- After wrapping up his first season with the Hornets, Terry Rozier is ready to take on a larger role, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “I’ve had a lot of time over six months to figure out how I can be a better leader: Get to the guys, talk to them how they like it,” Rozier said. The combo guard averaged 18.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 4.1 APG this season, after inking a three-year free-agent deal last summer with Charlotte. Rozier also spoke about how hard its been not being able to play in an organized game in six months. “I’m not going to sugar-coat and say, ‘Ah, six months is nothing.’ It’s been tough on all of us.”
A year after Dwight Howard‘s NBA career appeared to be on life support, the veteran center is once again healthy and making an impact for a Lakers team that has become the strong favorite to win the 2020 championship, writes Chris Mannix of SI.com.
As Mannix details, Howard wore out his welcome at several of his other recent NBA stops, including in Charlotte. The Hornets believed the big man “didn’t impact winning,” according to one team official, and were worried about the influence he might have on the team’s young players, including Malik Monk.
In Los Angeles, Howard has accepted a complementary role that suits him and is part of a locker room whose veteran leaders are capable of quelling any chemistry issues that may arise, according to Mannix, who suggests that the eight-time All-Star should be able to extend his NBA career by a few years if he’s willing to play a similar role going forward.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area explores Isaac Okoro‘s potential fit with the Warriors, suggesting that the young forward has the chance to develop into an Andre Iguodala-type player.
- In a separate story for NBC Sports California, James Ham identifies some of the key questions facing new Kings head of basketball operations Monte McNair, who will have big decisions to make on De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Buddy Hield, among others.
- Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee takes a look at the analytics background that McNair brings to Sacramento and how his expertise in that field may affect the Kings‘ basketball decisions going forward.
- The Clippers‘ second-round loss this summer was a disappointing one, but it will help two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard learn the role that failure plays in superstardom, contends Michael Lee of The Athletic.
The Hornets have officially published the list of 17 players who will participate in their in-market bubble mini-camp this week and next, including 13 players on the NBA roster and four from their G League affiliate.
Among the most interesting inclusions on the Hornets’ list are Dwayne Bacon and Willy Hernangomez, both of whom are eligible for free agency this offseason. A number of veteran free agents have opted out of these voluntary mini-camps so as not to risk injury, but Bacon and Hernangomez are young players who are unlikely to generate major interest on the open market, so they’re not jeopardizing massive paydays by participating.
The two Hornets players who aren’t taking part in the team’s group activities are Nicolas Batum and Bismack Biyombo. As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes, Biyombo’s absence doesn’t come as a major surprise, since he’s an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Batum, meanwhile, has one year left on his contract, but he has been in France for much of the summer and his wife is pregnant with the couple’s second child, per Bonnell.
- While he acknowledged that the 2020 NBA draft class may not be as star-studded as some past groups, Hornets head coach James Borrego is confident that the team will be able to use the No. 3 pick on a player who will “really add value to our program,” as he tells Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “Mitch (Kupchak) and I have dialogue every day,” Borrego said. “I’m excited about the third pick and the 32nd pick, as well. That’s a really good pick for us. The more I dig in, the more I like.”
Meyers Leonard has recovered from a severe ankle sprain he suffered in February, but his role with the Heat has completely changed, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Leonard was Miami’s starting center in 49 of the 51 games he played, but he has only been on the court for nine minutes in the playoffs.
“My team knows this, and our coaching staff knows this,” Leonard said. “I would do anything to be out there. And I’d be lying if I said that I’m not competitive as hell. I wish I was impacting the game on the floor. I’m not, but as a person and as a player, I want what’s best for everybody.”
Leonard was still recovering from the injury when the hiatus began in March, which caused team facilities to shut down and forced a change in his rehab process. Miami also switched to a smaller lineup after acquiring Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala at the trade deadline. Coach Erik Spoelstra informed Leonard of his reduced role before the restart began.
“There’s just two things that I won’t ever let be questioned and that’s character and work ethic,” Leonard said. “Every day when I walk through the door, I’m going to be a great guy, a great teammate. It’s not fake. So I’m trying to make my impact now from the sideline.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard is a believer in analytics and he hopes to use data to help the team lessen its risk of injuries, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. More teams are turning to load management to avoid overextending players during the regular season, and Sheppard thinks numbers can play a role in that. “Rather than have to react to an injury, you could see possibly something on the horizon and take that player out of harm’s way,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you shut him down, but maybe they play less in a game, or maybe they don’t play at all, or maybe they have active recovery days.”
- In a separate story, Katz teams with David Aldridge of The Athletic to assess the Wizards‘ current situation and find a way to rebuild the franchise. Aldridge notes that Washington used its $9.2MM mid-level exception to sign four players last summer and suggests that the entire amount should be targeted to one player this year, possibly Derrick Jones Jr., Rondae Hollis-Jefferson or Maurice Harkless.
- With the third overall pick and two selections in the second round, the Hornets might benefit more than most teams from the decision to delay the draft until November, writes Danny Thompson of Sports Illustrated.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, who previously won the Rookie of the Year award, was the only player unanimously selected to this year’s All-Rookie First Team, the league announced in a press release. A panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters selected the team.
Heat guard Kendrick Nunn collected the second-most First Team votes (98) and total points (197). Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, Pelicans forward and top overall draft pick Zion Williamson, and Warriors forward Eric Paschall rounded out the First Team.
Morant and Clarke became the first Grizzlies duo named to the All-Rookie First Team since the 2001/02 season, when Pau Gasol and Shane Battier earned the honor. Nunn is the first Heat player named to the First Team since Michael Beasley in 2008/09.
Heat guard Tyler Herro, Raptors guard Terence Davis II, Bulls guard Coby White, Hornets forward P.J. Washington, and Wizards forward Rui Hachimura gained All-Rookie Second Team honors.
Knicks wing and third overall pick RJ Barrett finished 13 points behind Hachimura for the final spot on the Second Team, with Sixers forward Matisse Thybulle narrowly missing a spot as well.
The voting was conducted based on regular-season games played prior to the restart.
Monday, September 14 marks the first day of the three-week offseason workout window for the NBA’s bottom eight teams. The first phase of these de facto training camps will last for one week, through next Monday. During that time, activities will continue to be limited to individual workouts, as participants begin being tested daily for the coronavirus.
After one week, once participating players have returned multiple negative COVID-19 tests – or have been quarantined if they test positive – the second phase of the camps will take place in bubble-type environments. Group workouts, including practices and intra-squad scrimmages, will be permitted during the next two weeks as coronavirus testing continues.
The eight teams not invited to Orlando – the Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Hawks, Knicks, Pistons, Bulls, and Hornets – won’t congregate at a single site like the top 22 teams did at Walt Disney World. Their “bubbles” will be created in their respective markets.
[RELATED: Eight Teams Left Out Of Restart To Conduct Workouts At Home Sites]
For instance, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes, the Bulls will stay at a downtown hotel and will be transported back and forth between there and the Advocate Center. The Hawks, meanwhile, are working to secure their players a hotel that has not yet opened to help avoid any outside contact, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The other clubs will make similar arrangements.
These workouts – both the individual sessions this week and the group activities beginning next week – are entirely voluntary. However, since these players have been unable to take part in organized basketball activities with teammates since March and are likely itching to get back on the court, there’s an expectation that attendance will be robust for most clubs.
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports, for example, that the Hawks anticipate all their core players – including Clint Capela – will take part in the camp. Jeff Teague is one of the only players not expected to participate, per Spencer, who notes that the veteran point guard is ticketed for free agency.
The Pistons are in a similar situation — James L. Edwards III of The Athletic reports that free-agent-to-be Langston Galloway isn’t expected to be in attendance, but most of the rest of the team’s players will participate.
There are some cases where players who could reach free agency in the coming months will take part in workouts. For instance, Marc Berman of The New York Post says that Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson will likely be in attendance for the Knicks. Portis has a pricey team option for 2020/21, while only $1MM of Gibson’s $9.45MM salary is guaranteed, so both vets could be let go by the team this fall.
Berman does caution that some veteran Knicks players intend to participate in individual workouts but won’t join the rest of the club in the “bubble.”
Teams that want to fill gaps on their roster and make sure they have enough players to hold intra-squad scrimmages will be able to invite players who suited up for their G League affiliates this past season. For example, Lindell Wigginton and Canyon Barry of the Iowa Wolves will join Minnesota for the team’s mini-camp at Mayo Clinic Square, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
With these offseason camps set to end on October 6 and the NBA Finals likely to wrap up shortly thereafter, the next time clubs meet for organized activities will presumably be for training camps at the start of the 2020/21 season.
- The Hornets will have a uniquely fluid offseason, starting with a myriad of draft options with the No. 3 pick, writes Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Guard LaMelo Ball, swingman Anthony Edwards, and center James Wiseman appear to be the consensus top three picks this year, though Vecenie notes that the Hornets might also want to consider trading the pick and a promising young Charlotte player to the Warriors or Timberwolves in order to move up in the draft.
- In his latest mailbag, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer explores if the Hornets could trade Nicolas Batum’s contract and potential draft options at No. 3 overall, among other topics. Bonnell believes that Batum, who is entering the final season of a five-year, $120MM deal, will likely stay in Charlotte. He details how the Hornets couldn’t trade Marvin Williams, who made $14MM last season — if Charlotte couldn’t move Williams’ contract, it will be hard to trade Batum, who will make $27MM next season.
Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Charlotte Hornets.
Salary Cap Outlook
The Hornets’ salary cap flexibility has been limited for years due to pricey commitments to role players. While a couple of those contracts – Cody Zeller‘s and Nicolas Batum‘s – remain on the books for one more year, Charlotte is no longer on the hook for Bismack Biyombo, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, or Marvin Williams and will have a little cap room to work with as a result.
The exact amount of space the Hornets will have to work with will depend on where the cap lands and what they do with certain free agents and players with non-guaranteed salaries, but it projects to be in the $20MM range. They’ll also have the room exception available — it’ll be worth $4.77MM if the cap doesn’t increase.
Our full salary cap preview for the Hornets can be found right here.
Roster Decisions To Watch
Options:
- Nicolas Batum, player option: $27,130,434 (Oct. 6 deadline)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts:
- Devonte’ Graham ($1,663,861)
- Caleb Martin ($1,517,981)
- Jalen McDaniels ($1,517,981)
Two-Way Contracts:
- Ray Spalding (expires in 2021)
- Kobi Simmons (expiring)
Free Agents:
- Bismack Biyombo (Bird)
- Willy Hernangomez (Bird)
- Dwayne Bacon (RFA; Bird)
2020 Draft Assets
First Round:
- No. 3 overall pick
Second Round:
- No. 32 overall pick
- No. 56 overall pick
With the possible exception of the Timberwolves, the Hornets were the biggest beneficiary in this year’s draft lottery. They entered the evening with the eighth-best odds, but moved up to the No. 3 spot in the draft and will have an opportunity to select one of the top prospects in this year’s class.
In the second round, the Hornets traded away their own pick (No. 38), but had acquired picks from the Cavaliers and Celtics at Nos. 32 and 56, respectively.
Three Key Offseason Questions
1. What will the Hornets do with the No. 3 overall pick?
A number of the Hornets’ fellow lottery teams – including the Timberwolves and Hawks – have one or two rising young stars to build around. That’s not the case in Charlotte, where no current Hornets players have ever made an All-Star team or averaged 20+ PPG in a season.
Charlotte could badly use some star power, and jumping up to No. 3 in the draft puts the franchise in position to secure a player with All-Star potential. LaMelo Ball is widely considered by draft experts to be the player with the highest ceiling among this year’s prospects, and there are plausible scenarios in which he could slip to No. 3, with Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman in play for the first two draft slots.
The Hornets’ top two scorers in 2019/20 – Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier – are also guards, but president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak has repeatedly stated that he won’t let positional considerations impact his pick in this year’s lottery. And Graham and Rozier don’t have the same level of upside that Ball does.
If Ball comes off the board before the Hornets pick, Kupchak could instead turn to Wiseman, an athletic seven-footer who remains a work in progress on both ends of the floor, but has big-time potential as both a scorer and a rim protector. If he develops as planned, Wiseman could be Charlotte’s long-term answer in the middle.
Since Ball, Wiseman, and Edwards are widely considered to be the top three prospects in this year’s class, some interesting trade opportunities may arise for the Hornets — a team that covets one of those top three prospects could be willing to put together a significant trade package to move up.
Still, it’s worth recalling that one of Kupchak’s first moves when he took control of the Hornets’ front office in 2018 was to trade down one spot in the draft from No. 11 to 12, clearing the way for the Clippers to take Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Two years later, Gilgeous-Alexander is exactly the sort of rising star the Hornets could badly use, so Kupchak will be wary about missing out on a similar opportunity in 2020.
2. Will the Hornets be able to maximize their cap room on the trade market?
Kupchak has said multiple times in recent months that the Hornets don’t expect to be a major player in free agency this offseason. However, the team should still have in the neighborhood of $20MM in cap room — unless ownership doesn’t plan on spending to the league’s salary floor, that means the club will likely take advantage of its cap space on the trade market.
There are two directions the Hornets could go as they pursue trades. One would involve using their cap room to accommodate straight salary dumps in order to accumulate assets. The other would see them use their space to target a player who could become a long-term contributor.
Let’s run through both scenarios, starting with a potential salary dump. The idea here would be to take on unwanted salary along with a draft pick, allowing the Hornets’ trade partner to clear cap room of their own or avoid a pricey luxury tax bill. Last offseason, for instance, we saw the Grizzlies, Clippers, and Hawks acquire first-round picks for taking on Andre Iguodala, Maurice Harkless, and Allen Crabbe, respectively.
It’s a little too early to single out specific teams that could be willing to dump money to Charlotte this offseason, but a club like Philadelphia could fit the bill. The Sixers currently project to be a taxpayer in 2020/21 and have some exorbitant long-term contracts on their books. Maybe they’d be willing to give up a future first-round pick if the Hornets are willing to take on Al Horford‘s pricey multiyear deal in exchange for Cody Zeller‘s less expensive expiring contract.
On the other hand, the Hornets could single out specific players who would fit into their long-term plans and might be available via trade this offseason. Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, and Kelly Oubre are among the young, promising players who may be redundant on their current teams and could be nice fits in Charlotte.
Of course, in those examples, the Hornets would have to give up an asset or two of their own in a trade. If the ask is P.J. Washington or a future first-round pick, that might be a non-starter. But Charlotte could offer cap relief, Malik Monk, Cody Martin, second-round picks, or even a heavily-protected first-rounder — that might be enough to have a conversation about someone like Oubre.
3. Is a contract extension in play for Devonte’ Graham?
Graham’s breakout season in 2019/20 was one of the bright spots of the Hornets’ year and bodes well for the team’s developmental program. Graham – who averaged 18.2 PPG, 7.5 APG, and a .373 3PT% this season – is on a minimum-salary contract for one more year before becoming eligible for restricted free agency in 2021.
Rather than letting Graham play out that deal and risking him signing an expensive offer sheet next year, the Hornets may explore the possibility of a contract extension this offseason. It has now been more than two years since Graham originally signed with the club, so he’ll be extension-eligible throughout his contract year — a new deal signed this year would go into effect for the 2021/22 season.
Because he’s a minimum-salary player, Graham would be eligible for a starting salary worth up to 120% of the league’s estimated average salary. If the cap stays the same in 2020/21 as it was in ’19/20, that would translate to a maximum extension of $51.4MM over four years.
It’s possible Graham would rather bet on himself and try his luck in restricted free agency — that’s what Bogdan Bogdanovic did this past year when he received an identical extension offer from the Kings.
But Graham only really has a one-year track record so far. And unlike Bogdanovic, who made $8.5MM this season, he has only been a minimum-salary player since entering the NBA. A long-term deal worth nearly $13MM per year could sound awfully good to him, and it’s a pretty fair price for the Hornets, even if they don’t expect the 25-year-old to make another major leap within the next year or two.
Josh Richardson, Norman Powell, and Spencer Dinwiddie are among the players in recent years who have signed three- or four-year extensions worth 120% of the NBA’s average salary. I’d expect the Hornets to see whether Graham may want to follow suit this offseason.
Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
His team hasn’t played a game since March, but Hornets owner Michael Jordan has emerged as an important go-between for NBA team owners and the players at the Walt Disney World campus, writes Jackie MacMullan of ESPN.
As MacMullan explains, Jordan is the NBA’s only Black majority owner, and his experience as a player allows him to connect with current players in a way that other franchise owners may not be able to. According to MacMullan, Jordan spoke to NBPA president Chris Paul before this morning’s player and owner meetings to get a better understanding of what players hope to achieve going forward.
“Michael is the perfect person to be in this role,” one league official told ESPN. “He’s been a high-profile player who has won championships. He’s also the owner of a small-market team. He has great credibility both with the players and the owners.”
During Thursday morning’s Board of Governors meeting, Jordan was a “voice of reason,” according to MacMullan, who says the former Bulls superstar urged his fellow owners to listen to players’ frustrations and concerns before offering their own solutions. League sources tell ESPN that team owners unanimously supported the players and spent much of their meeting discussing how to amplify player voices.
The NBPA had been scheduled to meet this afternoon at 4:00pm eastern time – with two or three reps from each team participating in the discussion – to iron out the issues they want to address with team owners, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. A meeting between players and owners will follow at 5:00pm, with Jordan – who is the chair of the labor relations committee – set to participate.
Reports have indicated that many players favored continuing the season due to the platform the restart has created to raise awareness of social injustices, and MacMullan writes that a number of owners – including Jordan – expressed a similar sentiment.
Of course, it’s worth noting that financial considerations will also incentivize the two sides to remain on the same page going forward. Sources tell The Athletic that players would have lost approximately 15% of this year’s salary if they’d chosen to end the season, and would have been risking about 35% of their salaries for next season. The lost revenues associated with a stoppage would have hit team owners hard as well.