Christian Wood, who has seen scant playing time in two seasons with the Sixers and Hornets, has signed to play in China, tweets international basketball writer David Pick. The 21-year-old power forward has inked a contract with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association.
Undrafted out of UNLV in 2015, Wood signed with Philadelphia shortly before training camp. He was waived twice during his rookie year and spent much of the season in the G-League, but managed to average 3.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 17 games with the Sixers.
Wood signed with the Hornets in July of 2016, but again was in the G-League for most of the season. He appeared in 13 games for Charlotte, averaging 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in about 8 minutes per night.
The Chinese season typically ends before the NBA’s, so Wood will be eligible to return to the NBA when his commitment in China is complete.
For multiple teams in the Southeast, the 2017 offseason was more about retaining their own players than going out and making a major splash via trade or free agency. That was especially true for the reigning division champs in Washington.
Not only did the Wizards match Brooklyn’s four-year, maximum salary offer sheet for Otto Porter — the club also completed another four-year, maximum salary extension, locking up John Wall far beyond the remaining two years on his current contract. Washington also made other minor changes to its roster, adding Jodie Meeks and Tim Frazier, but the team’s major moves involved keeping its current core intact.
The same can be said about the Heat, who pursued Gordon Hayward, but missed out and quickly shifted their focus back to their own free agents, finalizing new long-term contracts with James Johnson and Dion Waiters. Miami also made the biggest investment in the division on an outside free agent, striking a four-year, $45.6MM deal with Kelly Olynyk, which could be worth even more via incentives.
The Hornets were on the other end of a major trade with Atlanta, landing Howard in exchange for Belinelli and Plumlee. The cap-strapped Hornets didn’t have a lot of flexibility to make upgrades, but the additions of Howard, Malik Monk, and Michael Carter-Williams are intriguing moves for a club that underperformed in 2016/17.
What do you think? Which Southeast team has had the best offseason so far? Vote in our poll and then head to the comment section to share your thoughts.
Julyan Stone‘s agent is hopeful of freeing his client from a European contract so that the point guard can sign with the Hornets, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Charlotte has offered Stone a two-year deal to be its third point guard behind Kemba Walker and Michael Carter-Williams but he first must be released from the contract he signed with Reyer Venezia in the Italian pro league. Stone’s agent, Giovanni Funiciello, told Bonnell that he’s hopeful a compromise can be worked out this week so that Stone can remain in the U.S. and be close to his ailing father.
The 28-year-old point guard has a two-year offer from Charlotte that he would like to accept, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reported Friday. Stone’s primary motivation is the condition of his father, who is in the United States in a coronary care unit with severe lung, heart and kidney ailments.
Stone has approached his Reyer Venezia club, based in Venice, about getting out of his current deal, but hasn’t made any progress. He posted a message on his Instagram account Friday explaining his father’s dire condition and claiming that Reyer Venezia officials won’t return his repeated messages. Stone would like to return to the NBA to be closer to his father and be in a better position to pay for his care.
Signing Stone would also benefit the Hornets, who are looking for an inexpensive backup to Kemba Walker and Michael Carter-Williams. Charlotte is hovering near the luxury tax line with about $119MM committed in salary for next season, so any roster additions will have to be made at minimal cost.
The Hornets waivedBriante Weber in late July before his $1.5MM contract became guaranteed, and they recently held a workout for prospective point guards.
The 6’6″ Stone has previous NBA experience, playing 26 games for the Nuggets over two seasons and 21 with the Raptors in 2013/14.
The Hornets are said to be interested in signing Julyan Stone to a two-year contract but the 28-year-old is unable to opt out of his current deal with his Italian club, Emilio Carchia of Sportando writes. Per Stone’s Instagram account, the club hasn’t exactly made pursuing a buyout easy.
The Hornets have added a pair of players to their training camp roster, announcing today in a press release that Isaiah Hicks and T.J. Williams have signed with the club. Terms of the deals weren’t disclosed, but they sound unlikely to be fully guaranteed contracts.
Hicks, 23, went undrafted this June following the conclusion of his senior year at North Carolina. The 6’8″ power forward, who was 60th on DraftExpress’ prospect rankings, averaged 11.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG in his last season at UNC. He also played for the Clippers’ Summer League squad in Las Vegas last month.
As for Williams, the 6’3″ guard out of Northeastern also earned a spot on DraftExpress’ top-100 list, coming in at No. 98. But like Hicks, he went undrafted. Williams averaged 21.4 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 4.7 RPG in his senior year at Northeastern, then recorded 12.2 PPG for the Cavaliers’ Summer League team in Vegas.
Charlotte’s press release indicates that the team’s roster count is now at 17 players, though that total includes the two youngsters who officially signed two-way contracts with the club earlier today. Assuming Hicks and Williams receive non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals, the Hornets still only have 12 players on fully guaranteed NBA contracts.
Paige, 23, spent four seasons at UNC, where he averaged 13.1 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 2.8 RPG in 141 games. The Nets drafted Paige with the 55th overall pick in last year’s draft but traded him to the Jazz as part of the deal that sent Isaiah Whitehead to his native Brooklyn squad.
After he was waived in early October 2016, Paige latched on with the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. In 46 games, he averaged 12.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.2 APG in 32.7 minutes. Most recently, Paige was part of the Timberwolves‘ summer league team in Las Vegas.
As for Mathiang, the Lousiville product averaged 7.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 1.1 BPG in his senior year at the college. The 24-year-old appeared for Charlotte in five games during the summer league where posted 4.4 PPG, five boards and 53.3% from the field.
As a side note, the Hornets also guaranteed forward Johnny O’Bryant‘s $1.5MM salary for the 2017/18 season, per Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Today was the deadline for Charlotte to fully guarantee O’Bryant’s contract.
For more details on what two-way contracts are and how they work, be sure to check out our FAQ.
Dwight Howard‘s familiarity with Hornets coach Steve Clifford will help Howard focus on defense next season, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer opines. Clifford coached Howard with the Magic and Lakers and knows how to dole out constructive criticism to the enigmatic center, Bonnell explains.
The Hornets are waiving point guard Briante Weber, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). The team has issued a press release making the move official. If Weber goes unclaimed on waivers, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
Weber, 24, signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hornets after the All-Star break last season, then earned a rest-of-season deal from the team. In 13 games in Charlotte, Weber played limited minutes, averaging 3.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 1.2 APG.
Weber’s contract with the Hornets included a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18. While his minimum salary isn’t guaranteed yet, it would have become locked in if he had remained under contract through August 1, per Basketball Insiders. That explains the timing of the move for Charlotte — the club won’t be on the hook for that money.
The Hornets brought in several free agent point guards earlier this week, but didn’t sign anyone following that group workout. Still, it sounds likely that they’ll do so soon, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.