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Update
(Sherman) It has been reported that Lamb was traded to Charlotte for guard Luke Ridnour and a conditional 2016 2nd round pick.
Oklahoma City has traded Jeremy Lamb to Charlotte for Luke Ridnour and a 2016 second-round pick, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 25, 2015
Ridnour's contract is fully non-guaranteed if he is waived on or before July 10th. It has been quite the event for the veteran PG, who has now been a member of 4 different teams (Magic, Grizzlies, Hornets, Thunder) all within the last 24 hours.
Apropos of nothing, this used to be Ridnour's hairstyle. And as you can see from the jersey he's wearing, this will be Luke's 2nd go-round with the franchise.
/ducks
***
Following Monday's report that the Oklahoma City Thunder were shopping a handful of players for payroll relief, the first domino fell in the form of Jeremy Lamb heading to the Charlotte Hornets. Via the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell:
I am told the @hornets will also end up with Jeremy Lamb in a separate deal involving Matt Barnes' contract. Barnes isn't going to OKC.
— Rick Bonnell (@rick_bonnell) June 24, 2015
This takes Lamb's expiring $3.0 million contract for next season off the books. A third team is presumably involved and taking Matt Barnes back, and until we know which team it is, we won't know the return (although set your expectations low). From the earlier Monday report, the Thunder were reportedly chasing draft pick compensation.
Some (ahem, J.A.) will bemoan the loss of Lamb, but there's not much utility in keeping him and paying the extra tax dollars to do so. He had multiple shots at a rotation spot, which is more than many other prospects developing on a win-now team can say, but never earned his keep of it. His three seasons in the NBA have been disappointing, resulting in a .348 three-point percentage plagued by inconsistency and little else to offer other than hopes and dreams.
Those hopes and dreams are off now to Charlotte. The Hornets wanted him in January, when they were reportedly trying to grab him in a Brook Lopez-centric three-teamer. They need shooting, so expect Lamb to get his fair shake at playing time. Maybe he'll pan out for them, because you never know with these things, but it's important to remember Lamb almost definitely wasn't going to work out here, where the Thunder have loaded up on other backcourt players and a second chance would be scarce.
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