Originally scheduled to play Chicago on Wednesday and Denver on Friday, the Hornets will instead be off until at least Saturday as a result of coronavirus contact tracing. In addition to having two games postponed, the team faces a number of additional restrictions until the contact tracing process – and further testing – is completed.
As was the case earlier in the pandemic, the Hornets are currently limited to having one player on court in their practice facility, and players didn’t have access to the locker room areas. The club will continue to be restricted to individual player workouts through at least Thursday (Twitter links).
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- The Hornets raised eyebrows in November by signing Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM deal that paid him like an All-Star, but the veteran forward has made good on that contract so far by playing like an All-Star, says Jared Dubin of FiveThirtyEight.
- After returning to D.C. to face the Wizards this week, Rockets point guard John Wall said he’s done discussing the trade that sent him to Houston, but hopes he’s remembered in Washington for his community work off the court and not just his play on the court. Royce Young of ESPN has the story and the quotes from Wall, who added that he was disappointed not to be able to play in front of Wizards fans in his return.
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today takes a closer look at how the Wizards made a clear choice to make Bradley Beal the face of their franchise when they traded Wall last fall.
- As part of the 10-18 Magic, he’s not receiving much national attention, but veteran center Nikola Vucevic is enjoying perhaps the best season of his career, as Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype writes. The 30-year-old remains under contract with Orlando through 2022/23.
I think Washington just didnt believe that Wall could come off his achilles situation,
Hornets effectively replaced Kemba with the same level of production for 20M less. You have to give them an A+ for now. That can go down over time but, right now the move from Kemba to Gordon is an A+.
The rest of their roster and lack of moves… eh. Monk and Zeller shouldn’t be on the roster this year. Very bad mgt not moving them.
That and rozier has been really good this year, especially since they changed their rotation recently
Also Zeller is good when he is healthy
The problem of Hayward’s contract is not the first year, but the third and fourth one still at 30M
Almost every large NBA contract is structured this way. They all are backloaded.
You can’t give the Hornets an A plus “for now” for signing Hayward to a 4 year contract for 128 million dollars. There is no “for now” in that situation.
Walker is definitely overpaid, but he looked great for the first 30 games last year. Just like Hayward does now.
Look at their history of FA signings and it’s an A+
Marvin Williams – nothing burger for 54M
Nicolas Batum re-up – worst contract they’ve ever given.
Al Jefferson – 1.5 years of quality for a 3 yr deal.
Tyrus Thomas – waste of 40M
Cody Zeller – waste of 56M
MKG – waste of 52M
Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward are actually working out.
You definitely don’t have to give an A+ just because this awful signing is slightly cheaper than the previous awful signing.
Zeller gets a bad rap, maybe because he looks like the guy playing against you in the park while his wifes watching the kids on the swing ; but when hes healthy you can do a lot worse
I think as his price drops we will start looking at him in a whole new light;
fantasy sports conundrum – Its never the player always the price prolly creeps in here – Hed be a phenomenal backup on a top contending team
Have always thought that Hayward is a good player. Just think that Hayward’s contract is too much for too long. Hayward is a good player but cannot carry a team. Hayward is already thirty years old and has had significant injuries. When Heyward’s contract is over at the end of the 2023-2024 season, the Hornets will regret the contract.
That’s silly… Hayward is overpaid but that’s the only way the Hornets we’re gonna get a guy like him so it’s worth it. Most of his injuries haven’t been major they’ve been bad luck and it’s totally possible he stays healthy in Charlotte. His game also will age fine so he’s not likely to be a lesser player by much (barring major injury) in 4 years. If I was a Hornets fan I’d be very happy with the signing…
johnm Yes, but a guy who can truly carry a team and be the #1 option on a title contender like Lebron, Giannis, Curry, KD, Harden, etc, is not coming to Charlotte by choice as a FA. Hornets most realistic option to land a true star is to draft a future one.
Yes as you say the smaller market cities such as Charlottle, Milwaukee and Minnesota have more difficulty signing the big name FAs than say Miami or LA.
I’m not sure if flashing gang signs (if those were in fact gang signs) is the reason Wall left D.C.
Westbrook was available, and the re-working of the Wiz roster commenced. Business is brutal when you miss the warning signs.
Of course, flashing gang signs wasn’t the reason Wall left D.C.
What does flashing gang signs have got to do with anything?
Optimus Dime can do whatever he pleases with his private life, as long as it ain’t illegal or affects his performance on the court… gang signs doesn’t fall in either category, so is his private life, which is his, not ours or his team, right?
If he likes flashing signs so much he should go to vegas
They were always just for his euchre partner
More seriously… Supposedly, this last display caused uneasiness around W,DC. People thought of him more critically instead of as “our guy”. Plus the GM said Beal was more important, and the FO looked into a trade after not doing so for so long when he was out. Sources can be found by googling “John Wall wants out”
Mainstream media (looking at you ESPN) contributes to all this “overpaid” loud nonsense
Takes no consideration of cap space, ability to attract big players via free agency, players currently on payroll, fit, etc etc etc
They are simply looking to condense a view into a 30 sec to fill a time slot – I doubt anybody in Charlottes front office has had any regrets through out the entire process
I think that nonsense comes from fans overthinking things (think Sullivan), or comparing pros to their own youth experience, filled with so much meaning and authenticity but no money.