- In his Hornets-themed mock draft, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer has the team selecting Connecticut guard Stephon Castle at No. 6 and Weber State small forward Dillon Jones at No. 42.
The Nets have formally announced Jordi Fernandez‘s coaching staff for the 2024/25 season, officially confirming (via Twitter) that previously reported names like Steve Hetzel, Juwan Howard, and Jay Hernandez will be among the assistants flanking the first-time head coach.
Hernandez is a carryover from last season’s staff, as are Adam Caporn, Ryan Forehan-Kelly, Corey Vinson, and Travis Bader. Besides Hetzel and Howard, the newcomers include Deividas Dulkys and Connor Griffin, whose hirings were also previously reported.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York-based teams, starting with Brooklyn:
- The Nets don’t publicly share the names of the prospects they’re working out during the pre-draft process, but as NetsDaily relays, a few names are being reported. For instance, Rick Pitino tweeted earlier this month that St. John’s guard Daniss Jenkins “killed” his workout with Brooklyn, while Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Thursday (via Twitter) that the Nets are among the teams that have worked out Adelaide 36ers wing Trentyn Flowers, who has also gotten a look from the Wizards, Bucks, Kings, Rockets, and Spurs, and has workouts on tap with the Lakers, Suns, Hornets, Jazz, Bulls, and Celtics.
- While New York City has a history of bombastic sports team owners, Joe Tsai of the Nets has made it clear he doesn’t intend to be one of them, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “My first principle is don’t treat yourself too seriously. Don’t become the face of the franchise, because it’s not about you,” Tsai said recently. “Fans don’t care about you: They care about the players. They care about the star players. … You work for the fans. So you have to come in with that mindset, especially when you own a major sports team in a major city. It’s an institution. It’s not about you. It’s something that’s much much bigger than you and I feel like I’m a custodian of the team.”
- Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required) takes a closer look at Jalen Brunson‘s contract situation, writing that while the Knicks’ point guard may ultimately be willing to sign an extension this offseason, he’d likely be in better position to maximize his long-term earnings if he waits until 2025.
- Fred Katz and Seth Partnow of The Athletic recently discussed the Knicks‘ offseason. According to Partnow, various analytics models had Isaiah Hartenstein‘s 2023/24 season valued in the range of $28-35MM. The 26-year-old center made $9.25MM this season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. New York only holds his Early Bird rights, which means it will be somewhat limited (four years, $72.5MM) in what it can offer him. A recent report said people around the league think Hartenstein could receive $20-25MM annually on his next deal, and potentially losing him would certainly dampen Partnow’s view of the Knicks. Katz and Partnow also discuss the pros and cons of Julius Randle and ways in which the Knicks can improve next season, among other topics.
- Speaking of Randle, the injured All-Star forward said he’s recovering well from shoulder surgery, though he still isn’t doing on-court work yet, per Bondy of The New York Post. One of New York’s main offseason questions is what to do with Randle, who is eligible for a lucrative extension this summer. For his part, the 29-year-old said he wants to stay long-term. “Yeah, I’ve always said from the very beginning I would love to be here in New York and I would love to continue to add on to what the guys did in the playoffs,” said Randle, who can also become a free agent in 2025. “I feel like that was my personal — biggest personal goal, or I’d say team goal in a sense, was when I got here is to be able to build and compete and to be at the point where we’re at now, where it’s an actual possibility (to win a championship). So really, that’s what my focus is, doing whatever I can to make sure I get healthy and get back and make sure I’m ready whenever we start playing again and contribute to winning. That’s really all my focus is and that stuff always in my career has taken care of itself.”
Rory Maher contributed to this post.
After using a lottery pick last year to add Bilal Coulibaly, the Wizards may draft another Frenchman early in the 2024 event, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who hears from league sources that the team expects to choose between big man Alexandre Sarr and forward Zaccharie Risacher.
Those prospects sit atop most 2024 big boards and mock drafts, so Washington may not actually get to “choose between” the two, given that one of them will likely be selected at No. 1. Still, Scotto’s report suggests the front office would be happy to add either Sarr or Risacher to its young core.
The Wizards’ long-term goal is to build its roster through the draft, Scotto writes, which is one reason why Brian Keefe – who has a reputation for being a strong player development coach – is considered the “heavy favorite” to be promoted from interim to permanent head coach in D.C.
According to Scotto, Washington would also like to retain free agent point guard Tyus Jones, who started 66 games in 2023/24 and could provide a stabilizing veteran presence for the Wizards youngsters. However, the expectation is that the Wizards will face competition for Jones if and when he reaches the open market.
Here are several more items of interest from Scotto’s latest aggregate mock draft at HoopsHype:
- If the Clippers end up losing Paul George, they’re a team to watch as a potential sign-and-trade destination for Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan, Scotto reports. A team must remain below the first tax apron if it acquires a player via sign-and-trade — that would be a more viable option for Los Angeles with George’s maximum-salary contract off the books.
- Rival executives anticipate that Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, who has been mentioned in trade rumors in the past, will become available again this offseason, Scotto writes. Hunter, who set new career highs in 2023/24 with 15.6 points per game and a .385 3PT%, is owed approximately $70MM over the next three seasons.
- The Jazz are expected to be open to trading their picks in this year’s draft, including No. 10 overall, and some people around the league believe team owner Ryan Smith is ready to add more high-level talent to the roster, Scotto writes, adding that Jazz CEO Danny Ainge has “aggressively monitored” the trade market.
- The Magic will focus on adding shooting in the draft and free agency, according to Scotto, who notes that rival executives are keeping an eye on the Thunder as a team that could be active in the free agent market for centers. Orlando ranked dead-last in the NBA this season in three-pointers made (11.0 per game), while Oklahoma City placed 28th in rebounding rate (48.4%).
- The Raptors will likely exercise their $23MM team option on swingman Bruce Brown, league sources tell HoopsHype. A previous report from The Toronto Star suggested the team was a good bet to pick up that option with an eye toward trading Brown.
- Former Weber State wing Dillon Jones has pre-draft workouts lined up with the Pacers, Hornets, Bucks, Celtics, Raptors, and Spurs, per Scotto.
After a productive rookie year, Hornets swingman Brandon Miller knows how he’s going to spend his first NBA offseason. “Weight room and eating,” he told Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer, explaining that he wants to get bigger and stronger to better handle the physical nature of the NBA.
“I’m ready to start another season right now,” Miller said. “I think my main focus this summer is to just keep putting on weight. I kind of want to build muscle mass just to be prepared for next season.”
A year ago, the Hornets were debating whether to take Miller or Scoot Henderson with the second overall pick, and the decision came down to the wire as both players made a final trip to Charlotte shortly before draft night. Miller rewarded the organization’s faith in him by appearing in 74 games and averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 44% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range. He became the sixth player in Hornets history to earn first-team All-Rookie honors.
Miller talked to Boone about wanting to become more of a leader now that he has a full year of NBA experience. He also plans to spend part of the summer working out with Clippers star Paul George, a player to whom Miller has often been compared.
“I think just being on the same court with him,” Miller said, “working out together, I think that’s a blessing, just being there with your favorite player, working with him, getting better, competing with him. So, it’s all going to be fun and a great summer.”
There’s more from Charlotte:
- Appearing on the TruTV broadcast of Friday’s playoff game, Grant Williams confirmed that Dallas considered sending him to the Bucks at the trade deadline before finalizing a deal with the Hornets, relays Brian Robb of MassLive. “It’s one of those things where we kind of worked our way, figured out what team that would look the best I feel like and Charlotte was the best opportunity,” Williams said. “I think the only other team that probably would have been an option was Milwaukee but that deal kind of fell through. Things happen.” Reporting at the time suggested there were exploratory talks between Dallas and Milwaukee involving Bobby Portis, but those discussions didn’t get serious.
- After falling to sixth in the draft lottery, the Hornets’ best option is to trade the pick to the highest bidder, Boone contends in a separate story. With an eight-year string of missing the playoffs, Boone believes there’s an urgency to turn around the team’s fortunes right away, which is more likely to happen with a veteran player than a young project. Boone also notes that the franchise is renovating its arena and raising ticket prices, so something has to be done to spark the fans’ interest.
- The team’s top priority for the summer involves building up a support staff for new head coach Charles Lee and making sure the entire organization is in sync with his philosophies, Boone states in a mailbag column. Boone expects Lee’s coaching staff to be completed fairly quickly, saying it won’t be like when Steve Clifford was brought back and assistants were still being hired after Summer League.
- With Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington both being moved at the trade deadline, finding another wing is the biggest positional need this offseason, Boone adds. He said the Hornets believe in positionless basketball, so whoever add sign will likely have the responsibilities of both a shooting guard and small forward.
The Hornets have reached an agreement to hire veteran assistant coach Chris Jent, reports Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
Jent will serve under Hornets new head coach Charles Lee, who has begun to put together his staff for his first year in Charlotte as he continues his role as a Celtics assistant during Boston’s playoff run. Previous reports indicated that the Hornets are also hiring Lamar Skeeter from the Jazz and Josh Longstaff from the Bulls.
Jent spent the last two seasons with the Lakers on Darvin Ham‘s staff, but Los Angeles parted ways with all of its assistants in addition to firing Ham earlier this spring, making Jent a coaching free agent.
Prior to his stint in L.A., Jent was an assistant for five years with the Hawks and also spent time with the Sixers, Magic, Cavaliers, and Kings in addition to two separate stints as an assistant at his alma mater of Ohio State. He has some head coaching experience too, having spent a year at the helm of the Bakersfield Jam (now the Motor City Cruise) in the G League in 2015/16, as well as briefly serving as an interim head coach in Orlando in 2005 following Johnny Davis‘ dismissal.
A wing at Ohio State from 1988-1992, Jent had a 10-year playing career before transitioning to coaching. He primarily played in international leagues, but was a member of the 1994 Rockets team that won a title and had a short stint with the Knicks during the 1996/97 season.
The maximum-salary rookie scale extensions that Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton signed last offseason will have starting salaries worth 30% of the 2024/25 salary cap instead of 25% after both players made All-NBA teams. Edwards earned a spot on the Second Team, while Haliburton made the Third Team.
As our maximum-salary projections for ’24/25 show, based on a $141MM cap, the five-year deals signed by Edwards and Haliburton will now be worth $245,340,000 instead of $204,450,000. Those numbers could change if the cap comes in above or below $141MM.
Edwards and Haliburton agreed to Rose Rule language in their respective extensions. The Rose Rule allow players coming off their rookie scale contracts to receive salaries worth more than 25% of the cap in year five if they make an All-NBA team during the season (or two of the three seasons) before their extension goes into effect. Players can also qualify by being named Most Valuable Player or Defensive Player of the Year.
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball had similar language in his maximum-salary extension, but injuries prevented him from having any shot at All-NBA team in 2023/24, so his contract will be worth $204.45MM over five years.
Here are more of the financial implications of today’s All-NBA selections:
- Because Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey didn’t make an All-NBA team, his maximum salary as a restricted free agent this offseason will be worth 25% of the cap instead of 30%. He’ll be eligible for a five-year deal up to a projected $204.45MM.
- Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander met the super-max performance criteria by earning All-NBA nods for a second straight year, but neither player has enough years of service yet to sign a designated veteran extension this summer. Both Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander will be eligible to sign super-max extensions, starting at 35% of the cap instead of 30%, during the 2025 offseason. As Bobby Marks of ESPN outlines (Twitter links), Doncic would be eligible for a five-year extension projected to be worth over $346MM that begins in 2026/27, while SGA could sign a four-year extension worth a projected $294MM+ that would begin in 2027/28.
- Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is one year ahead of Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander — he met the super-max performance criteria by making a second straight All-NBA team in 2023, but was still one year away from having the required years of service at that time. He’ll be eligible this July to sign a five-year super-max extension that will start at 35% of the ’25/26 cap and be worth a projected $314.85MM.
- Players who would have been eligible for super-max extensions if they had made an All-NBA team include Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray. All of those players could still qualify if they remain with their current teams and earn All-NBA honors next season, though it’s worth noting that Ingram is considered a trade candidate this summer and is highly unlikely to get a super-max offer even if he qualifies.
- Kings center Domantas Sabonis earned a $1.3MM contract bonus as a result of being named to the All-NBA Third Team, tweets James Ham of The Kings Beat.
LaMelo Ball and the Hornets are being sued by a North Carolina woman who claims Ball allegedly struck her son with his vehicle during an attempt to obtain Ball’s autograph, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday. The alleged incident occurred in October 2023, when the Hornets hosted a fan event at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
A number of fans, including the woman’s 11-year-old son, approached Ball’s vehicle at a traffic light. According to the lawsuit, when the light turned green, Ball drove “in a grossly negligent and reckless manner in that he accelerated his vehicle forward suddenly and without warning and struck” her son, “severely injuring him.” She claimed that Ball then left the scene.
The youngster suffered foot and back injuries due to the incident, according to the lawsuit.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The Pelicans’ CJ McCollum was chosen for the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award by the Pro Basketball Writers’ Association (Twitter link). The honor is presented annually by the PBWA to a player, coach or athletic trainer who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community. McCollum was honored for his extensive community work in and around New Orleans, with a focus on education, social-justice reform and efforts to provide equitable resources and opportunities for youth.
- The Australian National Team recently announced a 17-man roster that will take part in the official training camp in late June, before two games against China in Melbourne on July 2 and 4. The roster will then be pared to 12 players for the Paris Olympics. ESPN’s Olgun Uluc breaks down the roster player by player to determine who will make the cut. Josh Giddey, Jock Landale, Josh Green and Dante Exum are among the NBA players Uluc considers locks to make the squad.
- Kendrick Nunn is thriving overseas but he has not ruled out an NBA return. Get the details here.
The NBA officially unveiled the two All-Rookie teams for the 2023/24 season on Monday (Twitter links). The teams are as follows:
First Team
Chet Holmgren, Thunder- Jaime Jaquez, Heat
- Brandon Miller, Hornets
- Brandin Podziemski, Warriors
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs
Second Team
- Keyonte George, Jazz
- GG Jackson, Grizzlies
- Dereck Lively, Mavericks
- Amen Thompson, Rockets
- Cason Wallace, Thunder
Unsurprisingly, Wembanyama and Holmgren were unanimous selections to the first team (Twitter link). Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Wembanyama was also the unanimous choice for Rookie of the Year, with Holmgren receiving all but one second-place vote for that award.
The entire first team mirrored the Rookie of the Year balloting, with Miller, Jaquez and Podziemski coming in third through fifth. Lively received the most points for the second team, followed by Thompson, George, Wallace and Jackson.
Jackson is the only All-Rookie member who wasn’t drafted in the first round; he was selected 45th overall in 2023 and initially signed a two-way contract. He was converted to a standard contract in February.
The current youngest player in the NBA, Jackson didn’t start receiving regular minutes until mid-January. The 19-year-old put up some big numbers down the stretch though, including 31 points and 44 points in the final two games of the season.
Jackson beat out Warriors big man Trayce Jackson-Davis for the final spot on the second team by a single point. Jackson actually received fewer overall votes (38 vs. 42 for Jackson-Davis), but earned the nod by receiving five first-team votes, which were worth two points apiece (second-team votes were worth one point each).
A total of 22 rookies received at least one vote. Aside from Jackson-Davis, the other top finishers who didn’t make the cut were Pistons forward Ausar Thompson (35 points), Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (33), and Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly (14). Ausar is Amen’s identical twin brother.
All-Rookie was one of the awards that didn’t require players to meet the newly instituted 65-game minimum. Jackson, Lively, Thompson, and Wallace didn’t meet that criteria, but they were still eligible for All-Rookie honors.
Grant Williams had a prolific high school basketball career in Charlotte and was recently named one of the city’s best high school players of the past 40 years. Although he wasn’t drafted by Charlotte in the 2019 draft, he was traded to the Hornets at the 2024 deadline and made an immediate impact.
After being dealt from Dallas to the Hornets, Williams averaged 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game on 50.3% shooting. As a Maverick, he had been averaging 8.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG on 41.3% shooting. In a one-on-one interview with The Charlotte Observer’s Langston Wertz Jr., Williams opened up about his exit from Dallas, which was rumored to be related to a rift between him and star Luka Doncic).
“I think it’s a media creation,” Williams said, echoing what Doncic previously said. “I can text Luka today, and me and him are good. … As much as I can say yes, of course, I’ll probably go at Luka a little bit, at the same time, we’ve known each other for four or five years. It’s not something he didn’t expect. He knows I’m a competitive guy and we always compete. So no matter what rumors are out there, we still have a respect for each other and still talk.”
Williams will factor into Charlotte’s offseason planning while on an affordable contract that pays him an average of around $13.7MM annually over the next three years. Charlotte possesses two budding stars in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, and is armed with the No. 6 pick in the 2024 draft.
“You look at the team that ended the season versus the team that started. If you’re a 41-41 team in the West, you’re an 11th seed. In the East, you’re in the play-in,” Williams said. “So it’s only 20 more games for us to win, and I think if everyone is healthy, it’s a chance for us to make an impact and look like Orlando, Oklahoma City, [teams] like that.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets officially announced the hirings of assistant general manager Dotun Akinwale, vice president of basketball operations & strategy Ryan Gisriel, and vice president of basketball insights and analysis Patrick Harrel, according to a team release. Akinwale most recently served as Atlanta’s vice president of player personnel, Gisriel last worked with the Nets for 11 years, and Harrel spent the past eight years with the NBA. All of these hires were previously reported.
- The Wizards has brought in Michael Hartman to run the team’s strategy and analytics group, according to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. More front office hires are expected this offseason, according to Vorkunov. Hartman was previously with the Pelicans as the senior director of basketball operations.
- The Hawks, holders of the No. 1 overall pick, sent team personnel to watch Zaccharie Risacher in France in the first game of the season’s playoffs, as observed by Eurohoops.net (Twitter link). In attendance were general manager Landry Fields, coach Quin Snyder and assistant general manager Kyle Korver. Risacher, the No. 1 prospect on ESPN’s best available list for the 2024 draft, put up 14 points and six rebounds on 50.0% shooting in the game.
The Hornets had postseason aspirations entering training camp in 2023, but their season never really got off the ground, due in large part to a series of injuries that affected nearly every one of their starters and rotation players.
Among those injuries: LaMelo Ball, Charlotte’s star point guard, appeared in only 22 games due to a right ankle ailment that required surgery; back issues limited promising young starting center Mark Williams to just 19 contests all season; and three-and-D wing Cody Martin, a key connecting player, ended up playing only 28 times after missing the first two months of the season while recovering from a procedure on his left knee.
The Hornets’ roster wasn’t exactly loaded with star-level talent to begin with, so without much room for error, the team was unable to overcome a constantly full injury report to stay in the hunt in the Eastern Conference. But that was probably a blessing in disguise. Falling out of contention early made it an easy decision to sell off talent – including veterans like Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington, and Gordon Hayward – for young players, draft picks, and expiring contracts prior to February’s trade deadline.
It also served as a good time for the new ownership group, headed by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, to overhaul the front office — they hired promising young executive Jeff Peterson away from the Nets to replace Mitch Kupchak as the club’s head of basketball operations. A season of change was capped by head coach Steve Clifford stepping down from his role at season’s end to transition to a position in the front office.
Charlotte’s short-term outlook might not look much different than it did 12 months ago, but with a new general manager (Peterson), a new head coach (Charles Lee), and a new young cornerstone player (2023’s No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller) in place, there’s more reason for optimism in the long term.
The Hornets’ Offseason Plan
When a new management group takes over a rebuilding team, the first order of business is to establish which of the incumbent players are part of the long-term plan. In the Hornets’ case, there’s one obvious sure thing: Miller, whose impressive rookie season was largely overlooked while Victor Wembanyama was doing things we’ve never seen before in San Antonio and Chet Holmgren was anchoring the defense for the West’s No. 1 seed in Oklahoma City.
But Miller, a versatile wing defender with size, averaged 17.3 points per game and made 37.3% of his three-pointers in his first NBA season. He’s just 21 years old and has legitimate star upside, so the fact that Charlotte will have him on a rookie scale contract for three more years is a huge boon for the franchise.
We can probably add Ball to that list of core building blocks too. He’ll need to be healthier going forward for the Hornets to count on him, but Ball – who is only 15 months older than Miller – has an All-Star berth under his belt and appeared to be on the verge of leveling up early in the 2023/24 season, averaging 25.9 points and 8.6 assists in his first 14 games before getting hurt in the 15th. His five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension will begin this summer, so barring an unexpected pivot from the new front office, it’s safe to assume the plan will be to continue adding pieces around Ball and Miller.
Assuming his back issue doesn’t linger, Williams looks like one solid piece to complement those two rising stars. The big man showed in 2023 – both at the end of his rookie season and the start of his sophomore year – that he has the potential to develop into a solid starting center. He has one more year before he becomes extension-eligible, so the Hornets won’t have to make any decisions on him in the short term — they’ll just hope he’s healthy enough to get a longer look at him as the starting five in 2024/25.
While there’s no obvious fourth long-term keeper under contract at this point, there are a couple more candidates who could join that group. The first is whichever prospect Charlotte drafts with the No. 6 pick.
Assuming the franchise remains fully committed to Ball, selecting another ball-dominant player in that spot might not make sense, but pretty much any other position is a possibility, given the relatively wide-open nature of the roster. That includes a sharpshooter (Reed Sheppard or Dalton Knecht), a three-and-D forward (Zaccharie Risacher), a secondary ball-handler and play-maker (Matas Buzelis), a wing scorer (Ron Holland), or even a rim-protecting big man (Donovan Clingan). Some, but not all, of those players will be off the board by the time Charlotte is on the clock at No. 6, and Peterson will have a chance to put his stamp on the roster with his choice in that spot.
The other player whom the Hornets could make part of their core is unrestricted free agent Miles Bridges, who returned after a year out of the league and showed no signs of rust, averaging 21.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in a team-high 37.4 minutes per game. However, Bridges’ free agency is more complicated than most.
The reason Bridges was out of the league for a year is because he was facing credible domestic assault charges. His case was resolved when he accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to three years of probation, at which point he re-signed for one year with the Hornets, served an NBA suspension, and then reclaimed his spot in the team’s starting lineup. However, he later faced new allegations of domestic violence following the resolution of the initial case.
Those newer charges were eventually dismissed due to insufficient evidence for a trial, but they won’t exactly work in Bridges’ favor as he seeks a lucrative, long-term deal. The Hornets have a series of questions to answer before investing in Bridges long-term. Are they confident his legal issues are fully behind him? Are they comfortable making a major financial investment in him from a moral – and public relations – perspective? Do they want him to be one of the faces of their franchise? If they do try to re-sign him, will the off-court baggage bring his value down, both in contract talks and in potential future trade negotiations? And beyond all that, exactly how much value does he provide on the court, where he has only made 35.0% of his three-pointers in one of five NBA seasons?
It’s obviously not in a rebuilding team’s best interest to let a talented 26-year-old player go for nothing, but giving Bridges a big payday and then having him show up in the headlines again for the wrong reasons would be a black eye on the organization. The Hornets have a lot to consider as they weigh Bridges’ future — if they have reservations, it could make sense to explore another short-term contract, a deal with protections for the team, or sign-and-trade scenarios.
There are no true potential impact players on the rest of the roster, but Grant Williams, Martin, Nick Richards, Vasilije Micic, and Tre Mann are solid enough depth pieces who could either be trade chips this offseason or could return to fill out next season’s roster.
Of those players, I’d consider Micic the most likely trade candidate. A salary-matching piece in the Hayward deal, the Serbian play-maker was given a chance to play real minutes down the stretch and showed he’s capable of playing a backup point guard role at the NBA level. Micic will be on a pseudo-expiring contract (he has a team option for 2025/26) and the 30-year-old rookie would likely prefer to play for a contender. His poor three-point shooting (27.9% on the season, including 29.4% in Charlotte) will hurt his value a little, but he could at least net a second-round pick if the Hornets take back an unwanted contract.
After taking into account the cap hold for Bridges and the No. 6 pick, along with the partial guarantee on Davis Bertans‘ option year, the Hornets won’t have significant cap room this summer, especially if they decide to retain some of their players with non-guaranteed contracts, including Seth Curry, Aleksej Pokusevski, Bryce McGowens, and JT Thor.
Still, they could easily have at least $15MM+ to work with (or $30MM+ if Bridges walks), plus the $8MM room exception. That space might be best spent on accommodating salary-dump trades with teams looking to shed salary.
Having taken a step backward last season by trading a series of veterans, the Hornets presumably aren’t giving Peterson a mandate to get the team back to the playoffs as soon as possible, so he can afford to take things slow and continue to stockpile draft assets — that patient, deliberate approach to the rebuild may line up the team to land another top-six pick in the 2025 draft, which is considered stronger at the top than this year’s.
Salary Cap Situation
Guaranteed Salary
LaMelo Ball ($35,250,000)
- Ball’s cap hit is a tentative figure based on 25% of a projected $141MM cap.
- Grant Williams ($13,025,250)
- Brandon Miller ($11,424,600)
- Cody Martin ($8,120,000)
- Vasilije Micic ($7,723,000)
- Nick Richards ($5,000,000)
- Tre Mann ($4,908,373)
- Mark Williams ($4,094,280)
- Nick Smith Jr. ($2,587,200)
- Total: $92,132,703
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Seth Curry ($4,000,000)
- Curry’s salary will become guaranteed if he remains under contract through June 28.
- Aleksej Pokusevski ($2,273,252)
- Pokusevski’s salary will become guaranteed if he remains under contract through July 8.
- Bryce McGowens ($2,019,699)
- McGowens’ salary will become guaranteed if he remains under contract through July 18.
- Leaky Black (two-way)
- Marques Bolden (two-way)
- Total: $8,292,951
Dead/Retained Salary
- None
Player Options
- Davis Bertans ($16,000,000): Bird rights
- Bertans technically holds an early termination option. If he opts in, his salary will be partially guaranteed for $5,250,000.
- Total: $16,000,000
Team Options
- JT Thor ($1,988,598): Bird rights
- Thor’s salary would remain non-guaranteed if his option is exercised.
- Total: $1,988,598
Restricted Free Agents
- None
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- No. 6 overall pick ($7,510,680)
- No. 42 overall pick (no cap hold)
- Total (cap holds): $7,510,680
Extension-Eligible Players
- Tre Mann (rookie scale)
- Cody Martin (veteran)
- JT Thor (veteran)
- Extension-eligible until June 30 (or beyond, if his team option is exercised).
Note: Unless otherwise indicated, these players are eligible for extensions beginning in July.
Unrestricted Free Agents
- Miles Bridges ($15,050,470 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $15,050,470
Other Cap Holds
- Arnoldas Kulboka ($1,867,722 cap hold)
- Scottie Lewis ($1,867,722 cap hold)
- Total (cap holds): $3,735,444
Note: The cap holds for these players are on the Hornets’ books from prior seasons because they haven’t been renounced. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
Cap Exceptions Available
Note: The Hornets project to operate under the cap. They would have to renounce two trade exceptions – worth $3,585,600 and $442,826 – in order to use cap room. If they were to operate over the cap, they’d lose the room exception and would have access to the mid-level exception ($12,859,000) and bi-annual exception ($4,681,000).
- Room exception: $8,006,000