Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said Thursday that no decisions have been made about pursuing a contract buyout with young forward Frank Kaminsky, with the 25-year-old still on the Hornets’ roster after the trade deadline.
“He wants to play,” Kupchak said of Kaminsky, as relayed by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “He’s under contract. Short of that, no decisions have been made addressing that situation.”
Bonnell also relayed that Kupchak, hired by the Hornets last April, is sympathetic to a remedy if Kaminsky is looking to play elsewhere.
The Hornets explored moving Kaminsky in the hours leading up to the trade deadline Thursday, but failed to find a suitable deal for the fourth-year player. Sean Deveney of Sporting News reported (via Twitter) that Kaminsky would likely become a buyout candidate in the near future, but it’s unclear where the possibility stands right now.
Charlotte also held strong trade discussions with the Grizzlies on a deal centered around Marc Gasol, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), but talks eventually broke off. The Hornets ended up not making a single trade on deadline day.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference today:
- The Bucks traded Thon Maker to the Pistons for Stanley Johnson this week, sending away one of Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s closest teammates in an effort to upgrade the roster. “Thon is like my little brother, this one hurts more than any trade that happened that I’ve been a part of but this is the business we work in,” Antetokounmpo said, according to Cassidy Hubbarth of ESPN (Twitter link). The Bucks eventually flipped Johnson, Jason Smith and two second-round picks to acquire sharpshooting forward Nikola Mirotic.
- For Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo could be the next star involved in rumors as the 2019/20 season draws closer, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports notes. Antetokounmpo is eligible to receive a super-max extension in the summer of 2020, but could become a free agent in 2021 if he chooses not to sign the extension. Antetokounmpo has cemented himself as one of the league’s top stars, leading the Bucks to a 40-13 record through 53 games this season. “He has been incredibly loyal,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think that’s something that’s important to him. So, he’s a gift, for sure.”
- The Cavaliers renounced the free agent rights to Deron Williams and Dahntay Jones today, Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports tweets. Cleveland made multiple trades in the past week, acquiring Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss and a 2019 first-round pick in a multi-team deal on Wednesday.
Kaminsky will be a solid buy low player for someone.
I’m hoping he comes back to Wisconsin
Has the Marc Gasol trade to Raptors completed? I saw an article on this site saying its being finalized but is it officially done?
It’s still in the queue of draft calls with the league, but should be official soon. The Grizzlies/Clippers deal had to be done first to make sure Memphis had the necessary roster spots open.
I thought the trade deadline already passed. So deals don’t have to be official by the deadline if the teams involved made an agreement?
As long as they’ve let the league know about the details and get in the queue for their trade call, they’re okay.
As tonight’s news cycle has shown, getting through 10-12 trade calls can take hours (teams have to let the league know about all the little details like cash changing hands, pick protections, trade exceptions, etc.), so getting all that done before the actual deadline would be a mess.
Thanks for the explanation.
Kaminsky would be a nice fit on the Bulls. They’re buying out RoLo and only have Christiano Felicio and an injured Wendell Carter Jr as PF/C roster options
I have to agree..I mean, what do they really have to lose?? lol…Besides, in his 10-15 minute spurts, it isn’t like Felicio has really shown anything whatsoever anyways..He started out showing a promising blend of rebounding, defense, and a nack as an opportunistic scorer, but then, he has seemingly continued to just regress each and every year. It isn’t like he’s had a decent coach though, so who knows…At this point, I surely don’t..
So some moron probably from LA is already trying to spread rumors about the Greek Freak possibly leaving the team that has the best record in the NBA in a few years. Really!!! SMH!!!
Plus one of his source’s in the article is a former GM of who ever. Like he has some sort of insight into his thoughts. With three billionaire owners I don’t think their going to stress on how much it’s going to take to keep him. It’s all about Horst and making the right moves around him to help keep the Buck’s at the top. Time will tell and if he can’t then they have quite a piece to trade like NO.