Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Dwight Howard Could Push Hornets Back To Postseason

August 31st, 2017 at 3:29pm CST by Austin Kent

After a disappointing 2016/17 campaign, the Hornets have put themselves back in position to compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Dennis Chambers of Basketball Insiders writes.

The addition of Dwight Howard will give the Hornets an inside presence that they lacked during their down year last season. The big man’s connection to head coach Steve Clifford – who served as an assistant coach with both the Lakers and Magic during Howard’s time there – will bode well as they settle into a new routine in Charlotte.

While Howard’s value as an elite rebounder is undisputed, the fact that the Hornets could possibly utilize Howard’s offensive skills more than his last few employers have is intriguing.

“He understands that I know him,” Clifford said of the new Hornets center. “I know his game. Being around him in different settings I have a feel for what he likes to do… There is no reason he can’t get back to playing at a really high level.”

Chambers also cites the addition of Malik Monk, a guard that can help shoulder the scoring load, as one of the major improvements that the Hornets will enjoy in 2017/18.

There’s a palpable buzz surrounding the Hornets after a down year last season. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer recently broke down the club’s new-look depth chart in detail.

NBA Draft Rights Held: Southeast Division

August 30th, 2017 at 11:41am CST by Luke Adams

When top college prospects like Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball are drafted, there’s virtually no doubt that their next step will involve signing an NBA contract. However, that’s not the case for every player who is selected in the NBA draft, particularly for international prospects and second-round picks.

When an NBA team uses a draft pick on a player, it gains his NBA rights, but that doesn’t mean the player will sign an NBA contract right away. International prospects will often remain with their professional team overseas for at least one more year to develop their game further, becoming “draft-and-stash” prospects. Nikola Mirotic, Dario Saric, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are among the more notable players to fit this bill in recent years.

However, draft-and-stash players can be former NCAA standouts too. Sometimes a college prospect selected with a late second round pick will end up playing overseas or in the G League for a year or two if there’s no space available on his NBA team’s 15-man roster.

While these players sometimes make their way to their NBA teams, others never do. Many clubs around the NBA currently hold the rights to international players who have remained overseas for their entire professional careers and are no longer viewed as top prospects. Those players may never come stateside, but there’s often no reason for NBA teams to renounce their rights — those rights can sometimes be used as placeholders in trades.

For instance, earlier this summer, the Pacers and Raptors agreed to a trade that sent Cory Joseph to Indiana. Toronto was happy to move Joseph’s salary and didn’t necessarily need anything in return, but the Pacers had to send something in the deal. Rather than including an NBA player or a draft pick, Indiana sent Toronto the draft rights to Emir Preldzic, the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft.

Preldzic is currently playing for Galatasaray in Turkey, and at this point appears unlikely to ever come to the NBA, but his draft rights have been a useful trade chip over the years — the Pacers/Raptors swap represented the fourth time since 2010 that Preldzic’s NBA rights have been included in a trade.

This week, we’re taking a closer look at the players whose draft rights NBA teams currently hold, sorting them by division. These players may eventually arrive in America and join their respective NBA teams, but many will end up like Preldzic, plying their trade overseas and having their draft rights used as pawns in NBA trades.

Here’s a breakdown of the draft rights held by Southeast teams:

Atlanta Hawks

Augusto Binelli, C (1986; No. 40): Retired.
Alain Digbeu, F (1997; No. 49): Retired.
Marcus Eriksson, G/F (2015; No. 50): Playing in Spain.
Isaia Cordinier, G (2016; No. 44): Playing in France.
Alpha Kaba, C (2017; No. 60): Playing in France.

Charlotte Hornets

None

Miami Heat

George Banks, F (1995; No. 46): Retired.
Robert Duenas, C (1997; No. 57): Retired.

Orlando Magic

Rashard Griffith, C (1995; No. 38): Retired.
Remon van de Hare, C (2003; No. 52): Retired.
Fran Vazquez, C (2005; No. 11): Playing in Spain.
Janis Timma, F (2013; No. 60): Playing in Spain.
Tyler Harvey, G (2015; No. 51): Playing in France.

Washington Wizards

Aaron White, F (2015; No. 49): Playing in Lithuania.

Previously:

Information from Mark Porcaro and Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post.

Hornets Notes: Luxury Tax, Monk, Howard

August 27th, 2017 at 4:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

While the Hornets have an open roster spot, it’s unlikely they’ll use it to add a significant player due to the team’s salary cap situation, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer explains. The franchise has slightly over $117.4MM in salary on the books against a luxury tax threshold of approximately $119.3MM and for a team that doesn’t expect to contend for a championship, remaining below the threshold is the wisest move.

Charlotte has the ability to offer a free agent a salary above the minimum, as it still wields its bi-annual exception, which is worth $3.29MM. However, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors previously speculated, it’s unlikely that the Hornets use this vehicle given their proximity to the luxury tax apron.

Here’s more from Charlotte:

Defense could be a major issue for Malik Monk, Bonnell contends in the same piece. Monk, whom the Hornets selected with the No. 11 overall pick, is expected to see an immediate role in Charlotte’s rotation this season.
The five spot is the Hornets‘ greatest position of strength, Bonnell writes in the same piece. Charlotte added Dwight Howard this offseason to bolster a unit that includes Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky.
If Howard can come close to matching his production in previous seasons, the Hornets should be able to reach the postseason again after missing the NBA’s second season last year, Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer argues. The team only had to give up Miles Plumlee and Marco Belinelli this summer to acquire Howard and Sorensen adds that the former No. 1 overall pick should feel insulted by the deal, as the perception is that the Hornets didn’t give up much value to bring him in.

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Charlotte Hornets

And-Ones: G League Expansion, Mayo, Van Gundy

August 25th, 2017 at 9:01pm CST by Austin Kent

The G League held its expansion draft to accommodate for the association’s four new franchises and Chris Reichert of 2 Ways, 10 Days has broken down the results, recapping the nuances of the developmental league’s various processes.

As Reichert lays out, teams made their bids for each player’s returning rights for a period of two seasons. What that means is that the G League clubs will effectively reserve those players should they ever find themselves back in the league. Many currently ply their trade either for NBA squads or for teams overseas.

The current NBA crop selected in the G League expansion draft is headlined by Sean Kilpatrick and Okaro White. The big league rotation players, however, are unlikely to return to the G League, at least in 2017/18, rendering them ineffective selections.

There’s more from around the NBA:

Speaking of G League peculiarities, the Oklahoma City Blue (the G League affiliate of the Thunder) made a trade with the SLC Stars (Jazz affiliate) for the rights to Marcus Paige but, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer explains, Paige will actually suit up for the Greensboro Swarm (Hornets affiliate). Earlier this month the Hornets signed Paige to a two-way deal and that supersedes whichever team owns his G League rights.
With one more year left on his suspension, former Bucks guard O.J. Mayo could consider a gig in the G League, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways, 10 Days opines. There is, however, no guarantee that he would be permitted to do so.
It’s been a decade since he coached the Rockets, which makes Jeff Van Gundy‘s return to the bench with Team USA all that much more exciting. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN recently spoke with Van Gundy about his role with the USA Basketball World Cup qualifying team.

Stone Can't Talk About Release From Italian Team

August 24th, 2017 at 9:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

New Hornets guard Julyan Stone has an agreement not to discuss the details of his release from his Italian team, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Umana Reyer in Venice agreed to let Stone out of his contract so he could return to the United States to be closer to his ailing father.

Hornets Finalize Deal With Julyan Stone

August 24th, 2017 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 24, 8:23am: RealGM’s official transactions log classifies Stone’s new contract as a multiyear agreement, so it appears the Hornets were able to complete a two-year deal as initially planned.

AUGUST 23, 10:17am: The Hornets have officially signed veteran guard Julyan Stone, the team announced today in a press release. The deal had been in the works for some time, as Stone worked to free himself from a commitment to Italian team Umana Reyer Venezia and receive FIBA clearance to return to the NBA.

Stone, who was in camp with the Pacers in 2016, hasn’t appeared in a regular season NBA game since the 2013/14 campaign. For his career, he appeared in 47 total contests for the Nuggets and Raptors, playing limited minutes in those games. In recent years, Stone bounced around to various teams overseas and in the G League, spending time in Italy, Turkey, and with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate.

Stone recently agreed to a two-year extension with defending league champion Umana Reyer, based in Venice. The 28-year-old didn’t have an opt-out clause to leave for the NBA, but asked the team to release him from his deal so he could be closer to his father, who is in a coronary care unit in the United States with severe lung, heart and kidney conditions. The club obliged earlier this month.

While Stone is now a Hornet, we’ll wait to confirm the terms of his deal. Previous reports indicated that Charlotte made a two-year offer to Stone, but one report last week suggested that his Italian team may have only released him from his contract for a single year, which would limit the Hornets’ ability to lock him up for multiple seasons.

The 6’6″ Stone is expected to serve as the Hornets’ third point guard behind Kemba Walker and Michael Carter-Williams.

NBA Rookies View Dennis Smith Jr. As ROY Favorite

August 22nd, 2017 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

For the last decade, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann has been surveying several incoming rookies to get their thoughts on their fellow first-year players. Schuhmann asks the newest NBA players to identify which rookie they expect to have the best career, which was the steal of the 2017 draft, and which is the frontrunner for the 2017/18 Rookie of the Year award, among other questions.

This year, Schuhmann polled 39 rookies, and more than a quarter of those players made Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. their pick for Rookie of the Year favorite. The No. 9 overall pick received 25.7% of the vote, beating out top picks like Lonzo Ball (20%) and Markelle Fultz (17.1%). That may be good news for the Mavs, though as Schuhmann observes, the rookies he has surveyed haven’t accurately predicted the Rookie of the Year winner since 2007/08, when they made Kevin Durant the overwhelming favorite.

Here are a few more items of interest from Schuhmann’s survey:

Smith was the landslide winner (43.6%) as the most athletic rookie. But while his fellow rookies believe the Mavericks point guard will have the best first year, Ball and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum received the most votes (18.4% apiece) for which rookie will have the best overall career.
Donovan Mitchell (18.9%) was the top choice for biggest steal of the draft, after the Jazz nabbed him at No. 13. Some of the second-round picks that the rookies viewed as steals included Jordan Bell (Warriors; No. 38) and Dwayne Bacon (Hornets; No. 40).
Luke Kennard (Pistons) and Malik Monk (Hornets) were widely considered the top two outside shooters in the draft. Among their fellow rookies, Kennard (48.6%) easily topped Monk (13.5%) as the pick for the No. 1 shooter of the 2017 class.
Suns forward Josh Jackson (26.3%) was narrowly voted the best rookie defender, while Ball (71.8%) was the overwhelming pick for best rookie playmaker.

Southeast Notes: Wade, Mickey, Weiss, Hawks

August 20th, 2017 at 9:03am CST by Arthur Hill

Two more Heat players have spoken out about the possibility of bringing back Dwyane Wade if he agrees to a buyout with the Bulls, relays Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Hassan Whiteside and Wayne Ellington both endorsed the move during an appearance Saturday at a Whiteside Foundation fundraiser. “He’s a great basketball-IQ guy,” Whiteside said. “He can find you on a lob. He can find you on a pick-and-roll situation. He’s a great scorer.”

Whiteside had previously backed a reunion with Wade through a nodding GIF on social media, but these were his first public comments on the potential move. Wade, who spent 13 years in Miami before signing with Chicago last summer, remains a popular figure in South Florida, but he would have to give up a significant portion of his $23.8MM salary for a buyout to occur. Ellington, who is among the players who might see a reduced role if Wade returns, is also on board. “Obviously this is something that D-Wade helped build,” he said, “so obviously this city and us as a team being able to have somebody like that on our team would be amazing.”

There’s more today from the Southeast Division:

The terms of Jordan Mickey‘s two-year agreement with the Heat have been confirmed, Winderman adds in the same story. The former Celtic’s first season will be guaranteed at the $1.5MM veteran’s minimum and the second will be a team option.
The Hornets are in the market for a new assistant coach after Bob Weiss left to join the Nuggets, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The 75-year-old had been with Charlotte since Steve Clifford was hired as head coach in 2013. Weiss opted to take a job in Denver to be closer to his grandchildren, and Clifford hopes to find another veteran coach to replace him.
Sharecare, a digital health company based in Atlanta, agreed to a five-year deal this week to become the Hawks‘ jersey patch sponsor, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta. “Every team has had their own strategy with regard to patch partners,” said Andrew Saltzman, executive vice president and chief revenue officer for the team. “But ours is very clear: true to Atlanta and making this a component of a much larger and fully integrated partnership that benefits our fan base, Atlanta as a whole and certainly our partner and ourselves.”

Hornets Notes: Howard, Zeller, Monk, Stone

August 19th, 2017 at 6:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

To find a coach who still believes in him, Dwight Howard couldn’t have picked a better place than Charlotte, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The June trade that sent Howard from Atlanta to Charlotte reunited him with head coach Steve Clifford, who served as an assistant with the Magic while Howard was putting together his best seasons. “Cliff’s going to push me, but he’s not going to ever be one of those guys who I would say would break my spirit,” Howard said. “He really believes in me. Throughout all the mess that has happened the last couple of years, this is a great opportunity for me to prove to myself that I know exactly who I am — to just shut people’s mouths.”

The “mess” Howard refers to comes from feeling unwanted in Houston when he opted out last summer, then having a similar experience in Atlanta after signing a three-year, $70.5MM deal. He averaged 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game with the Hawks, but his playing time dwindled in the postseason and he was barely used in the fourth quarter. Clifford expects Howard to be inspired to prove that he still has something left to offer. “From the trade until now, I think he’s very motivated to have a great year, and he badly wants us to win,” the coach said. “The last couple years have been difficult for him. I see him as motivated to work. The success of our team is the thing that keeps coming up in our conversations. He wants to be a part of our team. And that’s his priority.”

There’s more today out of Charlotte:

The addition of Howard may give Cody Zeller some minutes at power forward, but Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer doesn’t believe that’s his best position. In response to a question in his mailbag column, Bonnell says Clifford is considering the move, but Zeller isn’t the type of stretch four that most of the league is now using. However, Bonnell believes Zeller can excel as a backup center.
First-round pick Malik Monk is unlikely to work his way into the starting lineup as a rookie, Bonnell writes in response to another question. The shooting guard out of Kentucky should give the Hornets a scoring boost, but his porous defense and small size at 6’3″ make it likely that he will remain a reserve all season.
The release agreement that Julyan Stone negotiated with his Italian team may only cover one season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Stone had agreed to an extension with Umana Reyer Venezia earlier this year, but requested to be freed from it so he could return to the United States to be closer to his ailing father. The Hornets had hoped to sign Stone to a two-year contract, but that will depend on the terms of his agreement in Italy.

Julyan Stone Granted Release From Italian Team

August 14th, 2017 at 7:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 14, 7:22pm: Stone has been granted his release from Umana Reyer Venezia and is expected to sign with the Hornets this week, Bonnell reports.

AUGUST 13, 2:30pm: The Hornets plan to sign Stone to a two-year minimum deal with a second-year trigger date, pending clearance from FIBA, per Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter).

10:18am: Julyan Stone is making progress toward getting out of his Italian League contract so he can sign with the Hornets, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

The 28-year-old combo guard recently agreed to a two-year extension with defending league champion Umana Reyer, based in Venice. Stone doesn’t have an opt-out clause to leave for the NBA, but he is asking the team to release him from his deal so he can be closer to his father, who is in a coronary care unit in the United States with severe lung, heart and kidney conditions.

Charlotte has a two-year, veteran’s minimum offer waiting for Stone and envisions him as a third-string point guard backing up Kemba Walker and free agent addition Michael Carter-Williams. However, before he can join the Hornets, Stone has to obtain a letter from FIBA stating that he has no contractual obligation to any other team.

Stone has prior NBA experience with the Nuggets and Raptors. He has also played in Turkey and Italy.