Bradley Handwerger / WWLTV.com Sports Reporter
Email: bhandwerger@wwltv.com | Twitter: @wwltvsports
NEW ORLEANS ― Chris Kaman’s time with the Hornets has come to a conclusion, 17 games into his stay in New Orleans.
Kaman was listed as “not with team, organizational decision” prior to Friday’s night’s home game against Orlando.
By the end of the third quarter, the Hornets had released a statement from general manager Dell Demps, explaining the team was shelving Kaman until he could be traded elsewhere.
“We had a conversation with Chris and expressed that the Hornets are going to go in a different direction,” Demps said in the release. “We mutually decided for a number of reasons that we are not going to play Chris as we pursue a trade. Chris has been the ultimate professional during this process and we thank him for the way he has handled the situation.”
New Orleans coach Monty Williams said prior to the Orlando game that the team had too many “bigs” – centers and power forwards – and he wanted to get Emeka Okafor more playing time.
Additionally, Williams said he wanted younger players to gain more experience.
Kaman came to New Orleans in the blockbuster preseason trade that sent Chris Paul to the Clippers in return for Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu and the big man along with an unprotected draft pick in June’s draft.
The 7-fot, 265-pound eighth-year center is set to earn nearly $14 this year, the final of his contract. In 17 games, Kaman is averaging 4.5 points, 1.8 blocked shots and 4.3 rebounds.
But while it was assumed the Hornets got the upperhand in the trade with the Clippers, that line of thinking isn’t bearing out, at least not right now.
Kaman will be traded while Gordon, the marquee name the Hornets got in return for Paul, has played in only two games after bruising his knee in the season-opener. And Wednesday night, the Hornets and Gordon failed to come to an agreement on a contract extension, meaning he’ll be a restricted free agent in the offseason.
