Home sweet where?
New Hornets Jones, Campbell finally see Charlotte
Posted: Tuesday March 16, 1999 03:31 PM
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Eddie Jones has found a figurative home in Charlotte if not a literal one. AP |
FORT MILL, S.C. (AP) -- Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell arrived in
their new NBA home city Tuesday morning and started addressing some
important priorities, like finding the Charlotte Coliseum.
"If I stick on that one street where the hotel is, I think I'll be
OK," Jones said with a sheepish grin after the Charlotte Hornets held
a late-morning team meeting at their suburban training center.
Campbell and Jones were shipped from the Lakers to the Hornets last
Wednesday as part of a five-player trade that sent Glen Rice, J.R. Reid and B.J. Armstrong to Los
Angeles. Because the Hornets had just begun a road trip at the time of the
trade, Campbell and Jones both joined their new team during the swing and
flew home with the Hornets after Monday night's game in Toronto.
The team's plane arrived shortly after 1 a.m. in Charlotte, where the
Hornets play six of their next eight games, starting with Wednesday night's
contest against Phoenix.
Campbell and Jones are both staying in a Charlotte hotel for the time
being, but they plan to use the extended home stand to look for other
housing and to acclimate themselves with their new teammates. The Hornets
have lost their first two games with Campbell and Jones in the lineup.
"It will just take some time," Campbell said. "I think we have pretty
good energy. We just don't really know each other yet."
One thing both players do know is that they are wanted in Charlotte,
which wasn't necessarily the case in Los Angeles, where both struggled to
get minutes with the Lakers.
Campbell, for example, was averaging about 18 minutes at center for
the Lakers; with the Hornets, he can expect that number to basically
double.
"This is a positive thing for me, this trade," Campbell said. "In
L.A., did they really need me? Did I fit in there? I want to be somewhere
where I'm wanted. I don't want to just be there taking up space."
Jones, a wing guard, was getting more playing time than Campbell, but
he was finding it difficult to get his hands on the ball. That's unlikely
to happen with the Hornets, who with Rice's departure will need someone to
step up and provide consistent scoring.
That's fine with Jones, who said the past few days since the trade
have given him a fresh outlook.
"When a guy feels wanted, he feels good about himself," he said. "I
was in a hailstorm in Los Angeles. I just want to enjoy life, enjoy this
game."
Jones said the Hornets want to use their upcoming extended home stand
to work their way into playoff contention. As the midway point of the
season approaches, Charlotte is eight games below .500, but the Hornets
only have four teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
"You look at everybody's record and you realize we're not really out
of it," Jones said. "If we could get to .500, I think then we can really
focus in on who's in front of us."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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