June 16--After being traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the Clippers on Monday, Lance Stephenson took to Twitter to share his sentiments.
Tweeted Stephenson: "Thank you to buzz city and the Hornets organization. While the past year didn't work out as I hoped it would, I really enjoyed my time in the city of Charlotte. I will thoroughly miss the Hornets fans and my teammates who were very supportive of me over the last year. I wish the Hornets success going forward and I'm looking forward to doing whatever I can to help bring a championship to Los Angeles and Clipper nation."
The Clippers acquired Stephenson in exchange for Clippers' forward-center Spencer Hawes and forward Matt Barnes.
The 24-year-old shooting guard averaged 8.2 points on 32.5% shooting, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 25.8 minutes per game last season with the Hornets. He also shot a woeful 17.1% from beyond the three-point line.
He had more success with the Indiana Pacers, helping them reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014. During the 2013-14 season, Stephenson averaged 13.8 points on 49.1% shooting, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game. He was named the runner-up for the NBA's Most Improved Player award that season.
The deal is an interesting move for the Clippers considering Hawes struggled to fit in with the team and Barnes is near the end of his career.
Hawes averaged only 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds with the Clippers last season. He also made only 31.3% of his three-point shots.
Barnes had one of his most successful years in his 14-season career with the Clippers in 2014-15, averaging 10.1 points on 44.4% shooting and four rebounds a game as a starter, but he's 35 years old and most likely won't be playing much longer.
