenson, not Paul George or anyone else, impacted Hibbert so negatively last season. Looking accurate.
— Bill Reiter (@sportsreiter) November 27, 2014
Also told me that, from the start, folks in Charlotte started to realize in Lance they'd bitten off more than they'd planned on chewing.
— Bill Reiter (@sportsreiter) November 27, 2014
I’m going to take this report with a grain of salt. Some may point to recent comments made by Steve Clifford about Stephenson not being a star yet…
“To be fair, one of the things that’s made it more difficult for him is that he came here and people proclaimed him as the next superstar. He’s not a star. He’s a guy that has talent to become a star. To be a star in this league, you have to do it over years.”
Clifford is telling the truth. With Stephenson’s talent and competitive nature we can all see the All-Star potential, coach is just pointing out the obvious…he’s not there yet.
Have the Hornets bitten off more than they can chew with Stephenson? I think it’s WAY too early to jump to that conclusion, which is why I question the source of this report. These are the type of things that surface when you’re not meeting expectations. It will only take a few consecutive wins to bring back the optimism folks had about this team coming into the season. Charlotte is still finding themselves, they’ll get it together.