Jason Maxiell was best Hornets low-post defender

Jason Maxiell

Positions: Center, power forward

Contract status: He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Seasons in the NBA: Ten

Telling statistic: Maxiell shot 42 percent from the field, certainly not good for a player who took about 60 percent of his shots from within 10 feet of the basket.

Season review: Clifford wanted a fifth big man who was a veteran, someone who would stay ready to play without an expectation of consistent minutes. Maxiell fit that role, extending an NBA career spent mostly with the Detroit Pistons. Clifford called him the Hornets’ best low-post defender (not that there much competition for that distinction).

At 6-foot-7 Maxiell’s undersized for an NBA big man. But he’s the rugged sort of veteran off the bench that sets an example for professionalism. If the Hornets re-sign him it’s hard to see him being much more than an end-of-bench insurance policy, particularly as the team works to develop Vonleh.

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Jason Maxiell was best Hornets low-post defender."