Hornets trade Thornton for Kings' Landry

NEW ORLEANS (AP)

The Hornets and Kings have agreed to on a trade as Sacramento is sending forward Carl Landry to New Orleans in exchange for shooting guard Marcus Thornton and cash considerations.

Hornets at a glance

 

Looking for the latest on the Hornets? Get the inside slant, stats, scores, schedules and more scoops right here.

 

''This is a trade that benefits both teams as Carl is a player we have looked to acquire for a long time and we hope to be a big part of our long term success,'' said Hornets general manager Dell Demps. ''Carl is a high character person that will add a scoring punch to our front court while providing toughness and the ability to make plays. In order to get a good player, we had to give up a good player.''

The move gives the playoff-contending Hornets depth in the front court, but at the cost of a popular former LSU star who can score in a flurry.

With the Hornets hosting the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, Hornets coach Monty Williams held Thornton out of the morning shoot-around.

Williams said he told Thornton to stay home because of a pending trade.

Landry, meanwhile, sat out the Kings' loss in Miami on Tuesday night.

The 6-foot-9 Landry, a fourth-year pro out of Purdue, has averaged 11.9 points and 4.8 rebounds this season. He was acquired by the Kings in the middle of last season but has started only 16 games this season while vying for playing time with rookie DeMarcus Cousins.

The 6-4 Thornton is averaging 7.8 points in 16.2 minutes per game in his second NBA season.

While Williams cited NBA rules in declining to discuss the details of any pending trade, he was willing to talk generally about Thornton's role on the club this season and his improvement as a player.

Kings at a glance

 

Looking for the latest on the Kings? Get the inside slant, stats, scores, schedules and more scoops right here.

 

''To me, Marcus and I have had a great relationship since Day One,'' Williams said. ''He's improved in areas that don't show up in the stat sheet. To me, I feel good about that - him moving forward. There were some defensive lapses, but he wasn't the only one. ... Marcus is a guy who has value around the league and is going to play for a long time.''

Apparently, the value that Williams spoke of is what made the Hornets feel compelled to part with him in order to improve their play inside behind starting power forward David West.

''Our bench has been one of the worst benches in the league,'' Williams said. ''It puts a lot of pressure on our starters to get leads, maintain leads and try to pull out games. ... Your bench is vital to your team and it's an area where I've probably failed in rotations and things of that nature to put the right guys on the floor at the right time.''