National Basketball Association

Hornets sit Kaman, waiting to trade him

Published Jan. 27, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

The Hornets have decided to trade Chris Kaman, who won't be playing while the club looks for teams interested in making a deal for the veteran 7-foot center, general manager Dell Demps said.

Kaman was excused from New Orleans' home game against the Orlando Magic on Friday night, and Demps, who was traveling, said in a written statement during the game that the team and Kaman ''mutually decided for a number of reasons that we are not going to play Chris'' while trade talks get underway.

Kaman was acquired in a multi-player trade that sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers shortly before the regular season began, and the 29-year-old big man has struggled to find a consistent role in New Orleans.

Kaman has started six games and played in 17, averaging 9.2 points and 6.6 rebounds. He is also in the final year of a contract that pays him about $14 million this season, making him an attractive trade target for teams looking for both an experienced center and a large expiring contract that will help clear salary cap space at the end of the season.

''We had a conversation with Chris and expressed that the Hornets are going to go in a different direction,'' Demps said. ''Chris has been the ultimate professional during this process and we thank him for the way he has handled the situation.''

Kaman was part of a trade that also brought the Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon, second-year forward Al-Farouq Aminu and a 2012 first-round draft choice that originally belonged to Minnesota.

share

Get more from National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Basketball Association