Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Notes: Rozier, Monk, Porzingis, Anthony

November 16th, 2019 at 8:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Terry Rozier made his first trip of the season tonight to Madison Square Garden, which he thought this summer might be his home arena, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. The Knicks pursued the former Celtic in free agency, but declined to match the best offer from the Hornets, who paid him $58MM over three years.

“It was probably one of my first options,’’ Rozier said of going to New York. “I probably was going to make it happen. Other things happened and I ended up going to Charlotte. It was the interest they showed in me, that was big. The organization believed in me, why not.’’

The Knicks wound up signing a short-term deal with Elfrid Payton, who missed his ninth straight game tonight with a strained hamstring. Rozier, who is averaging 17.0 points and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 38.4% beyond the arc, could have brought some stability to the team’s point guard situation.

“I didn’t know how crazy it gets once that free agency starts,’’ he said. “[The Knicks] were one of the teams I was active with. It was hard to sleep. I was getting phone calls with my agent so much.’’

There’s more from New York:

Another Hornets guard who expected to be a Knick is Malik Monk, who believed New York was going to draft him two years ago before the team opted for Frank Ntilikina, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Monk worked out for former team president Phil Jackson shortly before the draft and had dinner with several Knicks representatives. “Me, my agent, everybody in my agency, my family — we thought we were going to New York,” Monk said. “It was here, my agent is here (based in New York), a great agent, everybody thought it was going to be here. Went to dinner with (Jackson), had a great workout, everything was positive.”
Kristaps Porzingis was loudly booed during his return to the Garden this week, but Carmelo Anthony remains a beloved figure even though they both wanted to leave town, notes Frank Isola of The Athletic. They are viewed differently, Isola observes, because the Knicks were starting to rebuild when they unloaded Anthony and had nothing to gain by trying to convince fans that the breakup was his fault.
Coach David Fizdale believes past failures and the desires of the New York crowd for a winner are affecting his team, states Colin Martin of SNY.tv. “I really felt like this team is just trying to do so well for the city,” Fizdale said. “… Their intentions are right. They’re trying to carry the weight of the city on their shoulders. I just told them you can’t do that. I said it’s an impossible task. You’ve got to focus on who’s around you in the locker room and put forth effort for the people in the locker room and the city will appreciate that kind of effort.”

Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Southeast Division

November 15th, 2019 at 8:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Southeast Division:

Devonte’ Graham, Hornets, 24, PG (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $4MM deal in 2018
The Hornets have until July 7th to decide whether to guarantee Graham’s $1,663,861 for next season. Safe to say, that decision has already been made. In terms of salary vs. production, Graham might be the biggest bargain in the league this season. Making just over $1.4MM, Graham leads the team in scoring at 18.0 PPG and 7.3 APG while coming off the bench in all but one game. The Kansas product appeared in 46 games last season, averaging 4.7 PPG in 14.7 MPG. With Kemba Walker bolting to Boston, Graham has blossomed in an expanded role.

Goran Dragic, Heat, 33, PG (Up) – Signed to a five-year, $85MM deal in 2015
Dragic played in just 36 games last season due to right knee surgery. Dragic, now 33, has been a starter most of his career and had to adjust to a second-unit role this season. Thus far, he’s been healthy and productive. He’s averaging 16.1 PPG and 5.1 APG in 28.4 MPG while making just 1.8 TPG. Dragic’s $19.2MM expiring contract is a tradeable asset if the Heat decide to shed salary. For now, Dragic is a valuable part of an improved team that should make the playoffs out of arguably the weakest division in the NBA.

E van Fournier, Magic, 27, SG (Up) – Signed to a five-year, $85MM deal in 2016
Following a couple of sluggish outings against Oklahoma City and Dallas in which he shot 3-for-12 from the field, Fournier has put together a nice three-game stretch. He’s averaged 18.0 PPG and 5.0 APG during that span while knocking down nine 3-pointers and committing just four turnovers. Orlando won two of those games. The team’s second-leading scorer has a $17.15MM option on his contract for next season. In a very weak free agent market, Fournier has plenty of incentive to decline that option in order to secure another long-term deal.

Evan Turner, Hawks, 31, SF (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $70MM deal in 2016
A rotation piece for a playoff team in recent seasons, Turner was swapped by the Trail Blazers for Kent Bazemore during the offseason. Turner was expected to provide veteran stability to a mostly inexperienced unit in Atlanta. But he only averaged 11.3 MPG during the Hawks’ first three games before being sidelined by Achilles soreness. It’s uncertain how much time Turner will require to recover from the injury. In the meantime, Atlanta has plenty of other options at the wing positions and the return of Allen Crabbe further clouds Turner’s role whenever he’s healthy enough to play.

Isaiah Thomas, Wizards, 30, PG (Up) – Signed to a one-year, $2.32MM deal in 2019
Thomas’ latest attempt to revive his career seems to be working out. Since returning from a training camp injury, Thomas has jumped into the rotation and seen his playing time steadily increase. He’s averaging 13.9 PPG and 6.3 APG while shooting 38.5 percent from long range in 24.1 MPG. Following a lost season in Denver, Thomas has at least reestablished himself as a rotation player. That’s a heartwarming development for a popular player who was an MVP candidate just a few seasons ago in Boston.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hornets Notes: Graham, Rozier, Batum

November 14th, 2019 at 1:40pm CST by Luke Adams

As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer notes, Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak has talked in recent months about the team’s top priority being retaining young talent, rather than going out and signing veteran free agents. In the early going this season, second-year point guard Devonte’ Graham has emerged as the sort of player worth investing in, with averages of 18.0 PPG and 7.3 APG through 11 games.

If the Hornets do want to lock up Graham, they’ll have to wait to do so, writes Bonnell. Non-rookie-scale contracts can’t be extended until at least two years after they were signed, so Graham won’t become extension-eligible until next July, when he enters the final year of his current deal.

At that time, the Hornets would be able to offer him a four-year extension with a starting salary worth up to 120% of the NBA’s estimated average salary. A similar extension going into effect in 2020/21 would be worth approximately $51.4MM over four years, but that figure will be a little higher in 2021/22. It will be interesting to see over the course of this season whether Graham continues to prove he’s worth that sort of commitment.

Here’s more on the Hornets:

Graham’s early-season success has overshadowed Terry Rozier‘s first few weeks as a Hornet, but the team’s big offseason acquisition had his best game on Wednesday, matching his career high with 33 points. In a separate article for The Charlotte Observer, Bonnell takes a look at how Rozier can help the Hornets, and how the team might best utilize him and Graham together.
In his latest mailbag for The Observer, Bonnell tackles a handful of Hornets-related topics, exploring Dwayne Bacon‘s slow start, whether Charlotte should pursue a third point guard, and whether it was ultimately in the franchise’s best interests to move on from Kemba Walker.
Veteran forward Nicolas Batum, who has been out since opening night with a broken finger, fully participated in practice today and told reporters that he hopes to return on the Hornets’ upcoming four-game road trip (Twitter link). That trip begins on Saturday in New York and ends next Friday in Washington.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/11/19

November 11th, 2019 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

The Knicks assigned rookie forward Ignas Brazdeikis to their Westchester affiliate, the team’s PR department tweets. The second-round pick out of Michigan has made three cameo appearances with New York.
The Jazz recalled Miye Oni from the Salt Lake City Stars, according to a team press release. The rookie guard out of Yale posted five points, six rebounds and five assists in his G League debut.
The Hornets assigned Caleb Martin to the Greensboro Swarm, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. The rookie swingman out of Nevada has appeared in three NBA games, averaging 1.7 PPG in 8.3 MPG.

Southeast Notes: Walker, Jordan, Parker, Wizards

November 10th, 2019 at 7:05pm CST by JD Shaw

Despite leaving the Hornets in free agency this past summer, Kemba Walker still holds a positive relationship with owner Michael Jordan and the city of Charlotte.

Walker, who spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Hornets, opted to sign a four-year, maximum-salary deal worth $141MM with the Celtics in early July.

“MJ is always going to be a special guy in my life,” Walker said last week after his return to Charlotte, as relayed by Steve Reed of the Associated Press. The Celtics wound up winning the game 108-87. “He’s one of the reasons I am where I am today.”

Jordan drafted Walker No. 9 overall in the 2011 draft, starting his professional career in a Hornets uniform. Walker has rapidly improved since his rookie season and is currently known as one of the league’s elite point guards, holding per-game averages of 24.5 points and 4.5 assists with Boston on the season.

“He gave me the opportunity to flourish as a basketball player,” Walker said of Jordan. “He gave me the opportunity to grow as a man in this community. So, MJ definitely has a special place in my heart for sure.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:

Count Jordan and former Hornets head coach Steve Clifford among those who aren’t jumping on the NBA’s “load management” bandwagon, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. “Our guys aren’t used to sitting on the second game of a back-to-back.… We’re not sitting guys just to sit,” said Clifford, who currently coaches the Magic. “For me, my background frankly, it all goes back to expectations. Being with Michael in Charlotte, Michael used to tell them every year, you’re paid to play 82 games.”
K.L. Chouinard of NBA.com profiles Hawks forward Jabari Parker, labeling the sixth-year player as “the NBA’s oldest 24-year-old.” Parker has displayed a respectable amount of maturity in recent seasons and has interests typically shared by his elders, including older music and cars, Chouinard explained. Parker has averaged 16.4 points and five rebounds per game for the Hawks this season, starting in three of his eight contests.
The Wizards are working to find a difficult balance between developing young players while still competing in today’s league, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington notes. Washington has young players with high potential such as Rui Hachimura (21) and Thomas Bryant (22), along with established veterans such as Bradley Beal (26), Isaiah Thomas (30) and others.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/7/19

November 7th, 2019 at 9:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

The Nuggets have assigned rookie forward Vlatko Cancar to the Erie BayHawks, the team’s PR department tweets. The 2017 second-round selection has appeared in one game, a two-minute cameo on Oct. 31. Denver doesn’t have a G League affiliate.
The Clippers assigned center Mfiondu Kabengele and guard Derrick Walton Jr. to the Agua Caliente Clippers for a practice and then recalled them, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets.
The Bulls assigned swingman Denzel Valentine, who missed last season due to an ankle injury, to the Windy City Bulls, the team’s PR department tweets. Valentine practiced with the G League team and is expected to remain with them for their first two games on Friday and Saturday. Rookie power forward Daniel Gafford was also assigned to the Windy City Bulls and will remain for their season opener, according to another team tweet.
The Spurs assigned forward Chimezie Metu to their Austin affiliate, then recalled him prior to their game against Oklahoma City, according to a team press release. He’ll be re-assigned to Austin for its season opener on Friday.
The Hawks assigned swingman Allen Crabbe to the College Park Skyhawks for a practice and then recalled him, according to Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the team’s PR department (Twitter links). Crabbe is working his way back from knee surgery.
The Hornets assigned two rookies, guard Cody Martin and forward Caleb Martin, to the Greensboro Swarm for a practice and then recalled them, according to a team press release. They also recalled rookie forward Jalen McDaniels, according to another team release.

Celtics Notes: Hayward, Walker, Fall, Smart

November 6th, 2019 at 6:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics may finally have the version of Gordon Hayward that they invested a four-year max deal in, writes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Two years ago, Hayward suffered a severe ankle injury that wiped out virtually his entire 2017/18 season and limited his effectiveness throughout 2018/19.

But through the first six games of this season, he seems back to his All-Star self, averaging 20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per night while emerging as the leader of Boston’s offense. The latest example came last night as he hit 17-of-20 shots from the field and posted 39 points in a win at Cleveland, then told reporters that he hopes to leave concerns about his ankle in the past.

“I don’t think about it,” Hayward said. “I haven’t thought about it for a while. Hopefully you guys can stop asking me questions about that.”

There’s more Celtics news to pass along:

Some of Kemba Walker‘s former Hornets teammates shared their memories of him with Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer in advance of Walker’s return to Charlotte tomorrow night. Walker spent eight years in the city and set nearly every franchise scoring record before signing with the Celtics this summer. “If you didn’t know basketball, and you walked into our locker room, you wouldn’t guess that guy was the star,” Nicolas Batum said. “He never acted crazy with any of that star stuff, like skip practice or be lazy today.”
With the G League season starting soon, fan favorite Tacko Fall will probably only make brief appearances with the Celtics, according to Tom Westerholm of MassLive. Fall is limited to 45 days in the NBA, and the team wants to maximize that time in case early-season injuries to its centers continue. “We’ve played multiple games now down two bigs,” coach Brad Stevens said. “So now we’re going to have him come up for one day (at a time) a lot I think, rather than a week at a time or two weeks at a time.”
Marcus Smart had an injury scare during a collision last night, relays John Karalis of MassLive. “The oblique again, the exact same one, and it knocked the wind out of me,” Smart said in reference to the torn left oblique that limited his availability in last year’s playoffs. “It was scary because I thought the same thing was about to happen that happened last year. But thank God the oblique is stronger and it’s able to withstand hits like that, so that’s good.”

Cauley-Stein Passed On Hornets' Offer; Zeller Off To Strong Start

November 6th, 2019 at 1:25pm CST by Luke Adams

In an interesting, in-depth profile of Willie Cauley-Stein for The San Francisco Chronicle, Connor Letourneau notes that the Hornets presented the free agent big man with a $9MM offer during the summer before he opted to sign a minimum-salary contract with the Warriors.

Letourneau mentions the Hornets’ offer in passing and doesn’t provide any additional details on the timing or structure. Charlotte had its full mid-level exception available this offseason and theoretically could have offered Cauley-Stein $9MM for one year, or per year, though it would be surprising if he turned down such a proposal. A two-year deal in that range seems more realistic, but that’s just my speculation.

Either way, Cauley-Stein passed on the offer, which has helped open the door for Cody Zeller to take on a more prominent role in the Hornets’ frontcourt. As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes, Zeller has suddenly become a cornerstone for the franchise, averaging career highs in PPG (12.8) and RPG (10.5) so far this season. After missing 82 games over the last two years, Zeller says he feels great, while James Borrego suggests the big man is crucial to Charlotte’s offensive attack.

“We want to play through him,” the Hornets’ head coach said. “Cody allows us to play a number of ways, especially with pace. He’s a great runner. He starts our offense in transition. And he has to play-make for us — on and off the ball. He’s been primarily a screener over the years. Right now, I want the ball in his hands at the top of the (key) in DHO (dribble-handoffs).”

NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Southeast Division

November 1st, 2019 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the 2019/20 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.

Friday is just the 11th day of the 2019/20 regular season, so trade talks around the NBA haven’t started to heat up yet. In fact, the trade market has been pretty quiet for months — no deal has been completed since the Thunder and Rockets finalized their Russell Westbrook/Chris Paul swap way back on July 16.

Still, based on contract situations and early-season rotations, some potential trade candidates may begin to emerge sooner rather than later. Here’s a look at three Southeast players who could fit that bill…

Dion Waiters, SG
Miami Heat
$12.1MM cap hit; $12.65MM guaranteed salary in 2020/21

Waiters was said to be unhappy with his playing time during the preseason and was suspended for the Heat‘s first game of the season after expressing his displeasure on the sidelines during the club’s final exhibition contest. Since then, he has remained inactive as he works toward meeting Miami’s conditioning requirements.

According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link), Waiters was “contrite” when he met with Heat officials this week, so perhaps he’ll eventually return to action, accept a reduced role, and play out the rest of his contract with the team without incident. Still, this feels a little like the situation Miami previously encountered with Hassan Whiteside, who griped about his declining role multiple times and eventually got traded.

With two years still left on his contract, Waiters doesn’t have positive trade value at this point, and the Heat’s hard cap will make it tricky for them to pull off certain deals. A trade may have to wait until 2020/21. But if the team explores the market in search of a major deal in the coming months, Waiters is a good candidate to be included to match salaries and get him a change of scenery.

Willy Hernangomez, C
Charlotte Hornets
$1.68MM cap hit; UFA in 2020

The Hornets almost certainly wouldn’t mind moving big expiring contracts belonging to Bismack Biyombo, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Marvin Williams. But it’s hard to imagine the team getting quality assets for any of those players.

As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer pointed out in a recent mailbag, a trade involving Hernangomez might be more realistic, since his expiring salary is just $1.68MM. If a team is willing to give up a second-round pick for Hernangomez, Charlotte would probably listen, Bonnell writes.

Still, it’s not clear if there will be a team willing to pay even that modest price for Hernangomez, whose stock has dipped in the years since a promising 2016/17 rookie season. He has played in just two of the Hornets’ five games so far, and his trade value will be limited by the fact that he’ll be an unrestricted – rather than restricted – free agent at season’s end.

C.J. Miles, G/F
Washington Wizards
$8.73MM cap hit; UFA in 2020

Miles has already been traded twice in 2019, from Toronto to Memphis in February and then to Washington in July. With the Wizards in retooling mode and not expected to contend this season, there’s no reason to think the team wouldn’t move him once more before the deadline if he can rebuild his value.

Although he’s still recovering from offseason foot surgery, Miles is reportedly inching closer to making his Wizards debut. The veteran swingman should fit right in on a squad that has been letting it fly from beyond the arc so far — Washington has attempted the sixth-most three-pointers in the NBA (38.0 3PG) and ranks fourth in three-point percentage (38.2%).

Given the other shooters on their rosters, the Wizards won’t need to lean on Miles to space the floor, but it will be interesting to see whether they give him regular minutes to showcase him for a potential trade. That $8.73MM expiring deal won’t be easy to move, and a buyout may ultimately be more likely, but if Miles looks healthy and is knocking down 40% of his threes, maybe a playoff team in need of shooting help gets desperate.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/28/19

October 28th, 2019 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls by each team. With training camps now open, here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ PR department tweets. Hutchison, who recently had his contract option for the 2020/21 season picked up, is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
As expected, the Grizzlies assigned former lottery pick Josh Jackson to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ PR department tweets. That was the plan all along when Memphis acquired the former Suns forward this offseason and he attempts to jump-start his career.
Undrafted rookie guard Jalen Lecque was assigned to Northern Arizona by the Suns, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The rookie guard out of Yale was selected with the 58th overall pick in June.
The Timberwolves assigned forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid to their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Bates-Diop was a second-round selection last year, while Nowell was chosen in the second round this June. Reid is an undrafted rookie out of LSU.
The Mavericks assigned rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Roby, who played at Nebraska, was chosen in the second round in June and acquired in a draft-night deal.
The Sixers assigned swingman Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s PR department tweets. Smith, a 2018 first-round selection, recently had his 2020/21 contract option picked up by Philadelphia even though he missed most of his rookie campaign due to injuries.
The Hornets assigned rookie forward Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, a second-round pick, made his NBA debut on Friday.