Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hornets Notes: McDaniels, Collins, Center Issues, Martin

February 28th, 2021 at 3:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels, fresh off a recent assignment with the club’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, may be able to stick with Charlotte’s rotation thanks to his improving defense, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

The 6’10” McDaniels’ wingspan and positional fluidity will be key in helping the Hornets on defense. “Knowing my rotations, and being in the right spots,” McDaniels said of the solution to finessing his skill set guarding the opposition. “Being the best defender (possible) is going to keep me in the league for a long time.”

There’s more out of Charlotte:

In another piece, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer weighs the pros and cons of a possible Hornets trade for Hawks restricted free agent-to-be John Collins. The talented power forward/center, who will probably command a maximum salary – or close to it – in the offseason, could be one of the best players on the freshly-exciting Charlotte. He is averaging 17.6 PPG and 7.5 RPG while posting a stellar slash line of .538/.383/.849 for a middling Atlanta club.
While a trade for Collins may not be realistic, it’s clear the Hornets need some level of upgrade at the center position, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Their vulnerabilities protecting the paint were exposed most recently in a 130-121 loss to the Warriors Friday. Even if Charlotte has to sacrifice a young prospect like Devonte’ Graham or Malik Monk, Bonnell posits, it may be worth it for the upgrade at the five.
Hobbled by injuries, the Hornets got some welcome availability news today, announcing that guard Caleb Martin is out of the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and can suit up against the Kings tonight, the team announced on Twitter.

Devonte' Graham Remains Sidelined For Hornets

February 26th, 2021 at 9:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Hornets guard Devonte’ Graham is out for a fourth consecutive game tonight due to a sore left knee, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Head coach James Borrego acknowledged earlier in the week that Graham may not be able to return prior to the All-Star break.

Injury/Illness Updates: Hayward, Martin, Schröder, Tucker, Wright

February 19th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets star forward Gordon Hayward practiced in full on Friday and is listed as probable to play against Golden State on Saturday, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Hayward missed last Saturday’s loss to San Antonio with lower back discomfort. The Hornets haven’t played since due to a couple of COVID-19 related postponements.

We have more updates regarding injuries and illness around the league:

Hornets coach James Borrego indicated Caleb Martin will likely take longer than his brother, Cody Martin, to be cleared from the league’s health and safety protocols, Bonnell adds in another tweet. The Martin twins have missed Charlotte’s last two games.
Lakers starting point guard Dennis Schröder will miss his second consecutive game on Saturday after being placed under the league’s health and safety protocols, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets.
Rockets forward P.J. Tucker returned to practice on Friday, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Tucker has missed the last two games with a bruised thigh.
Pistons point guard Delon Wright departed during the fourth quarter of his team’s game against Memphis on Friday with a right groin strain, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets.

Hornets Notes: Drummond, Practice, Protocols

February 19th, 2021 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

In an effort to find a logical landing spot for Cavaliers center Andre Drummond, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic says the Hornets make sense as a potential trade partner for Cleveland. Drummond’s $28.7MM salary is tricky to match, but Charlotte could get most of the way there by using Cody Zeller‘s expiring $15.4MM contract, according to Vecenie, who notes that adding Malik Monk‘s and Bismack Biyombo‘s expiring deals would result in enough outgoing salary.
After having a pair of games postponed due to COVID-19 contact tracing and having been unable to conduct more than individual workouts this week, the Hornets anticipate being cleared to practice by late Friday afternoon, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. For now, the Hornets’ Saturday game vs. Golden State remains on the schedule as planned.

Hornets Send Nick Richards Back To Greensboro Swarm

February 18th, 2021 at 9:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hornets have sent rookie center Nick Richards back to their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, according to Quinton Wash of Hornets.com. Richards, the No. 42 selection out of Kentucky in the 2020 draft, has played limited minutes across eight games with the club so far this season.

Hornets' Workouts Limited; Hayward Playing Like All-Star

February 17th, 2021 at 8:38am CST by Luke Adams

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).

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.

Multiple Spurs, Hornets Games Postponed After Four Spurs Test Positive

February 16th, 2021 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

Four Spurs players have tested positive for the coronavirus and the team’s next three games will be postponed, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Hornets, who faced San Antonio on Sunday, will enter the NBA’s contact tracing protocols and will have their next two games postponed as well, per Wojnarowski.

The NBA has issued a press release confirming Woj’s report and noting that additional contact tracing is required for players on both teams’ rosters.

The Spurs already had their Tuesday game vs. the Pistons postponed after one positive COVID-19 test was confirmed, so they’ll have a total of four games pushed back in the next week. That includes Wednesday’s contest in Cleveland vs. the Cavaliers, Saturday’s game in New York vs. the Knicks, and next Monday’s game in Indiana vs. the Pacers.

If possible, San Antonio would resume its schedule next Wednesday in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. For the time being, the Spurs remain quarantined in Charlotte, where they’ve been since Sunday, tweets Wojnarowski.

As for the Hornets, they’ll have home games against the Bulls on Wednesday and the Nuggets on Friday postponed. If further testing and contact tracing doesn’t reveal any positive tests on the roster, the team could be cleared to host the Warriors on Saturday.

A total of 29 NBA regular season games have now been unexpectedly postponed due to the coronavirus, as our tracker shows. A 30th game was pushed back to the second half to accommodate another rescheduled game.

Martin Brothers, Washington Remain Out Due To COVID-19 Protocols

February 14th, 2021 at 1:40pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Caleb Martin and Cody Martin remain out for the Hornets today due to coronavirus-related issues, and starting power forward P.J. Washington has been categorized as doubtful ahead of today’s contest against the Spurs, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

Towns Questioned Playing Friday After COVID-19 Outbreak In Charlotte

February 14th, 2021 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns went to head coach Ryan Saunders to question the wisdom of playing Friday’s game in Charlotte after three Hornets players entered the league’s health and safety protocols, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Towns said he started to get “spooked” after learning Cody Martin, Caleb Martin and P.J. Washington would all have to miss the game due for coronavirus-related reasons. Hornets coach James Borrego wasn’t allowed to join his team until an hour before tip-off as he waited for his test results.

“It just brought up so many things I’ve been through, and it affected me in such a way where basketball wasn’t important anymore,” Towns said. “And I remember going up to Ryan and asking, ‘Are you sure we should play this?’ These guys had some COVID positives and we’re playing with guys who were around these people.”

No NBA player has been hit harder by COVID-19 than Towns, who lost his mother and six other loved ones to the virus. He missed close to a month after testing positive in January, and although he is still carrying antibodies that make re-infection unlikely, Towns was concerned about the risk to his teammates and to the other Hornets.

“I was one of those guys that was negative today and tomorrow negative and the next day I was positive with COVID — and a bad case of it,” Towns said. “I understood where the situation was for me and not knowing what the timeline for the cases and stuff like that, and I didn’t know if they were contagious, not contagious, how well the contact tracing was and all that stuff, so I was more worried for the guys and I was worried for myself.”

Krawczynski notes that the NBA has been operating in a high-risk environment since the season began. Teams take chances every day by flying from city to city while hoping that strict protocols and frequent testing will be enough to protect the players, who are confined to their hotel rooms and have their post-game handshakes monitored.

The league has already seen 23 games postponed, albeit none since February 1. Most games are still being played in empty arenas, and there have been a few regrettable incidents, such as Kevin Durant being removed in the middle of a game last week.

Towns understands that players and owners want to keep the season going, but incidents like the one in Charlotte are a harsh reminder that the virus hasn’t gone away.

“It’s not going to stop,” he said. “The world, especially America, is just getting more and more COVID cases. I’m just worried. My heart goes out to all the people that have gotten COVID, the families that have been affected by it. I just couldn’t stomach seeing one of my guys get it and not being able to do anything. I’ve already had that situation once; I’m not trying to have that one again.”

Martin Brothers Sidelined By Protocols

February 12th, 2021 at 5:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets brothers Cody Martin and Caleb Martin will miss Friday’s game against the Timberwolves due to the league’s health and safety protocols, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. P.J. Washington has also been sidelined by the protocols, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets.

Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels has been recalled from the G League’s Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, who won’t be available until at least Sunday due to quarantine rules, has averaged 20 points and 11.5 rebounds in two games at Orlando’s bubble.