Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Porter, Pate, Adams, 2025 Mock, Ownership Changes

July 3rd, 2024 at 8:14pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Former Raptors forward Jontay Porter is being charged with a federal felony in connection to the sports betting scandal that caused him to be banned from the NBA in April, according to a report from The Associated Press.

While a specific court date and charges haven’t been specified, the case is known to be related to an existing charge of four men who schemed with a player to cash in on tips from said player (Porter) regarding his plans to exit two games early. The four men appeared in court in June, but haven’t yet entered pleas. They were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the AP.

The NBA’s investigation into Porter found that he tipped off those four men about his health and then exited one game with illness, causing anyone who bet his unders to cash in. He also gambled on games he didn’t play in, including against his own team.

Porter appeared in 26 games with the Raptors last season on a two-way contract. He is not permitted to sign another NBA contract, as per his ban.

We have more from around the basketball world:

With the G League Ignite shut down, projected 2025 first-round pick Dink Pate is signing with the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes for next season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Pate became the youngest professional basketball player last season at age 17 — he was not eligible for the 2024 draft because he doesn’t turn 19 until the 2025 calendar year. In 31 games with the Ignite last season, Pate averaged 8.0 points, 3.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds per contest. The G League formally announced the move in a press release (Twitter link).
Alabama’s men’s basketball program is hiring Pistons assistant coach Brian Adams as an assistant under head coach Nate Oats, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Adams had NBA experience with both the Sixers and Clippers before joining Detroit midway through last season. He’s served as a collegiate assistant at Harvard and Marist as well.
Duke’s Cooper Flagg is ESPN’s top prospect for 2025, but a pair of Rutgers guards aren’t far behind in a mock draft from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (ESPN+ link). Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper sit at No. 2 and 3, respectively, in the mock, and are each currently viewed by some teams as the top prospect in the class. Givony and Woo name Pate, Duke’s Tyrese Proctor, South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles and UConn’s Alex Karaban as some of the top returning players to watch.
The NBA has made a change to its ownership rules, according to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. Ownership groups are no longer allowed to have governors rotate control. The Bucks did this with Marc Lasry and Wes Edens, with Lasry serving as governor until he sold his share with Edens taking over in 2028. The Hornets are doing the same with Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin. Those two franchises will be grandfathered in, according to Vorkunov, meaning they aren’t impacted by this rule change.

Kemba Walker Returns To Hornets In Coaching Role

July 3rd, 2024 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have officially announced Charles Lee‘s staff for the new head coach’s first season in Charlotte, and the group includes one particularly notable name. According to a press release, former Hornets star Kemba Walker has been hired as a player enhancement coach.

Walker officially announced his retirement as a player on Tuesday and wasted no time transitioning into the next stage of his career. He hinted in Tuesday’s announcement that a new job in the NBA might be coming, writing, “Basketball will forever be a part of my life so this isn’t goodbye. I’m excited for what’s next.”

The ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft, Walker became the Hornets’ full-time starting point guard in his second NBA season and maintained that role through the 2018/19 campaign. He earned three All-Star berths and averaged 19.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 34.1 minutes per game across 605 total regular season games during his time in Charlotte before leaving for Boston in a sign-and-trade in 2019.

Lee is a former Celtics assistant, but his time in Boston didn’t overlap with Walker’s.

Most of the rest of Lee’s staff has been previously reported. It includes assistant coaches Lamar Skeeter, Josh Longstaff, Chris Jent, Blaine Mueller, Ryan Frazier, Matt Hill, and Jermaine Bucknor, the Hornets confirmed.

Zach Peterson has been hired as an assistant coach and director of player development, while Zeke Chapman has been named head video coordinator.

Hornets Waive Marques Bolden

July 3rd, 2024 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have waived center Marques Bolden, the team announced today (via Twitter). He had been occupying one of the team’s two-way slots.

An undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Duke, Bolden has bounced back and forth between the NBA and the G League over the past five years. In 2023/24, he began the season on a two-way contract with the Bucks. After being waived by Milwaukee, he signed a 10-day contract with the Hornets, then stayed with Charlotte on a two-year, two-way deal.

Bolden appeared in just 11 games at the NBA level last season, averaging 3.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per night. In 31 G League games for the Bucks’ and Hornets’ affiliates, the 26-year-old put up 12.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.6 BPG in 24.6 MPG with a solid shooting line of .548/.429/.769.

Bolden was listed on the Summer League roster recently announced by the Warriors (Twitter link), so this move had been anticipated. The Hornets now have a pair of open two-way slots, with Leaky Black filling the third.

Scotto’s Latest: Markkanen, Achiuwa, Knicks, Kessler, Vucevic, Sixers

July 2nd, 2024 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The expectation around the NBA, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, is that the Jazz will only seriously consider trading Lauri Markkanen if they receive a huge offer similar in value to the one Brooklyn got for Mikal Bridges, which included four unprotected first-round picks, an unprotected first-round swap, and one more lightly protected first-rounder.

The decision on Markkanen is viewed as an inflection point for the Jazz, who could accelerate their timeline by trying to find another star to join him in Utah or extend their timeline by moving the star forward and continuing to stockpile assets ahead of a loaded 2025 draft.

In addition to confirming the four teams previously reported to have interest in Markkanen (the Warriors, Spurs, Kings, and Timberwolves), Scotto adds the Pelicans to the list of potential suitors for the star forward. However, he says New Orleans has been reluctant to discuss valuable young role players like Trey Murphy and Herbert Jones.

Brandon Ingram, the most obvious trade candidate on the Pelicans’ roster, wouldn’t be a logical target for Utah in a Markkanen trade. New Orleans is including a pair of first-round picks in its deal for Dejounte Murray but could still offer as many as four first-rounders (2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031) in a package for a player like Markkanen.

Here’s more from Scotto:

Unrestricted free agent Precious Achiuwa – who is drawing interest from multiple contenders, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv – liked playing in New York and remains open to re-signing with the Knicks, Scotto writes. The Knicks’ search for help at center has also involved making trade calls to the Jazz about Walker Kessler and the Hornets about Nick Richards, according to Scotto, who says rival executives think the Jazz are more willing to listen to inquiries on Kessler than they would’ve been a year ago.
With DeMar DeRozan seemingly on the verge of leaving Chicago, there’s a belief around the league that the Bulls may look to trade Nikola Vucevic and make the roster even younger, league sources tell Scotto.
Providing several Sixers-related updates, Scotto says Philadelphia is expected to either trade or waive Paul Reed and his $7.7MM non-guaranteed contract, has exploratory trade interest in Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith, and wants to add more shooting and guard depth, with Lester Quinones and Kyle Lowry among the players on its radar. Additionally, second-round pick Adem Bona is expected to get a standard contract and a place on the 76ers’ 15-man roster, Scotto reports.

Kemba Walker Announces Retirement

July 2nd, 2024 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran NBA guard Kemba Walker announced today (via Instagram) that he has decided to retire as a professional basketball player.

“I want to start this by thanking God for everything he has given me. Basketball has done more for me than I could’ve ever imagined, and I am super thankful for the amazing journey I’ve had,” Walker said in his announcement. “With that, I’m here to share that I am officially retiring from the game of basketball. This has all been a dream. When I look back, I still can’t believe the things I achieved in my career.

“… Basketball will forever be a part of my life so this isn’t goodbye,” he added. “I’m excited for what’s next.”

The ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft, Walker became the Hornets‘ full-time starting point guard in his second NBA season and maintained that role through the 2018/19 campaign, earning three All-Star berths and averaging 19.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 34.1 minutes per game across 605 total regular season games during his time in Charlotte.

Walker left the Hornets for the Celtics during the 2019 offseason and made another All-Star game during his first year in Boston. However, knee issues slowed him down well before the expiration of his four-year, maximum-salary contract with the Celtics. He was traded during the 2021 offseason to the Thunder, who bought him out.

Walker subsequently appeared in 37 games with his hometown Knicks in 2021/22 and nine contests with the Mavericks in ’22/23 before playing for AS Monaco in the EuroLeague in his final professional season in ’23/24.

Walker still holds numerous franchise records in Charlotte. He’s the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with over 12,000 points and has more made three-pointers (1,283) than any other player in team history.

The 34-year-old also won an NCAA title with UConn in 2011 and made an All-NBA third team during his last year as a Hornet in 2019.

Southeast Notes: Valanciunas, Salaun, Simpson, Wagner, Heat

July 1st, 2024 at 10:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Reaching a three-year agreement with 32-year-old center Jonas Valanciunas seems like an odd move for a rebuilding team. So why did the Wizards do it?

As Josh Robbins and William Guillory of The Athletic see it, Valanciunas’ presence will allow second overall draft pick Alex Sarr to develop at a slow and steady pace. Sarr needs to add bulk and muscle to his seven-foot frame and Valanciunas can match up against more physical centers. The veteran can also serve as a role model to the team’s other younger players.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Hornets lottery pick Tidjane Salaun suffered a minor laceration near his knee but is expected to be available for the start of Las Vegas Summer League next week. However, he will unavailable when the team begins mini-camp in Sacramento on Tuesday. Second-round pick KJ Simpson won’t play during either the Sacramento or Las Vegas Summer Leagues as he continues to rehab a hamstring injury suffered during the pre-draft process. He is expected to be fully recovered and available at the start of training camp this fall, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter links).
The Magic have reached an agreement with backup big Goga Bitadze but they’re still interested in re-signing Moritz Wagner, who reciprocates that interest, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Orlando declined its $8MM option on Wagner’s contract prior to free agency.
Other than reaching a two-year agreement with Kevin Love, the Heat haven’t done much in terms of their 15-man roster during the first two days of free agency. It’s a product of the team’s salary-cap crunch, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. They don’t have much to offer to outside free agents and new restrictions in the CBA make it harder to pull off a trade. Miami also doesn’t have much draft capital to facilitate those deals.

Mavericks To Acquire Klay Thompson In Three-Team Sign-And-Trade

July 1st, 2024 at 6:49pm CST by Luke Adams

6:49pm: The Warriors will receive a pair of second-round picks from Dallas to complete the Thompson sign-and-trade, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Wojnarowski (Twitter links).

One of those picks will be the Mavs’ own 2031 second-rounder, Woj adds (via Twitter). The other will be the least favorable of the Sixers’ and Nuggets’ 2025 second-rounders, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. That 2025 pick belonged to the Hornets, so it appears one of the second-rounders Charlotte is sending to Dallas is immediately being rerouted to Golden State.

Combining all of today’s reporting, it sounds like the trade will break down as follows:

Mavericks to acquire Thompson (via sign-and-trade) and a future second-round pick (from Hornets).
Hornets to acquire Green (into cap room).
Warriors to acquire either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Hornets) and the Mavericks’ 2031 second-round pick, in addition to generating a trade exception worth about $16MM.

1:34pm: After spending his first 13 NBA seasons with the Warriors, Klay Thompson is reportedly headed to Dallas. Thompson intends to sign a three-year, $50MM contract with the Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

As Wojnarowski outlines, the plan is for the Mavs to acquire Thompson from Golden State in a three-team sign-and-trade, with swingman Josh Green heading from Dallas to the Hornets in the deal.

The Warriors and Mavericks are still working through the sign-and-trade details, according to reports from Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter links), who both say that the deal isn’t considered done from Golden State’s perspective.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports tweets that there’s a framework in place for a deal sending Green to Charlotte, while Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link) also hears that the Hornets are in agreement on their part of the deal.

As Marc Stein tweets, it sounds like Thompson, the Mavs, and the Hornets are all on board, with just the Warriors left to sign off. Golden State doesn’t want to take back salary in the transaction, Stein adds.

Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the Hornets will be sending Dallas a pair of second-round picks for Green and that one of those second-rounders may be rerouted to Golden State.

The 11th pick of the 2011 draft, Thompson is one of the most accomplished shooters in league history, ranking sixth all-time in three-pointers made. The 34-year-old, who has knocked down 41.3% of his attempts from long distance over the course of his career, made five All-Star teams and won four championships with the Warriors.

While Thompson has remained an extremely productive rotation player, averaging 17.9 points per game with a .387 3PT% in 77 games (29.7 MPG) this past season, he has lost a step since suffering a torn ACL in 2019 and a torn Achilles in 2020. He was removed from the starting lineup in Golden State this season and his relationship with the franchise appeared to fray leading up to the expiration of his contract, resulting in Saturday’s news that he intended to leave the Warriors for a new team.

Thompson reportedly intended to talk to the Lakers, Clippers, and Sixers in addition to the Mavs when free agency opened on Sunday, with the Magic among the other teams said to have interest in the veteran sharpshooter. According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Thompson had four-years offers worth more overall money available, but the opportunity to win another championship and the difference in state taxes were among the factors that made him choose Dallas.

Thompson will give the Mavs another shooter on the wing alongside star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. So far this offseason, the team has essentially swapped out three wings – Tim Hardaway, Derrick Jones, and now Green – for three new ones: Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes.

Assuming the deal is completed as reported, the Mavs’ team salary will be a few million above the tax line and about $3MM below the first apron, which will be their hard cap, per cap experts Bobby Marks of ESPN and Yossi Gozlan (Twitter links).

The Hornets were interested in Green back at the trade deadline when they worked out a separate deal with Dallas involving P.J. Washington, notes Fischer (via Twitter). They’ll get their man now and – based on the details reported so far – figure to operate as an under-the-cap team in order to take the incoming salaries of both Green and Reggie Jackson, whom they’re acquiring in a trade with Denver.

The Warriors, meanwhile, will be in position to create a trade exception worth Thompson’s new salary if they don’t take back any contracts in the deal. With Thompson and Chris Paul off their books for 2024/25, the Dubs have some newfound financial flexibility and appear poised to use their full mid-level exception to sign free agent guard De’Anthony Melton.

FA Rumors: KCP, Harden, Kennard, Hartenstein, Jones, Highsmith, More

June 30th, 2024 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

After Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported earlier today that the Nuggets are preparing to lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms there’s a growing belief around the league the veteran wing won’t remain in Denver.

The Magic have “significant” interest in Caldwell-Pope and there has been growing buzz about the possibility of Orlando aggressively pursuing him, Scotto says, adding that the Magic’s interest in Klay Thompson has cooled by comparison. Multiple executives who spoke to HoopsHype believe Caldwell-Pope will sign for $20-25MM per year.

The Sixers, who have also frequently been cited as a Caldwell-Pope suitor, have been exploring the feasibility of landing both KCP and Paul George using their cap room, tweets Marc Stein.

Here are several more rumors with the official start of free agency just a couple hours away:

While James Harden has been mentioned as a possible mid-level ($12.9MM) target for the Lakers, the expectation is that the Clippers will be willing to pay him approximately double that amount, Scotto writes, echoing a comment made by Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN (YouTube link).
Rival executives aren’t expecting Luke Kennard to be truly available as an unrestricted free agent, according to Fischer, who says Kennard and the Grizzlies seem to be interested in continuing their relationship after the team turned down its option the sharpshooter on Saturday.
New Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon is known to be a fan of center Isaiah Hartenstein, so Detroit is considered a candidate to make a play for the Knicks big man, Fischer reports. A return to the Knicks still hasn’t been entirely ruled out for Hartenstein, though the Thunder continue to be viewed as a probable suitor as well, Fischer notes.
With point guard Tyus Jones seeking starter-level money as a free agent this offseason and the Wizards still in the early stages of their rebuilding project, there’s a growing sense that Washington will be open to moving Jones via sign-and-trade, per Scotto.
Free agent wing Haywood Highsmith is expected to draw interest from a mix of cap-room teams such as the Pistons, Hornets, Jazz, Spurs, and Sixers, as well as over-the-cap clubs like the Pacers, Kings, and Warriors, league sources tell Scotto, who suggests the 27-year-old could end up with a deal in the range of the full mid-level.
The Lakers are expected to have interest in re-signing both Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie, with Dinwiddie also likely to draw interest from the Mavericks, Scotto writes. NBA executives who spoke to HoopsHype projected Prince to potentially land a contract in the range of $5MM+ annually over two years.

FA Rumors: KCP, Pacers, Mid-Level Usage, Suns, Gillespie, Bullock

June 30th, 2024 at 1:53pm CST by Luke Adams

While teams with cap room have been mentioned most frequently as the top suitors for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link) has continually heard the Pacers mentioned as a team to watch for the veteran swingman.

A previous report suggested that a cap-room club like the Sixers or Magic could make an oversized short-term offer (e.g. two years, $50MM) for Caldwell-Pope, but Singer says he’s heard KCP would prefer a longer-term deal.

As John Hollinger of The Athletic writes, if the Nuggets are willing to negotiate a sign-and-trade deal, a package along the lines of Aaron Nesmith and Jarace Walker might work financially, based on Caldwell-Pope’s projected salary range. However, a sign-and-trade involving Caldwell-Pope would hard-cap the Pacers at the first tax apron and the Nuggets at the second apron, so some financial creativity could be required, especially on Denver’s end.

Here are a few more free agency rumors and notes from around the NBA:

Within his latest round-up of rumors, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports says not many teams around the NBA are expected to use the full mid-level exception to sign a player, since it can now be used as a de facto trade exception, so there’s some value in retaining a portion of it. Of course, even last season, before the mid-level could be used to accommodate trades, only one team used the entire amount on a single player (Toronto on Dennis Schröder).
The Suns have been linked to a ton of potential minimum-salary point guards, according to Fischer, who names Kyle Lowry and Monte Morris as two of the players viewed as possible targets for Phoenix. There has even been some chatter about the possibility of a reunion with Chris Paul if he’s waived by Golden State, Fischer adds.
After being made an unrestricted free agent by Denver, guard Collin Gillespie is expected to receive interest from the Hawks, Hornets, Suns, and Timberwolves, sources tell Fischer. Gillespie may have to accept a two-way contract and compete for a standard roster spot, Fischer adds. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and SKOR North (Twitter link) confirms Minnesota’s interest in Gillespie but says the team doesn’t seem likely to land him.
Veteran wing Reggie Bullock is unlikely to re-sign with the Rockets, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Iko, multiple teams have interest in Bullock, who figures to be a minimum-salary target.

Fischer’s Latest: Clippers, George, Warriors, Mavs, KCP, Klay, Nuggets, More

June 30th, 2024 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

As they navigate the challenges of the second tax apron for 2024/25 and beyond, the Clippers have been adamant to this point that they don’t want to complete a contract longer than three years for any players, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Barring a change of heart, that means Los Angeles will be unwilling to go higher than three years for its own star free agents, Paul George and James Harden.

While Harden seems likely to end up on a new three-year agreement with the Clippers, per Fischer, that three-year limit has been a point of contention in negotiations with George. Both the Sixers and Magic – who are set to meet with George late on Sunday night – are willing to offer the star forward a four-year, maximum-salary contract, Fischer confirms.

Outside of the Clippers, Sixers, and Magic, there’s another team “lingering on the periphery” of the George situation, according to Fischer, who says the Jazz‘s “dreamiest plot” for the offseason would be to use their trade assets to acquire an impact player on the trade market (they pursued Mikal Bridges before Brooklyn agreed to send him to New York) and to use their cap room to land George. However, as Fischer acknowledges, it’s extremely unlikely that George will decide to sign in Utah.

Here’s more from Fischer’s latest rumor round-up, with the official start of free agency just hours away:

The trade options the Warriors have considered – using Chris Paul and/or Andrew Wiggins as outgoing pieces – range from giving up draft picks in a deal for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram to acquiring a pick along with Bulls guard Zach LaVine, sources tell Fischer. If they don’t find a trade they like and lose Klay Thompson via free agency, the Warriors will have the full mid-level exception available. They’re considering possible targets using that MLE, says Fischer.
The Mavericks likely would have attempted to make a trade with the Nuggets to acquire Kentavious Caldwell-Pope if he had picked up his $15.4MM player option, Fischer reports. Now that Caldwell-Pope has opted for free agency, Thompson appears to be the free agent wing most likely to end up in Dallas, according to Fischer, who says Thompson also continues to be one of the Sixers‘ secondary targets if they miss out on George.
As for Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets are preparing to lose him, with the Sixers and Magic both holding “strong” interest in the veteran swingman, per Fischer. A deal with one of those cap-room teams in the range of $50MM over two years could be a possibility for KCP, Fischer adds.
Having traded away Reggie Jackson, the Nuggets are in the market for a backup point guard. Sources tell Fischer that Russell Westbrook would have been a target using the taxpayer mid-level exception if he had opted out of his contract with the Clippers. Fischer also mentioned Hornets guard Vasilije Micic as a Denver target, noting that Zeke Nnaji – who is on the trade block – could be sent out in a deal for Micic.
The Nuggets have also long had interest in big man Dario Saric, who could be a target in free agency, Fischer says.
While it won’t be one of their top short-term priorities as free agency begins, the Clippers are expected to eventually work out an extension with center Ivica Zubac, sources tell Yahoo Sports.