Charlotte Hornets Rumors

Southeast Notes: Butler, Love, Mann, Champagnie

December 30th, 2024 at 5:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat forward Jimmy Butler is expected to practice on Tuesday and return to action on Wednesday against the Pelicans, the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang reports. Butler has missed the last five games after battling a flu-like illness.

Miami president Pat Riley issued a statement last week that he wasn’t going to trade Butler, who holds a $52.4MM player option on next year’s contract. Butler is averaging 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game this season.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Kevin Love has fallen out of the rotation as the Heat coaching staff takes a long look at rookie Kel’el Ware as the backup center. Love says he’s staying ready for whenever he’s needed. “I know I still have good basketball ahead of me,” he said, per Chiang. “I don’t think I’m an 82-game guy anymore. But certainly, just help wherever the team needs me, whether that’s on the court or away from the court.”
Hornets guard Tre Mann has continued rehabilitation for disc irritation and has increased the intensity of his on-court work and individual workouts, the team’s PR department tweets. He will be reevaluated in two weeks. Mann, who hasn’t played since Nov. 21, is averaging 14.1 points and 3.0 assists in 13 games off the bench. He’ll be eligible for restricted free agency during the 2025 offseason.
The Knicks and Wizards are playing each other again tonight after New York pulled out a four-point overtime victory on Saturday night. Justin Champagnie, who is on a two-way contract, had a breakout game on Saturday with a career-best 31 points. “I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to show what I can do for a while. … When I get on the floor, I just let it flow,” he told Varun Shankar of the Washington Post.

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Mann, Hawks, Nance, Brogdon

December 28th, 2024 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets thought they were moving past their injury woes two weeks ago when LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams were in the lineup together for the first time in nearly 12 months, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. However, that quartet didn’t last a full game, and the injuries have continued ever since. Ball, Miller and Cody Martin were all on the sidelines tonight as Charlotte lost at home against Oklahoma City.

“It’s difficult — obviously we’ve had more injuries than we’ve wanted,” Josh Green said. “But at the end of the day, I feel like that’s also the NBA. There’s always injuries and for us to be successful, it doesn’t take three guys. The whole team needs to be ready to play. Yeah, it’s very unfortunate we haven’t had our starting group. I think maybe one game we’ve had them. But we become a better team when we can win without them. And when we get them back, we become an even better team. That’s the way I look at it.”

The Hornets entered the season hoping to contend for a play-in spot with first-year coach Charles Lee guiding a solid collection of young talent. But whether injuries or other factors are to blame, Charlotte seems headed for another high lottery pick, going 1-15 since November 23 and falling into a tie with Toronto for 13th place in the East.

“Everyone’s journey is different,” Lee said. “There’s no quit in this team and there’s a ton of fight, which is what I love. Because that’s what it’s going to take. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. Life doesn’t feel sorry for you. The world keeps spinning, and so you’ve got to figure out how do I just kind of reset and refocus and come with the right attitude to try to make a change? And a lot of that has got to be your actions.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Hornets got some encouraging news on Saturday as Tre Mann was able to work out before the game, Boone adds. The reserve guard has missed the past 16 games with disc irritation in his lower back. “I think that he’s made some positive steps,” Lee said. “I was joking with him (Friday). It looked like he had a little more pep in his step, and so I was glad to see that.”
The Hawks were also short-handed in Saturday’s win over Miami, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Dyson Daniels was unavailable due to illness, and Bogdan Bogdanovic was sidelined with a left lower leg contusion. Vit Krejci replaced Daniels in the starting lineup, and two-way player Keaton Wallace logged more than 13 minutes after being called up from the G League. “A lot of guys found themselves in some different situations,” coach Quin Snyder said.
Hawks big man Larry Nance Jr. suffered a hand injury during the game, the team announced (via Twitter). Additional details and a timeline for his return will be shared later.
It’s hard to be optimistic about a team with a 5-24 record, but veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon believes the Wizards are moving in the right direction, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “This team is actually just getting better every day,” Brogdon said after Saturday’s overtime loss to New York. “… We won that one game — maybe that was Denver, or whatever game that was — and we’ve seen ourselves, even with the losses after that game, get better every day, every practice, every game.”

Southeast Notes: Butler, Banchero, Coulibaly, Sarr, Wong, Miller

December 26th, 2024 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jimmy Butler was in the spotlight quite a bit on Thursday, but he won’t be on the court tonight when the Heat play in Orlando. He’s listed as out due to return to competition reconditioning, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. Butler is expected to rejoin the team on Friday when it prepares for Saturday’s road game against the Hawks.

Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley issued a statement on Thursday declaring that he won’t trade Butler. There has been heavy speculation regarding the future of Butler, who holds a $52.4MM option on his contract for the 2025/26 season.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Magic star Paolo Banchero continues to ramp up his on-court work, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Banchero has been sidelined eight weeks since he was diagnosed with a torn right abdominal muscle. However, he still hasn’t gone through a contact practice, so his timeline to return remains unclear.
Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr are available to play for the Wizards tonight against Charlotte, Varun Shankar of the Washington Post tweets. Both players sat out Monday’s loss to the Thunder.
2023 second-rounder Isaiah Wong is averaging 7.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in seven December games. Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer explores whether the Hornets may have found a diamond in the rough in Wong, who was signed to a two-way deal earlier this month.
Hornets forward Brandon Miller is back in action tonight after missing the last three games due to an ankle injury, Boone tweets.

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Miller, Smith, Christopher, Risacher

December 24th, 2024 at 10:20am CST by Luke Adams

After getting off to a decent 4-5 start this season, the Hornets have plummeted down the standings over the past month-and-a-half. Monday’s loss to Houston, Charlotte’s 13th in its last 14 games, dropped the team to 7-22 on the season and inspired a players-only closed-door meeting after the game, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

“I feel like we established ourselves in the first 10 games as a team that plays physical,” forward Miles Bridges said. “At one point we were leading the league in offensive rebounding. We’ve just got to get back to that. We had a great conversation. Taj (Gibson) really got us together in the locker room — players only — and he talked to us. I talked to the team, Taj talked to us a lot. I feel like that really got to us, so I feel like these next couple games we’re going to see who really wants to play.”

Bridges is the longest-tenured Hornet, having been with the organization since 2018. Gibson is a newcomer, but he was brought in to be a “meaningful voice in the locker room,” Boone writes. The veteran big man played that role in Monday’s meeting.

“I think them talking to us, I think they both said what everybody is thinking,” center Mark Williams said. “I think it just starts with us. We’ve got to be tougher, got to play harder. Just do all the things it takes to win. Just got to have some pride out there. I think we just lacked that tonight.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Hornets forward Brandon Miller has missed the past three games due to a sprained ankle, but he was initially listed as questionable for Monday’s game before being downgraded to out and appears to be on the verge of a return, per Boone. “The last couple days he’s rejoined some group activities that we’ve had. I think he’s really making good progress,” head coach Charles Lee said. “After (Monday’s) game, we’ll continue to evaluate him and see where he is maybe after Christmas.”
According to both Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald and Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Heat had been planning to promote guard Dru Smith from his two-way contract to a standard deal in the coming days in order to get back to the required 14-man minimum. That plan is now up in the air after Smith exited Monday’s game with a lower left leg injury. He’s undergoing an MRI on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury, as Chiang relays. “Obviously, the air went out of the building seeing him fall like that,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It wasn’t a contact injury. I don’t know the extent fully right now. I don’t want to pontificate until we get the MRI. But, yeah, we were all messed up for a while.”
Heat two-way guard Josh Christopher was the best player John Hollinger of The Athletic saw at the G League Winter Showcase in Orlando. As Hollinger writes, Christopher has improved his shooting and decision-making and is no longer simply getting by on his athleticism. While it remains to be seen whether or not there will be NBA minutes available going forward for the former No. 24 overall pick in the wake of Smith’s injury, Christopher did make his Heat regular season debut on Monday, logging a couple garbage-time minutes in a win over Brooklyn.
Hawks rookie forward Zaccharie Risacher didn’t get to play for the French national team at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, but this year’s No. 1 overall pick hopes to represent his home country in future international tournaments, starting next summer, as he tells Benjamin Moubeche of BasketSession (hat tip to BasketNews.com). “The French national team is a childhood dream,” Risacher said. “It’s always something special. Every competitor wants to win medals for their country, and for me, it would be an immense honor to represent France at the (2025) EuroBasket.”

Southeast Notes: Hunter, Young, Williams, Butler, Jaquez

December 21st, 2024 at 8:19am CST by Tristan Tucker

De’Andre Hunter is playing like a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, providing the Hawks with a scoring punch off the bench, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Through 17 outings, Hunter’s 19.8 points per game and 45.3% shooting from beyond the arc are both career highs.

“He’s definitely in the running for Sixth Man of the Year, especially if you keep winning and doing the things we’ve been doing,” guard Trae Young said. “Because there’s not a guy come on the bench doing what he’s doing right now and being aggressive and scoring and efficiency and things like that. He’s really bought into it, and it’s made our team a lot better.”

The former No. 4 overall pick out of Virginia was an effective starter after being selected in 2019, averaging 14.3 PPG in 263 games (237 starts). After missing the first 11 games this year, the Hawks elected to bring him off the bench instead of starting him, and he’s thrived in the new role.

“We all know De’Andre can play,” center Onyeka Okongwu said. “He’s been able to play. He’s always been a scorer, defender. He’s finally healthy. Nothing he’s doing is really surprising to me. I’m glad he’s having the year he’s having right now. He deserves it the most.”

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Young is averaging career lows of 39.0% shooting from the field and 32.0% from three, but Williams writes in another story that the three-time All-Star is focused on making an all-around impact to win games rather than dwelling on his shooting percentages. “My percentages aren’t the way they’ve been, but I’m taking different types of shots, too,” Young said, noting that he has no qualms about taking low-percentage shots at the end of quarters or as the shot clock expires. “I’m obviously getting guys involved, and that’s my main priority, and obviously, the defense is the first priority.” As Williams notes, the Hawks star is leading the NBA in assists per game this season with 12.2 per contest.
Since their starting center returned from injury on Dec. 3, the Hornets continue to take a conservative approach with Mark Williams, including having him not play in back-to-backs. Williams understands the vision, but is eager to resume his normal playing schdule, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes. “Just overall, as a leader of the team and one of the leaders of the organization, you have to understand what is your vision, what is your bigger picture? And as bad as you want to win games, we also want to make sure that we are putting our players in the best position possible to have great careers,” coach Charles Lee said of Williams.
Heat star Jimmy Butler exited in the first quarter of Friday’s game against the Thunder after turning his ankle and didn’t return. However, as noted by ESPN, he was ruled out for the rest of the night due to an illness, not his ankle injury. There was no word of the ankle in the team’s announcement. It’s not yet clear how much time Butler, involved in trade rumors this season, will miss due to either ailment.
With Butler ruled out, second-year Heat wing Jaime Jaquez Jr. started the second half and played 30 minutes, his third-most in a game this season. Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel speculates whether Jaquez could serve as Butler’s replacement in the starting small forward role if the latter is moved via trade.

Southeast Notes: Joseph, Daniels, Wizards, Hornets

December 20th, 2024 at 6:51pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Well-traveled Magic veteran guard Cory Joseph is becoming a valuable locker room presence for a rising young Orlando squad in his first season with the team, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.

“The league’s getting younger and they keep me young, too,” Joseph said of his Magic teammates. “It continues to change and you have to continue to adapt. I’m asking a lot of questions as well, trying to learn from them.”

Rookie forward Tristan Da Silva, the No. 18 pick in this summer’s draft, sang the point guard’s praises.

“He’s a great leader for this team, even though he’s not on the court as much,” Da Silva said. “He still has a huge impact on this team.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

New Hawks guard Dyson Daniels‘s goal is to improve his shooting mechanics and increase his three-point output this season, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Williams notes Daniels has made 30.8% of his 3.4 three-point tries per game overall this season, but also enjoyed a more consistent run between November 18-29, when he nailed 42.9% of 3.5 attempts per game.
Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena, home to both the Wizards and the NHL’s Capitals, has gotten the green light for a $515MM renovation, ensuring that both clubs will stick around for the long-term, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic.
Following a Thursday loss to lowly Washington, the Hornets have now dropped nine of their last 10 contests and fallen to a 7-20 record on the year. Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer wonders how, or if, Charlotte will be able to right the ship this year, even in a less competitive Eastern Conference — three East play-in teams have records below .500, but Charlotte is 4.5 games back of the No. 10 seed. The Hornets’ “core four” of All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, forwards Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges, and center Mark Williams has rarely been able to stay on the court together thus far this season.

Fischer: Valanicunas Among Several Centers On Trade Block

December 19th, 2024 at 3:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Jonas Valanciunas of the Wizards may be the most “attainable” and desirable trade candidate among centers this season, but he’s certainly not the only big man who could be on the move prior to the February 6 deadline, league sources tell Jake Fischer (Substack link via The Stein Line).

According to Fischer, several teams are looking for help in the middle, including the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks and Pelicans. The Clips and Bucks are interested in reserve centers to complement their starters (Ivica Zubac and Brook Lopez, respectively), with Lopez also drawing trade interest since last summer.

The Warriors are another team contemplating a trade involving big men, with Kevon Looney garnering “plenty of interest” from rival clubs, Fischer writes. Like Lopez, who earns $23MM in 2024/25, Looney is on an expiring contract ($8MM).

Confirming a recent report from Stefan Bondy, Fischer says Knicks center Jericho Sims is viewed as a potential trade candidate due to his inconsistent playing time as a backup this season. Fischer also notes that New York gauged injured center Mitchell Robinson‘s trade value around this time last year.

Despite his lengthy injury history, Trail Blazers center Robert Williams may be the “most coveted” big man on the market outside of Valanciunas, but it’s no lock that Portland will end up moving him, according to Fischer’s sources. If the Blazers do trade a member of their frontcourt, expect it to come closer to the deadline, Fischer adds.

Here’s more from Fischer:

Like Clint Capela, whom we highlighted in another story, Nikola Vucevic is a starting center who could be on the move, but it’s unclear if the Bulls will be successful in their attempts to trade the two-time All-Star, in part due to his contract ($20MM in ’24/25, $21.5MM in ’25/26).
Valanicunas, Williams and Walker Kessler are among the big men on the Lakers‘ trade wish list, sources tell Fischer. However, the Jazz have declined multiple offers for Kessler, so it’s difficult to decipher if Utah is actually willing to trade him or is simply gauging what he might bring in return.
Chris Boucher (Raptors), Day’Ron Sharpe (Nets), Trey Lyles (Kings), Daniel Theis (Pelicans) and Nick Richards (Hornets) are also “known to be on the market,” according to Fischer.

Warriors Remain Atop 2024 NBA Franchise Valuations

December 18th, 2024 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors remain the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2024 on Wednesday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $9.14 billion, making them one of three teams to surpass the $8 billion mark this year. The Knicks have a projected worth of $8.3 billion, while the Lakers come in at $8.07 billion, per Sportico. Only the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys – at $10.3 billion – have a higher valuation than Golden State among North American sports teams, says Badenhausen.

While Sportico’s figures suggest the Warriors, Knicks, and Lakers are worth significantly more than the fourth-place team (the Nets at $5.7 billion), the average value of an NBA franchise is up to $4.6 billion, with no team worth less than $3 billion.

That average has increased by 15% since Sportico released its 2023 valuations last December and has nearly doubled since the site published its first NBA franchise valuations four years ago, when the average was $2.37 billion.

The NBA’s new $77 billion media rights deal and a 15% increase in team sponsorship are among the factors contributing to the rising valuations of the league’s franchises, according to Badenhausen, who notes that a post-COVID boom in concerts and other major events has been good news for team owners who also control their arenas.

NBA team owners operated 10 of the world’s 20 highest-grossing concert venues in 2024, with the Nets’ Barclays Center coming in at No. 1, says Badenhausen. The Nets’ valuation is up 43% this year, per Sportico, easily the largest year-over-year increase among the 30 NBA franchises.

When Forbes put out its NBA franchise valuations in October, it pegged the average value of a team at $4.4 billion. In the past, we’ve used Forbes as our primary source for NBA franchise valuations, but with Badenhausen making the move from Forbes to Sportico in recent years and the outlet establishing itself as a go-to resource for sports business news, we begun highlighting Sportico’s projections as of 2023.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico, Forbes, or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But these projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2024:

Golden State Warriors: $9.14 billion
New York Knicks: $8.3 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $8.07 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $5.7 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $5.68 billion
Boston Celtics: $5.66 billion
Chicago Bulls: $5.56 billion
Miami Heat: $5 billion
Houston Rockets: $4.77 billion
Toronto Raptors: $4.66 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $4.57 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $4.46 billion
Phoenix Suns: $4.32 billion
Sacramento Kings: $4.11 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $4.07 billion
Denver Nuggets: $4.06 billion
Washington Wizards: $3.98 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $3.95 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $3.91 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $3.79 billion
Indiana Pacers: $3.74 billion
Utah Jazz: $3.67 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $3.6 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.55 billion
Orlando Magic: $3.46 billion
Detroit Pistons: $3.45 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $3.39 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $3.29 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $3.09 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $3.06 billion

As Badenhausen notes, Sportico’s projections are based on a control sale price, rather than limited stake purchases. No NBA franchise saw its majority control change hands in 2024, but that could change in 2025, with control of the Celtics up for sale.

According to Badenhausen, team executives and investors have predicted a sale price ranging from $4.5 billion to $6.5 billion for the Celtics. The final valuation will be determined by a number of factors, including how many bidders are on the mix, what percentage of the team they can buy, and whether current governor Wyc Grousbeck insists on remaining in that role until 2028, which he has indicated is his goal.

Southeast Notes: Ball, Miller, Mann, Carter, Wizards, Vukcevic

December 17th, 2024 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

There was both good and bad news on the injury front for the Hornets on Monday. Star point guard LaMelo Ball, who had been out since November 27, returned to action vs. Philadelphia after missing seven games, and while he made just 5-of-15 shots from the field, Ball posted his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 assists in just 26 minutes of action.

However, the return of one key Hornets starter coincided with an injury to another. As Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, forward Brandon Miller – the team’s second-leading scorer behind Ball – sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter and missed the rest of the game. The severity of Miller’s injury isn’t yet known, so it’s unclear how much additional time (if any) he might miss.

“I think that he might have stepped on a foot in front of our bench — I’m not sure whose — then going down the other way, he drives on I believe it was (Paul) George and lays it in,” head coach Charles Lee said. “And then just as he came down, he tweaked it. We’ll evaluate him, and I know our performance staff will be on top of it.”

The Hornets also provided an update on another injured guard on Monday, announcing (via Twitter) that Tre Mann has begun light court work and weight-room activities. Mann, who has been out since Nov. 21 due to disc irritation in his back, will be reevaluated in two weeks, according to the club.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Since returning from a 12-game injury absence on November 27, Magic big man Wendell Carter Jr. has been starting alongside Goga Bitadze and spending more time as a power forward than a center. The adjustment, necessitated by injuries to forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, has been a challenging one for Carter, though he said he thinks he’s getting back to his “old self” after spending a few games feeling like he was “floating” around the court, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “It’s tough. I’m more used to crashing the glass, being around the rim a lot more, being in the pick-and-rolls a lot more,” Carter said. “But being at the four is a little different for me. Sometimes it’s tough because it feels like you’re not doing anything, but guys who watch basketball actually understand that the more you are spaced, the more you give driving lanes for your teammates.”
The Wizards got a first-hand look on Sunday at the sort of offense they hope to build, according to Varun Shankar of The Washington Post, who says the front office wants to be able to field a lineup that features no offensive weak links and “multiple decision-makers and ball-handlers.” In their Sunday win over Washington, the defending champion Celtics had seven players score double-digit points and four players record at least four assists apiece, showing what that kind of offense looks like. The 3-21 Wizards, whose 103.7 offensive rating is easily the worst mark in the NBA, obviously have a long way to go.
Within the same Washington Post story, Shankar notes that Wizards two-way player Tristan Vukcevic made his G League season debut on Sunday after recovering from a left knee injury. Discussing Vukcevic’s return, head coach Brian Keefe spoke about what he wants to see from the young center this season. “You want him to start impacting the game on the defensive end, being a defensive anchor,” Keefe said on Sunday. “And then continue to do what he does offensively, which is stretch the court. Decision-maker, play-maker — those are the things he’s really good at. Really happy for him that he’s back on the court today.”

Eastern Notes: Pistons Defense, Embiid, George, Ball

December 15th, 2024 at 5:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have lost four of their last five games and eight of their last 11. That’s due to defensive issues that they are trying to clean up after playing just one game this past week.

“We’ve had some slippage because we haven’t had a ton of practice time,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “This week has been really, really good for us to be able to get that practice time. And then obviously you play good offensive teams like we’ve played through this stretch, that’s gonna have an impact on it also.”

Guarding the perimeter has been their biggest problem. They’ve dropped to the bottom five in the league in defensive three-point field goal percentage (37.7 percent). They’ll look to bounce back against Miami on Monday.

“You notice and try to recognize things that are trending,” Bickerstaff said. “I think our three-point defense has slipped as of late as far as the quality of shots we’re giving up, the percentages that teams are making from those spots, and the breakdowns that are leading to those. I think we have shown some pretty consistent stretches of it, but we haven’t put together the four quarters that we’re looking for.”

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Sixers star center Joel Embiid has officially been listed as out for their game against Charlotte on Monday due to a sinus fracture, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Embiid’s injury occurred during Philadelphia’s game against Indiana on Friday when he was struck in the face by Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin.
The Sixers need to get Paul George more involved in the offense, Pompey writes. He is averaging 15.9 points per game while shooting just 31.7% from deep. George has averaged at least 21.5 PPG every year since the 2015/16 season. “I think just moving a little more, just finding my way of moving,” George said. “Running the floor a little bit better. “I think we got to allow each other to create space. So I have to cut to the nail sometimes to allow Tyrese (Maxey) to play in the open court, then I got to do it. But I think for sure, just more clarity for myself.”
Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball appears to be on the verge of returning to action, having been listed as questionable to play on Monday vs. Philadelphia due to a left calf injury, according to Charlotte’s PR department (Twitter link). Ball hasn’t played since November 27.