Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Jefferson, LeBron, Covington

March 9th, 2016 at 8:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

LeBron James informed team management that he was willing to switch to power forward if it helped the Cavaliers land Joe Johnson after he agreed to a buyout with the Nets and became a free agent, Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. James confirmed that he made the offer, telling Haynes, “All I care about is winning. That’s all that matters to me. A piece like Joe, you know what it does to your team and if he was concerned about playing time or concerned about starting, then I’ll sacrifice. I’ll sacrifice to get a guy like that to help us try to win a championship.” The 31-year-old hasn’t been too keen on the idea in the past and wanted to avoid the nightly pounding that goes along with playing the four spot, Haynes notes. But the chance to add a player of Johnson’s caliber trumped any of his concerns, Haynes adds.

When asked if he would have considered such a move earlier in his career, James was non-committal, Haynes relays. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I can’t answer that, but I know I’ll do it now,” James told the scribe. “I mean, you’re trying to make a push. We’re in March. You get a guy like Joe Johnson, you get a guy that can change your team for the better. I wouldn’t have a problem with [moving to the four]. If he wanted to come in and start and we wanted to keep J.R. Smith in the starting lineup and if Double-T [Tristan Thompson] or Mozzy (Timofey Mozgov) had to come off the bench in order for Joe to start and slide Kevin Love to the five, I would have done it.”

Here’s the latest out of the East:

Hornets big man Al Jefferson has no issues with coming off the bench as he continues to make his way back from knee surgery, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays. “I’ve been telling people all week I kind of like coming off the bench,” Jefferson said. “You kind of see how the game is going and you get to play against the backup center most of the time. You kind of know what you need to do or what you shouldn’t do, and I kind of like it. If coach wants me back in the starting lineup, I’d be fine with that. But off the bench, I’m fine with that right now, getting myself in better shape.” The 31-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so his willingness to adapt to a new role is certainly a positive sign for the team if it wishes to re-sign the center.
Robert Covington is one of GM Sam Hinkie‘s best finds during his tenure with the team, but the Sixers need to add more offensive firepower via the draft and free agency so coach Brett Brown can utilize the combo forward as a role player rather than a starter, something he is better suited to for the long-term, Jake Hyman of RealGM opines.

Southeast Notes: Jefferson, Hardaway Jr., Cho

March 8th, 2016 at 8:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tim Hardaway Jr. is finally starting to reward the Hawks for last June’s draft night trade that brought the former Knicks shooting guard to Atlanta, KL Chouinard of NBA.com writes. The swingman saw more D-League action than NBA minutes earlier in the season as he struggled to recover from a wrist injury he suffered last March, Chouinard notes. “I do think he had an injury that was a bit understated,” coach/executive Mike Budenholzer said. “His conditioning and his strength coming off the summer probably wasn’t where we would like it to be, and ultimately defense is where that stuff tends to come out.”

Budenholzer said Hardaway also needed to improve his dedication to playing defense prior to becoming a regular member of the team’s rotation, the scribe relays. “He really wasn’t going to be getting the opportunities that he wanted, that every player craves,” Budenholzer said, “if he wasn’t better and if we didn’t feel like he was committed to that end of the court the way he is right now. What he is doing on that end of the court – his activity and ability to get through screens and shift and rebound – I’m very pleased with his progress.”

Here’s more from out of the Southeast:

The Hornets went into this past summer with the goal of diversifying their offensive attack and adding players who could stretch the floor with their outside shooting, David Aldridge of NBA.com writes. “In the offseason, we made a concerted effort to try and improve a lot at the offensive end — in particular, our shooting — as well as improve our overall skill level,” GM Rich Cho said. “And when we tried to do that, we tried to find some guys with some versatility. We brought in Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lamb, Jeremy Lin, Frank Kaminsky — they can all play more than one position. And we think they complement Cody Zeller and Mike [Michael Kidd-Gilchrist], who can also play more than one position.“
The moves to change up the team’s offensive attack were made with center Al Jefferson mind, as defenses were focused on shutting down the big man’s game in the post, the NBA.com scribe notes in the same piece. Jefferson, who will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, doesn’t fit the mold of today’s prototypical NBA center, but he isn’t worried about becoming obsolete, Aldridge relays. “It’s good to have that experience and just watch the league change before your eyes,” Jefferson said. “And I really believe it’s going to change back. It’s just like clothes. Clothes always come back in style. I really believe the league is going to get back big again. I might be long gone. I might be watching in my La-Z-Boy, but I really believe it’s going to go back big again, like when I first got in the league. It’s a cycle. It’s going to take one team to go big and do it. It’s a copycat league. Watch me. You’re going to remember when you talked to me today. It might be 10 years, but you’re going to remember, ‘He said it!’“

Southeast Notes: Wade, Bosh, Williams, Magic

March 6th, 2016 at 6:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dwyane Wade will be a free agent for the second straight year, but there’s virtually no chance he will leave Miami, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Wade is proud of spending his entire 13-year NBA career in one city and persevering through the ups and downs. “It’s not that common in today’s game, but, yeah, you feel very prideful,” Wade said. “It hasn’t all been great, but you continue to stick with it, you continue to fight with it. I’ve been here, good or bad, the Miami Heat stays relevant.” Wade cashed in last summer, earning the highest salary of his career when he re-signed with the Heat for one year at $20MM. He stands to increase that figure this year with the expected jump in the salary cap.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Chris Bosh has been working out with Heat staff members rather than his teammates, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. “Not necessarily with the team. But, yeah, he’ll work out with the staff,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. “He’s staying engaged and he’s in great spirits. And that never surprised me with C.B.” Miami is trying to assess Bosh’s chances of returning to action this season after reportedly suffering a blood clot in his calf. The team hasn’t confirmed his condition and is simply putting him on the inactive list without explanation.
The Hornets‘ Marvin Williams is posting some career-high numbers in his 11th season, notes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Williams is having his best season in rebounding and 3-point shooting, and at 10.9 points per game, he has his highest scoring average in seven years. Those figures should be attractive on the open market this summer, as Williams is wrapping up the final season of a two-year, $14MM contract. “One thing my father always taught me is hard work pays off,” Willliams said. “I worked extremely hard this summer and I feel like I’m benefitting from that. It’s helping me and it’s helping our team.”
The Magic could strengthen their presentation to this summer’s free agents with a berth in the playoffs, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando is expected to be aggressive in the free agent market, and Schmitz lists Al Horford, Mike Conley, DeMar DeRozan, Bradley Beal, Nicolas Batum, Chandler Parsons, Ryan Anderson and Harrison Barnes as possible targets.

Southeast Notes: Beal, Wittman, Bazemore, Zeller

March 5th, 2016 at 2:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bradley Beal seems certain to return to the Wizards next season, but coach Randy Wittman’s future is in doubt, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic said on an interview this morning with SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.com.) Michael said Washington plans to match any offers for Beal, who will be a restricted free agent after failing to reach an extension agreement with the team in November (Twitter link). However, Wittman’s job is in jeopardy unless the 30-31 Wizards make a significant improvement by the end of the season (Twitter link). Michael says Wittman was forced to change his system to the floor-spacing approach that Washington currently uses. (Twitter link). He has a 167-189 record in nearly five full seasons as the team’s head coach.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Soon-to-be free agent Al Horford established a winning tradition in Atlanta, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Hawks made the playoffs in eight straight seasons after drafting Horford third overall in 2007, and they can stretch that streak to nine with a decent finish. Horford has stayed silent on the topic of free agency, trying to keep it from being a distraction, but Vivlamore notes that Atlanta is in position to make the best offer: five years at about $146MM.
Horford will be the Hawks‘ free agent priority this summer, but they would like to keep Kent Bazemore as well, according to Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Both will be unrestricted, and Atlanta would like to avoid losing talented wing players two years in a row. DeMarre Carroll left the Hawks last summer to sign with Toronto. Atlanta has Early Bird rights on Bazemore, meaning it can only exceed the salary cap to keep him if his contract starts at less than about $6MM annually. Any additional salary for next season would have to come out of cap room.
The Hornets may have benefited from a mid-season knee injury to Al Jefferson, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Jefferson, who is headed toward free agency this summer, has missed a significant part of this season with calf and knee problems, but his absence showed that Cody Zeller could handle the rigors of being a starting center.

Hornets Sign Jorge Gutierrez To Second 10-Day

March 1st, 2016 at 9:09am CST by Dana Gauruder

TUESDAY, 9:09am: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. The contract will cover five games, against the Suns, Sixers Pacers, Timberwolves and Pelicans.

MONDAY, 10:07pm: The Hornets will sign point guard Jorge Gutierrez to a second 10-day contract, sources informed Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Charlotte brought in Gutierrez to fill the role of third-string point guard. He has appeared in just one game, a four-minute stint against the Cavaliers on February 24th.

The 27-year-old was in training camp with the Bucks earlier this season but did not make the opening night roster. Before signing with Charlotte, Gutierrez appeared in 22 games this season for the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ D-League affiliate, where he averaged 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 27.8 minutes per outing.

The playmaker appeared in a total of 35 NBA contests over the prior three seasons, 25 with the Nets and 10 more with the Bucks. The 6’3” Gutierrez was not drafted in 2012 after playing for the University of California and being named the Pac-12 Player of the Year as a senior. He had summer league stints with the Nuggets and Kings as well as the Nets.

Celtics Notes: Mickey, Olynyk, Winslow, Thornton

February 28th, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics rookie Jordan Mickey doesn’t regret leaving LSU early and missing a chance to play with freshman sensation Ben Simmons, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. The move worked out well for Mickey, who was drafted 33rd overall last summer and received a four-year contract with the first two seasons guaranteed at a combined total of nearly $2.4MM. Mickey has spent most of this season with Boston’s D-League affiliate in Maine, but remains convinced that he made the right choice. “I have no regrets,” he said. “I feel I made the best decision for myself and my family. I’m in a pretty good situation, I would say.”

There’s more news out of Boston:

Kelly Olynyk is making progress in returning from his right shoulder sprain, but his timeline hasn’t changed, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Olynyk was injured in a February 10th game and is projected to return in early March. “Taking a couple losses on that West coast trip, it’s tough; sitting in the back watching where you know you can help and want to be out there helping,” Olynyk said. “You have to do what you can to get back as quickly as possible.”
The Celtics got another up-close look Saturday at Miami’s Justise Winslow, a player they coveted on draft night, Blakely writes in a separate story. Boston offered a package of picks to Charlotte for the ninth selection in the draft, but the Hornets opted to take Frank Kaminsky and Winslow fell to the Heat, who also reportedly turned down an offer from Boston, with the 10th pick. “It doesn’t mean anything until possibly being a free agent or anything,” Winslow said of the Celtics’ interest. “It’s just business, just like it is with the other 28 NBA teams.”
Marcus Thornton, the 45th pick in last summer’s draft, is back from Australia and has joined the Celtics’ D-League affiliate, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Boston intended for Thornton to spend a season overseas, which led him to sign with the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League. “I think it was a good experience,” said his father, Wayne Thornton. “The team had some of their own issues, but overall it was a good experience for him.”

Southwest Notes: Lee, Pachulia, Stephenson, Miller

February 27th, 2016 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The addition of David Lee could cut into the playing time of Mavericks center Zaza Pachulia, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Lee signed with Dallas as a free agent Monday after agreeing to a buyout with the Celtics, and he’s been productive, posting a 14-point, 14-rebound performance on Friday. Meanwhile, Pachulia’s numbers are declining. He’s shooting just 35.8% from the floor in February, while averaging 6.2 points and 9.7 rebounds. “One of the reasons we wanted to bring Lee on board was we wanted to alleviate a few of his [Pachulia’s] minutes,” said coach Rick Carlisle. “We’ll look at trying to keep everybody as fresh as possible. The thing about Zaza is he’s been a real important chemistry guy for us all year long. I think he’s ready.” Pachulia is making $5.2MM this season in the final year of his contract.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

Although the Rockets have an open roster spot, it’s unlikely that shooting guard Kevin Martin will come to Houston, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Martin is a candidate for a buyout with the Wolves before Tuesday, but the Spurs are considered to be the front-runner to sign him. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the Rockets are looking at options to fill the open spot and could sign someone currently playing overseas (Twitter link).
The Grizzlies‘ Lance Stephenson blames an inability to “fit in” for his failures with the Hornets and Clippers, writes Peter Edmiston in The Commercial Appeal. Memphis has a team option on Stephenson’s contract and can bring him back for another season at $9.405MM. “I’ve definitely got something to prove,” Stephenson said. “I just want to get back to my old self, get back to playing in a rotation and helping my teammates win. God is good, so wherever He guides me, I’m going to try my best to figure it out.”
The expected addition of point guard Andre Miller gives the Spurs the two oldest players in the league, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. At 39, Miller is the oldest, 37 days older than center Tim Duncan.

2015/16 Salary Cap Update: Charlotte Hornets

February 27th, 2016 at 1:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades now past and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts rapidly approaching, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Charlotte Hornets, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:

2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $78,231,465*
Remaining Cap Room= –$8,231,465
Amount Below Luxury Tax Line= $5,641,391**

*Note: This amount includes the $80K owed to Elliot Williams, who was waived.

**Note: Al Jefferson‘s salary for tax purposes is $12,886,364, Marvin Williams‘ is $6,985MM, and Tyler Hansbrough‘s is $1,185,784

Cap Exceptions Available:

Mid-Level Exception= $5,464,000
Trade Exception= $646,250 (Matt Barnes. Expires June 25th, 2016)
Trade Exception= $548,000 (Luke Ridnour. Expires June 25th, 2016)

Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $3,400,000

Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $2,857,286

Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Southwest Notes: Dwight, Stephenson, Lee

February 24th, 2016 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

Many executives believe Dwight Howard‘s slumping productivity and recent history of injuries will keep him from receiving the max in free agency this summer, but the Rockets still see him as preferable to Al Horford or Ryan Anderson, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. Howard’s agent Dan Fegan sent word to the Bucks, Hornets and Hawks, among others, that Howard isn’t anxious to take any discounts this summer, and he didn’t indicate a willingness to opt in and push back his free agency until 2017, Amick notes, which reportedly turned off the Bucks, at least, if not other suitors. Adding to the confusion before the deadline was that Howard was giving serious thought to changing agents, Amick writes. The USA Today scribe indicates that Howard’s uncertainty regarding Fegan is in the past, though that’s not entirely clear. See more from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies didn’t specifically target Lance Stephenson, Chris Andersen and P.J. Hairston, whom they garnered via trade before the deadline, and instead took them in merely because their contracts were a fit for the sort of draft asset collection the deals afforded Memphis, writes Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal. The protected 2019 first-rounder the Grizzlies received in the Stephenson trade is more likely than not to end up in another trade at some point, Herrington opines.
There’s talk that the Grizzlies will pick up Stephenson’s $9.405MM team option for next season, according to Herrington (Twitter links), but it’s unclear if that talk is coming from the team, and the Commercial Appeal scribe dismisses it as “irrational exuberance.”
David Lee said the Mavericks have told him rebounding will be his primary task, notes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (on Twitter). Conversely, the cohesiveness of the Mavs helped sell the new signee on Dallas, as Sneed also notes (Twitter link). “You can see the chemistry from playing against [the Mavericks], and that’s something I want to be a part of,” Lee said.

Eastern Notes: Morris, Frye, Varejao

February 20th, 2016 at 1:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he had no clue that Markieff Morris‘ situation in Phoenix would take the turn that it did when he acquired his twin Marcus Morris this past offseason, writes Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic.com. “I didn’t have any idea,” Van Gundy said. “We just knew that we liked Marcus. He was a good player, a professional guy, hard worker. We never had any problems from our end with it. I mean, Marcus was upset when it happened, upset at Phoenix, but it never had any effect on what we were doing in Detroit. He was a real professional.”

Markieff intends to approach his new situation with the Wizards the same way, Standing adds. He already has the support of Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley, both of whom relayed positive things about Morris, the scribe notes. “You know, it’s just guys that actually know me, and not on the outside looking in,” Morris said. “Guys that I’ve actually played with and been in the locker room with. Things happen. It’s in my past. All I can do is move forward and learn from it. I’m happy to do it. And getting compliments from those guys means a lot. We’re good friends, we keep in touch. They know me as a person.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Cavaliers were able to land Channing Frye on Thursday despite having less in the way of assets to offer Orlando than the Clippers, who were also interested in the stretch-four, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal notes. Los Angeles backed away from Frye because of the two years and approximately $15MM remaining on his deal, a contract that Cleveland instead views as an asset with the cap set to jump this offseason, Lloyd adds.
The Hawks would be wise to consider signing center Anderson Varejao, whom Portland waived after acquiring him from the Cavaliers, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders opines. Atlanta needs a backup center with Tiago Splitter lost for the remainder of the season, and inking Varejao would carry little risk and wouldn’t impact the franchise’s cap flexibility heading into the offseason, Greene notes.
Despite a somewhat slow start to his NBA career, Hornets coach Steve Clifford believes Frank Kaminsky will become a solid starter in the league thanks to how hard he works off the court, Gary D’Amato of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. “He has an NBA game right now,” said Clifford. “His biggest issue is he’s physically not strong enough to play every night against the starters. He’s worked hard in the weight room. I think in another year you’ll see him take off because of his work ethic.” The 2015 No. 9 overall pick has appeared in 53 games this season and is averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per night.