by Rick Bonnell

The Charlotte Hornets agreed to trade the No. 22 pick in Thursday's NBA draft to the Sacramento Kings in return for veteran shooting guard Marco Belinelli, an informed source said. The deal cannot be formally completed until next month, when the NBA's new salary cap kicks in. But the two teams agreed that the Hornets would choose a player on the Kings' behalf to facilitate this trade. That player was Syracuse shooting guard Malachi Richardson.

A 6-foot-5 shooting guard/small forward, Belinelli, 30, enters his 10th NBA season. He averaged 10.2 points last season but shot a career-worst 30.6 percent from 3-point range. In brief comments after the end of the first round, Hornets general manager Rich Cho acknowledged the Hornets are in trade discussions and said he wasn't at liberty to discuss specifics at this time.

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Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/