Charlotte Hornets’ Roy Hibbert proving he’s more than a rim protector

Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford was chatting recently with Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak. The conversation quickly turned to ex-Lakers center Roy Hibbert, who signed with the Hornets over the summer.

“You’ll be surprised how good a basketball player he is on offense,” Kupchak told Clifford.

Four games into the Hornets’ preseason, Clifford buys Kupchak’s point. Hibbert, who is 7-foot-2, was twice named an All-Star center with the Indiana Pacers primarily for his shot-blocking and rebounding. But Clifford has seen a bonus element to Hibbert’s game that he highly values: Hibbert is a good passer .

“He can really pass, which I didn’t realize,” Clifford said Thursday. “He’s got a feel for the game. He knows how to play. And you see it more around here every day.”

Good passers have always been high in Clifford’s priority list. Think how featured power forward Josh McRoberts was as a then-Bobcat in a way he’s never duplicated since leaving for the Miami Heat. Or how Clifford turned the offense over to shooting guard-small forward Nic Batum a year ago to feature Batum’s play-making skills.

That’s not to say Hibbert will be throwing behind-the-back passes or scoring prolifically. But Clifford is confident Hibbert will contribute at both ends of the court once he’s familiar with new teammates and the system the Hornets run.

Hibbert, who averaged just six points per game last season with the Lakers, agrees he can do more offensively. But he doesn’t stray from the primary reason the Hornets signed him to a one-season, $5 million contract in July.

“Offense will come. But defense was the biggest thing we talked about when I signed here,” Hibbert said. “Coach watched a lot of film of me from last year and the year before. He knows what I can do: clog up the lane as much as possible (defensively) and help the offense.”

It’s not a surprise Hibbert is a solid passer for a center. In college at Georgetown, he played in the Princeton offense, which places a premium on everyone – guards, forwards and centers – reading defenses and moving the ball.

“It’s a movement offense (in Charlotte), so everybody gets a piece.,” Hibbert said.

“I’m getting there, learning a new system. The good thing is we scrimmage a lot, so that helps us work on our weaknesses. Me learning the plays and getting used to this new group of guys is coming along well.”

Hibbert was immediately impressed with Batum’s wide skill set and play-making aptitude.

“I always look for him on passes to the basket in practice. We’ll get there in games,” Hibbert said. “He looks for me on pick-and-rolls. The sooner I get a relationship with him on the court and off the court, things will get better.”

Fellow center Cody Zeller has fully practiced only the past two days while recovering from a deep bone bruise along his right knee. But Zeller has seen how Hibbert can contribute.

“His presence inside at the defensive end is huge, and that’s right down coach’s alley with (Clifford)’s defensive background,” Zeller said.

“He’s such a big body, so his duck-ins in the post are so hard to defend. And we’ve got such good passers. Nic and Kemba (Walker) are going to find him. He’s going to help us a lot this year.”

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets’ Roy Hibbert proving he’s more than a rim protector."