Lakers, Mavericks May Sign Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
The Lakers or Mavericks may sign Michael Kidd-Gilchrist now that the Charlotte Hornets have bought him out.
Kidd-Gilchrist, 26, has been something of a non-factor for the Bobcats this year.
As such, a recent report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim McMahon of ESPN regarding him and Charlotte parting ways should come as no surprise to anyone.
So far this year Kidd-Gilchrist has played in just 12 outings for the Hornets and averaged only 13 minutes per outing in each one.
Based on his lack of fit with Charlotte and his career averages of just under 9 points and 6 rebounds per game, Kidd-Gilchrist seems like he would be best suited to a supporting role on a contending team.
As such, signing with Los Angeles or Dallas may make a lot of sense.
Los Angeles is currently 38-12 through 50 games and sits at No. 1 in the Western Conference.
Dallas is 31-21 and sits at No. 7, but earlier in the year before Luka Doncic’s injury the team was at the No. 4 seed.
Even now, after everything that has transpired, the Mavericks are two and a half games back of the No. 4 seeded Utah Jazz.
The Lakers made a serious bid to acquire Marcus Morris before this past week’s trade deadline, but ultimately fell short when they refused to part ways with Kyle Kuzma.
The Los Angeles Clippers ultimately ended up getting Morris.
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Reporting with @espn_macmahon: Charlotte is finalizing a contract buyout with F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Dallas has emerged as a possible destination once MKG clears waivers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2020
While Kidd-Gilchrist obviously is not Morris, particularly not this year when the latter is having the best season of his career, he is a serviceable lengthy wing who can give you a few minutes of quality defense.
Kidd-Gilchrist is expected to make a final decision on who he will sign with at some point in the next week.
The Mavericks have to be the favorites given the fact that they had interest in him prior to the trade deadline, but it also would not be all that shocking if he ended up elsewhere.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
