- The steadily improving Kemba Walker has become one of the best point guards in the East, contends Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Walker may not make the All-Star team because the competition is so strong, but he has become the Hornets‘ best player, averaging 25.9 points and 5.6 assists per game. Walker is in the second season of a four-year, $48MM extension that he agreed to in 2014.
- The solid play of the Hornets‘ reserves is a major reason for the team’s hot start to the season, as Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer notes. The scribe also points to the team’s acquisition of Marco Belinelli from the Kings in exchange for the No. 22 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft as a move that is paying early dividends for Charlotte.
- Center Al Jefferson may be gone from the Hornets, but coach Steve Clifford told Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that his 2013 signing is still helping the franchise. Clifford said Jefferson, who joined the Pacers over the summer, gave Charlotte a sense of legitimacy around the league when he came to the city. “This league, in terms of things like that, is important, how you’re perceived by the players,” Clifford said. “The players talk, and the fact that he came here has opened the door” for other signings.
- Hornets coach Steve Clifford is raving about Spencer Hawes‘ basketball IQ, something the player admits he has to rely on given that he is not an elite athlete, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays. “It’s his IQ. He understands basketball and has such a feel for the game. And he has a terrific skill level,” Clifford said. “He had 11 defensive rebounds [against the Pacers]. He’s always been a pretty good defensive rebounder, even for a center. He brings intelligence to the court every time he plays, which is important.”
- The Greensboro Swarm, the affiliate of the Hornets, have waived Ky Howard, Keala King, Ron Mvouika and Jamie Skeen, D-League Digest reports (Twitter link).
Throughout the offseason, and in the weeks leading up to the start of the regular season, NBA teams are permitted to carry 20 players, but that total must be cut down to 15 in advance of opening night. However, up to four players waived by teams before the season can be designated as affiliate players and assigned to their D-League squads.
The players have some say in the decision — if they’d prefer to sign with a team overseas, or if they get an opportunity with another NBA club, they’re free to turn down their team’s request to have them play in the D-League. Most NBA and international teams have fairly set rosters by late October though, so having the opportunity to continue playing in the same system is appealing to many of those preseason cuts. Especially since they’ll maintain NBA free agency while they play in the D-League.
There are a few other rules related to D-League affiliate players. A player whose returning rights are held by a D-League team can’t be an affiliate player for another club, which is why undrafted free agents from the current year are commonly signed and assigned. Additionally, an affiliate player must have signed with his team during the current league year, which explains why we often see players signed and quickly waived in the days leading up to the regular season. And, of course, not every NBA team has a D-League affiliate, so clubs like the Hawks, Nuggets, or Clippers have no place to send affiliate players.
With all that in mind, here are the NBA D-League affiliate players to start the 2016/17 season:
Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs)
Canton Charge (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Delaware 87ers (Philadelphia 76ers)
- According to Pincus, Cody Zeller‘s new four-year extension with the Hornets will start at $12.5MM next year and has a four-year value of $55.625MM.
After being traded four times since June of 2015, Ersan Ilyasova believes he might finally be with the right organization, relays Brian Seltzer of NBA.com. The Turkish power forward had just left the practice court in Oklahoma City on Tuesday when he was informed that he had been dealt to Philadelphia in exchange for Jerami Grant. He got a late flight to meet his new team in Charlotte and was in uniform for tonight’s game against the Hornets. “As soon as I start kind of thinking about it, I think it’s a really good situation,” Ilyasova said. “This team is building, they’ve got a lot of pieces, obviously, and being part of it is a huge thing.”
There’s more news tonight out of Philadelphia:
- Sixers coach Brett Brown has been limited in the amount of time he can play big men Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor together because both are on minute restrictions, notes ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Embiid is playing his first NBA games after missing two seasons with a twice-broken foot, and Okafor is being brought along slowly after knee surgery in March. Brown realizes the situation is temporary, but said it can be complicated to get Embiid and Okafor on the floor together. “You just feel like it is cookie-cutter stuff,” he said. “It is a very rigid road map and that is OK. Nobody is crying about it. It is a challenge.”
- Embiid made a quick impression on Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, who serves as an assistant with the Hornets, posts Tom Haberstroh on ESPN Now. After watching Embiid on film, Ewing exlaimed to head coach Steve Clifford, “Woah. This guy? He might be the most talented center in the game.”
- Despite their wealth of young talent, the Sixers are still making familiar mistakes that cost them games, writes Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The latest example came Tuesday when Philadelphia let a big lead slip away in a loss to Orlando. “Every time you lose a close game, you wonder what you would do differently,” Brown said. “… I understand that we’re all looking at how do you close that game out, and I think that, even with a healthy group, the difference probably is that you have Ben Simmons with the ball, and I’m sure that Joel Embiid is right in that mix.”
- Two years ago, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer would have thought the Hornets‘ four-year, $56MM extension for Cody Zeller was nuts, but now he explains why he believes it’s prudent. As Bonnell tweets, Hornets GM Rich Cho felt that Zeller would have been a “priority target” for multiple teams if he reached restricted free agency in 2017.
10:54pm: The signing is official, the team announced. “Maintaining and building our young core of players has been a key goal for us the last few years,” GM Rich Cho said. “We’re excited that Cody will be part of the Hornets organization for years to come. Cody is a hard worker, a team-first player and a versatile talent that was a large part of our success last year. He has improved in each of his three seasons in the NBA. We look forward to a bright future with Cody as a part of the roster that we are continuing to build.”
9:30pm: The Hornets have agreed to a contract extension with Cody Zeller, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). It will be a four-year, $56MM arrangement per the scribe. The pact doesn’t include any options, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The extension is a solid value for Charlotte, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical (via Twitter), who notes that the first year salary on the deal is below his free agent cap hold and it won’t push the Hornets over the luxury tax line in 2017/18. Zeller is earning $5,318,313 this season.
The 24-year-old was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft out of Indiana. His career numbers through 220 regular season contests are 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists to accompany a shooting line of .476/.167/.750.
Zeller becomes the eighth player from the 2013 NBA Draft to agree to an extension, joining C.J. McCollum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gorgui Dieng, Dennis Schroder, Steven Adams, Victor Oladipo and Rudy Gobert.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.