By Sam Perley, hornets.com

It’s been more than a week since the Hornets made a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies to acquire shooting guard Courtney Lee and so far the eighth-year veteran seems to be settling in nicely to his new home with the Hornets. Although this will be the sixth team of his NBA career, the former first-round pick brings some valuable, much-needed shooting and defensive skill sets to a Charlotte team that has its eyes on the postseason.

Despite playing four years at mid-major Western Kentucky University, Lee was still selected 22nd overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. Two of his assistant coaches during his rookie season were none other than current Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford and Associate Head Coach Patrick Ewing, both of whom Lee still holds in high regard.

“[Clifford] was a guy I always respected. A guy that pays attention to details. A guy that’s going to put in the hours and the work with watching film, getting personnel and getting his team prepared to go out and battle,” said Lee. “As a player, that’s all you want in a coach. A guy that you know is putting in the work with you and is going to work with you.”

“Once I found out I was coming here, that’s the first thing that popped in my mind. I worked with Cliff before and Big Pat before. Those guys were great coaches. Like I said, their attention to detail is not comparable to anybody else. They put in countless hours,” Lee added.

Lee has now been involved in five different trades over his career, although this is only the second instance of one occurring outside of summer. As imagined, the adjustment to a new team in the middle of the year is certainly more of a challenge as opposed to during the offseason.

“[A midseason trade] is not as easy as getting traded in the summer. In the summer, you’ve got the rest of the offseason to kind of prepare yourself to find somewhere to live at, to pack up and what not. You can come to that city a little early and get adjusted. Midseason, it’s tough,” said Lee.

While switching teams in the middle of the year can be a daunting task for some, Lee took advantage of a similar opportunity two seasons ago when he was traded from the Boston Celtics to Memphis. Lee’s averages rose significantly in nearly every major statistical category in 49 games with the Grizzlies that season, which ended in a near-upset of the second-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.

Postseason experience could certainly come in handy for the Hornets as they sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference going into a road matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 24. Over his career, Lee has played in a team-high 43 postseason games, including a handful in the 2009 NBA Finals, and knows that exposure will be instrumental in helping Charlotte get back to the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.

“The [playoff] experience will help. Me being able to be a part of those playoff games, I understand what it takes to get there and what it takes to sustain when you're there -the character and poise you have to show. My experience and leading by example will help the team out,” said Lee.

Last year, Lee helped lead the Grizzlies to the Western Conference Semifinals, where they lost in six games to the eventual NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. Lee started all 11 games during Memphis’ playoff run, averaging 13.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting team bests from the field (55.0 percent), three-point range (46.7 percent) and free-throw line (95.7 percent).

With Lee set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, it remains to be seen what his future NBA whereabouts will be next season. None of that matters right now though as the Hornets are confident their newest shooting guard could be the missing piece in helping them secure their spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs in April.

Key Matchup vs. Cavaliers: Kemba Walker vs. Kyrie Irving

Kemba Walker and the Hornets will look to keep their winning streak alive when they travel to Cleveland to take on Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers on Wednesday night… Charlotte’s point guard has been on fire as of late, posting averages of 25.2 points on 46.4 percent shooting, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals over his last six games for the Hornets… Walker will have a tough task trying to contain Irving, who has been rounding into form after missing most of the first half of the season following knee surgery… The former Duke Blue Devil is averaging 23.6 points on 51.7 percent shooting along with 5.8 assists and 1.2 steals in his last five games for the Cavaliers, who remain atop the Eastern Conference standings… Limiting Irving’s ability to facilitate to teammates like LeBron James and Kevin Love will be instrumental if Walker and the Hornets are to pull off their second-straight win over the Cavaliers on Wednesday night in Cleveland.