Southeast Notes: Hornets, Pierce, Jones, Wizards

Addressing the Hornets‘ upcoming offseason in a recent conversation with Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak reiterated many of the points he has made before about his team’s priorities. According to Kupchak, the Hornets won’t be a major player in free agency this fall and won’t be drafting for positional need with their lottery pick.

“We have some nice pieces that we like, but to compete in this league at a high level, our talent level isn’t where we need it to be,” Kupchak told Bonnell, referring to the Hornets’ need to draft for talent over fit. “I don’t feel we have the luxury of being able to, at this point, pick-and-choose the position (of greatest need).”

While Kupchak acknowledged that the Hornets should have a chunk of cap room available this offseason, he stressed that he doesn’t feel as if free agency “is the answer for us at this time,” hinting that the club could instead use its cap space on the trade market.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

• Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce spoke to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about a number of subjects, including his hope that Atlanta will improve its depth this offseason by adding veterans who can help the club on and off the court. “We have to add some veterans, rotational, professional depth, and experience to complement our young guys,” Pierce said. “We have nine guys, I believe under contract right now, so we have roster spots to fill.”
• Just four days after sustaining a scary-looking neck injury, Heat wing Derrick Jones was cleared to return to action today, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. Jones has been part of Miami’s rotation during this afternoon’s game against Indiana.
• Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the group that owns the Wizards, is indefinitely furloughing 232 full-time employees due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports Scott Allen of The Washington Post. The furloughs affect over a third of approximately 600 full-time employees that work for the company in departments such as sales, marketing, game day operations, and community relations, Allen adds.
• The Wizards are parting ways with four performance and medical staffers, including head athletic trainer Jeff Bangs, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic.