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Pacers Name Chad Buchanan New GM

July 1st, 2017 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 1: The Pacers have officially named Buchanan as their new general manager, per a press release from the team. The club also promoted VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie to senior VP of basketball ops.

JUNE 29: Hornets executive Chad Buchanan will be the new GM in Indiana, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. He will report to Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations.

Buchanan came to Charlotte in 2014 and has served as assistant GM under Rich Cho for the past two seasons. Before that, he spent 10 years with the Trail Blazers, where he served as director of college scouting. Buchanan and Pritchard were in the Portland organization together, notes Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).

Indiana’s GM position has been open since the beginning of May, when Pritchard was promoted to replace Larry Bird, who resigned as team president. Buchanan joins the organization just in time to help oversee free agency and possibly work out a trade involving star forward Paul George.

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Six Teams Interested In Michael Carter-Williams

July 1st, 2017 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

Michael Carter-Williams received a call from the Rockets last night, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link), who says that Houston is one of at least six teams with interest in the free agent point guard. Spears identifies the Knicks, Thunder, Mavericks, Pelicans, and Hornets as other clubs eyeing Carter-Williams.

Carter-Williams, the NBA’s Rookie of the Year back in 2013/14, has seen his usage and his production fall off since his days with the Sixers. After being acquired by Chicago in a preseason trade for Tony Snell last fall, Carter-Williams appeared in 45 games for the Bulls in 2016/17, averaging just 6.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 2.5 APG on 36.6% shooting (18.8 minutes per game). The Bulls didn’t tender him a qualifying offer this week, so he’s an unrestricted free agent.

While Carter-Williams appears to be drawing some interest, it remains to be seen whether he’ll prioritize joining a contending team or finding a situation where he’d have a larger role.

The Rockets, Thunder, Pelicans, and Hornets all have standout starting point guards, while the point guard situations in New York and Dallas are a little more in flux — the Knicks and Mavs addressed the position in last week’s draft by selecting Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr., respectively, but those those rookies likely won’t take on huge minutes right away.

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Hornets Notes: Point Guards, Howard, Karnowski

June 29th, 2017 at 8:58pm CST by Austin Kent

The Hornets are expected to target point guards through free agency, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes, especially after the franchise elected to part ways with Ramon Sessions earlier today.

“Backup point guard has to be No. 1 priority,” general manager Rich Cho said. “Ideally, someone who can play with and without Kemba Walker, who plays both ends of the floor.”

Worth noting is that Charlotte’s 2016/17 third-string point guard, Brian Roberts, is also a free agent this summer and may not return. That could mean that the Hornets’ front office will turn their attention to the prominent names available on the market.

All of Darren Collison, Patty Mills and Shaun Livingston will be free agents but Bonnell wonders if they may be too pricey for what the Hornets currently have available. If that’s the case, cheaper options like Michael Carter-Williams and Shelvin Mack could be in play.

Traditionally, head coach Steve Clifford likes to retain three point guards and three centers on the roster, Bonnell notes, so it’s almost inevitable that the team will add somebody. The question is, with limited cap flexibility thanks to a busy 2016 offseason, who that may be.

There’s more from the Hornets:

  • After starting his career as a mainstay with the Magic, Dwight Howard has bounced around from franchise to franchise. Dating back to his final year in Orlando, Howard has played for four teams in six seasons. The big man tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he’ll “hopefully” end his career in North Carolina.
  • Don’t rule out Dwight Howard as an offensive option in the pick-and-roll. “Go back to my time in Orlando. We used a lot of of pick and rolls,” the big man said, addressing critics in an interview with Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “It’s not that I don’t want to set screens. People just used that to have something negative to say.”
  • Consider undrafted big man Przemek Karnowski a dark horse candidate to land a two-way contract, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes in a mailbag with readers.
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Hornets To Decline Team Option On Ramon Sessions

June 29th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets won’t keep veteran guard Ramon Sessions for another season, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

Charlotte has elected not to exercise its team option on Sessions, which was worth nearly $6.3MM for 2017/18. Sessions is expected to remain on the roster until midnight in case a trade materializes, then will become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow night.

Sessions, who turned 31 in April, inked a two-year deal with the Hornets last summer that contained the team option. He played a career-low 16.2 minutes per game this season, and his scoring average dipped to 6.2 points per night.

Fellow backup point guard Brian Roberts is also a free agent, Bonnell notes, so the Hornets will have to address that position on the open market.

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Hornets Received $1.8MM For Trade Down To No. 40

June 26th, 2017 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans sent $1.8MM to the Hornets in order to move up from No. 40 to No. 31 on draft night to select Frank Jackson, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). While that’s a significant price to pay to move up nine spots in the second round, New Orleans recouped some of that money later in the night, according to Pincus, who tweets that the Pelicans got $1MM from the Pacers for the No. 52 overall pick.

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Ramon Sessions Appears Finished In Charlotte

June 25th, 2017 at 4:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ramon Sessions‘ brief stay in Charlotte seems certain to end by Thursday, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

That’s the deadline for teams to make decisions about options for next season. Sessions is due to make $6.27MM, and Bonnell doesn’t think the Hornets want to commit that much cap space to him.

The veteran guard, who turned 31 in April, signed a two-year, $12.27MM deal last summer that included a team option. He will probably be kept on the roster until Thursday in case Charlotte wants to use him in a trade, Bonnell adds.

Sessions played just 50 games this season before being sidelined in February with a meniscus tear in his left knee. Even before that injury, which required surgery, Sessions’ numbers were declining. He averaged a career low in minutes at 16.2 per game and assists (2.6), while his scoring average of 6.2 points per game was the second worst of his career.

Sessions has played for seven organizations during his 10 years in the NBA, including both the Bobcats and Hornets in Charlotte.

GM Rich Cho has limited options to find a new backup for Kemba Walker. The Hornets took shooting guard Malik Monk and swingman Dwayne Bacon in the draft, and although Monk may be given some minutes at the point in summer league, it’s not his natural position. Briante Weber, who will also be on Charlotte’s summer league squad, is a potential option.

The Hornets have their mid-level exception, worth about $8.4MM, and could find a decent backup on the free agent market in that price range. Bonnell suggests Darren Collison, Patty Mills, Shaun Livingston, Brandon Jennings or Raymond Felton.

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Hornets Will Seek Free Agent Bargains

June 25th, 2017 at 2:50pm CST by Arthur Hill
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Southeast Notes: Howard, Billups, Frazier, Wade

June 24th, 2017 at 3:31pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Dwight Howard, recently traded to the Hornets from the Hawks, discussed his excitement to be in Charlotte, relays Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Howard spoke glowingly about his new owner, Michael Jordan:

“I’d just done a 2 ½-hour workout. After I was done talking to him, I wanted to jump back into the gym. That’s how he motivated me. You’re talking about the greatest basketball player to ever play. For him to call you on the phone and say, ‘I believe in you!’ ”

Howard also discussed his reunion with head coach Steve Clifford, his disappointment of lasting just one season with him hometown team, and how he will make a difference in the Charlotte community.

Here’s more from the Southeast division:

  • Hawks GM Travis Schlenk says that three or four teams were interested in trading for Dwight Howard, but the Hornets made the best offer, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal- Constitution.
  • While the Cavaliers await a decision from Chauncey Billups, another team covets the former NBA Finals MVP’s wisdom in the front office: the Hawks, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Billups recently interviewed for a front-office position with Atlanta.
  • Hornets GM Rich Cho says the team will be looking for a backup point guard and more overall depth in free agency, tweets Jordan Greer of The Sporting News.
  • The Magic‘s new president of basketball operations, Jeff Weltman, explains why the team traded two picks in a deep draft, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Weltman explained:  “We felt that at a certain point that the draft flattened out, and once we got past that point, we had three more picks, and we didn’t want to bring four rookies in. So what we did is we tried to identify kids that we thought could possibly be there later that we liked as much [as a] higher [pick]. And could we defer those assets [and] move them along to maybe turn them into future pieces and still come up with something that we liked?”
  • The Wizards believe that Tim Frazier can contribute right away, reports Chase Hughnes of CSN Mid-Atlantic, in an interesting piece full of great quotes from Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Scott Brooks.
  • Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that Dwyane Wade, who has come up often as a Heat target this offseason, is not necessarily leaving Chicago so soon despite the Bulls’ obvious entrance into rebuilding mode after dealing Jimmy Butler on draft day.
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Pelicans Acquire Frank Jackson From Hornets

June 22nd, 2017 at 11:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

11:07pm: The trade is now official, according to the Hornets, who used their newly-acquired pick on Dwayne Bacon (Twitter link).

9:58pm: The Hornets drafted Duke guard Frank Jackson at No. 31 and will trade him to the Pelicans, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical.

Charlotte will receive pick No. 40 in return, along with cash. The selection they used to on Jackson was acquired from the Hawks in Tuesday’s Dwight Howard trade. The Hornets sent pick No. 41 to Atlanta in that deal, so they are essentially back where they started.

A 6’4″ combo guard, Jackson averaged 10.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game during his lone season at Duke.

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Draft Rumors: Monk, Ntilikina, Hornets, Thunder

June 22nd, 2017 at 6:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Malik Monk and Frank Ntilikina may be in “weird positions” tonight, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford. As Ford explains, one of those two players is a good bet to land with the Knicks at No. 8. However, the player who isn’t picked by New York is a candidate to fall out of the top 10 and perhaps to the end of the lottery. In his final mock draft, Ford has Ntilikina going to the Knicks and Monk slipping to the Pistons at No. 12.

Here are a few more draft rumors and notes:

  • Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post continues to hear that if he’s still on the board at No. 11, Donovan Mitchell appears likely to land with the Hornets (Twitter link).
  • There’s “growing chatter” that Frank Jackson has a first-round promise, and the Thunder may be that team that gave him that guarantee, tweets Royce Young of ESPN.com. Young adds (via Twitter) that Oklahoma City may look to trade back a few spots in the first round in an effort to pick up a second-round selection.
  • John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 identifies Davon Reed and Semi Ojeleye as two players to watch for the Suns in the second round (Twitter link).
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