MKG believes he has plenty left; Sunday, the Hornets gave him a chance to show it
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist could be a real pain-in-the-butt this season. When you’re owed $13 million guaranteed, you don’t always have to conform.
Quite the contrary, he’s been the same gentleman and professional he was his prior seven NBA seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. There’s no doubt he’s unhappy with playing so little. But he’s kept that mostly to himself, and he stayed ready.
Sunday, he got a reprieve from the end of the bench. After sitting out 10 straight games, he played 23 minutes in the Hornets’ 122-107 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Kidd-Gilchrist certainly wasn’t great, finishing with seven points and three rebounds. But he came with energy, something coach James Borrego frequently complains about regarding his collective group this season.
“I was giving MKG a look; he was the one guy (outside the rotation) that has stayed ready,” Borrego said. “He’s working, and I went with him tonight instead of Nic (Batum). That’s where we’re at.”
Borrego was going to do something, or he risked looking all talk and no action. Two weeks ago he said no player on this roster had a “God-Given right” to playing time, then he made no real change. A week later, he made another hint of change and didn’t act.
Sunday looked like a statement of sorts: Batum had played 25 and 31 minutes in the Hornets’ previous two games. He’s been at 20 minutes or more most games since returning from a fractured finger he suffered in the season-opener.
I doubt what happened Sunday is anything like a lasting decision; the Hornets’ rotation — particularly the high-priced veterans off the bench — figures to be fluid throughout the season.
But this was a way for Borrego to say, not just to Batum but to everyone, “You’re on notice.”
MKG’s plight
It was obvious at media day before training camp that Kidd-Gilchrist was on the outs. He replied with “no comment” when I asked what role had been described to him.
Borrego made it clear in September that in close decisions, he’d lean toward youth, and that’s what he’s done in starting Miles Bridges, Devonte Graham and rookie P.J. Washington. That means the Hornets have a massively expensive bench. Batum, Kidd-Gilchrist and Marvin Williams (out with a sore right knee on Sunday) combine to make nearly $54 million this season.
Borrego struggled last season to find uses for forward Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft, whose best talents are on defense. His offensive game is limited, but he’s worked at that. In his first two minutes Sunday he made a finger-roll layup and hit a corner 3-pointer.
Kidd-Gilchrist flirted with the idea of opting out of this final season on his contract, but was convinced that passing up $13 million to reach free-agency wasn’t good business.
“I’m young. I have a lot of basketball left in me,” said Kidd-Gilchrist, who turned 26 in September. “Whatever happens after this, happens.”
Graceful exit
The Hornets, in rebuild mode, are heading in a direction opposite of Kidd-Gilchrist. They have an abundance of forwards and are intent on investing playing time in Washington and Bridges. Kidd-Gilchrist understands that, and doesn’t resent it.
Williams and Batum have wider skill sets, which makes them more useful in the second unit. So I don’t think the odds are good that Sunday is a preview of steady minutes for Kidd-Gilchrist.
I understand why the Hornets hold on to him, at least through the February trade deadline. His salary might help balance the books to make a deal happen.
But after that I hope there’s an accommodation, such as a contract buyout, that allows Kidd-Gilchrist to move forward. The guy started 356 games here, and he’s conducted himself with dignity and class.
Whatever he wasn’t was in the scouting report from his season at Kentucky. If the Hornets overvalued him in the spring of 2012, that’s their fault, not his.
What he was, and still is: A good employee and a good teammate.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 9:18 PM.