- The Hornets moved Cody Zeller to the center spot and he’s found success in his new role, as USA Today details. “I mean, he’s a 5-man,” Clifford said. “The way the league is now he’s a 5, at both ends of the floor. And it definitely suits him better.”
- Jason Concepcion of The Ringer examines some of the players who are off to underwhelming starts this season after signing lucrative new contracts over the summer, with Hornets forward Marvin Williams leading the way.
- Roy Hibbert is enjoying his time playing for the Hornets and he doesn’t have an issue with coming off the bench for the team, as he tells Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. “Everything has been going well,” Hibbert said. “It’s a really good group of guys who want to win. It’s a good organization. Everybody is all about winning.”
- A disparity in free throws is helping the Hornets overcome otherwise poor offensive numbers, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte ranks third in the league with 26.6 attempted foul shots per game and surrenders a league-best 18. That has helped to give the Hornets the league’s 11th best offense despite ranking 20th in field-goal percentage, 24th in free-throw percentage and 16th in 3-point percentage. “We’ve been good at not fouling every year,” said head coach Steve Clifford, “but this year we have more guys who are good at driving the ball.”
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
11:41 pm
- The Bulls have recalled R.J. Hunter, Doug McDermott and Paul Zipser from their D-League affiliate, according to a team press release. Zipser and Hunter were assigned to the Windy City Bulls just hours ago, so the duo presumably joined Chicago’s affiliate for practice.
- The Nets have recalled Chris McCullough from the Long Island Nets, the team’s D-League affiliate, per a team press release. He scored 19 points and 13 rebounds in Long Island’s game today.
12:21 pm
- Rookie forward Cheick Diallo, who had been assigned to the Austin Spurs, has been recalled from the D-League by the Pelicans, the team announced in a press release. New Orleans doesn’t have its own D-League affiliate, so Diallo has been playing for San Antonio’s D-League squad, averaging 12.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in nine games for Austin.
- The Hornets have sent Aaron Harrison and Christian Wood back to the D-League on assignments, according to a press release issued by the club. Harrison and Wood, who have played very sparingly for Charlotte, should get a chance to suit up and see some action for the Greensboro Swarm in Wednesday night’s game.
- The Nets have once again assigned Chris McCullough to Long Island, according to a team release. The Nets’ D-League affiliate plays this afternoon, so McCullough could be recalled after the game for Brooklyn’s Wednesday evening contest against Denver.
- R.J. Hunter and Paul Zipser have been assigned to the D-League, the Bulls announced today in a press release. Chicago’s affiliate, the Windy City Bulls, doesn’t play until Friday, so it’s not clear how long Hunter’s and Zipser’s assignments will last.
Hornets camp invitee Andrew Andrews is heading overseas, having agreed to a contract with Turkish team Best Balikesir, a source tells international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). The exact terms of Andrews’ deal aren’t known.
Andrews, 23, is a 6’2″ point guard who played four years at the University of Washington, averaging 20.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 34 games with the Huskies as a senior last season. He went undrafted in June before playing for the Clippers in the NBA’s Summer League and later securing a training camp invitation from the Hornets.
In three preseason contests with Charlotte, Andrews played sparingly, averaging 10.4 minutes per contest and recording 4.0 PPG, 1.3 RPG, and 1.0 APG. He was waived by the Hornets less than a week before the regular season got underway, as the team cut down its roster to 15 players.
Andrews’ new team in Turkey is off to an 0-9 start this season, so he’ll be tasked with helping Best Balikesir to get into the win column and turn things around.
After a quiet Thanksgiving, NBA teams are once again assigning players to their D-League affiliates, or recalling them to their 15-man squads. Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls:
- The Pistons have recalled rookies Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. The duo combined for 21 points and 24 rebounds for the Grand Rapids Drive on Wednesday night.
- The Pacers have sent Rakeem Christmas back to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced today (via Twitter). Christmas, who ran into foul trouble during his last D-League contest, figures to suit up for the Mad Ants tonight against the Long Island Nets.
- Rookie guard Wade Baldwin has been recalled from the Iowa Energy by the Grizzlies, the team announced today in a press release. The 17th overall pick has appeared in nine games for the Grizzlies, but got an opportunity to play more minutes and a bigger role in the D-League, averaging 18.5 PPG in his two games with Iowa.
- The Hornets have assigned Aaron Harrison to the D-League, according to a press release issued by the team. Charlotte’s affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, will play back-to-back games against Erie on Friday and Saturday, giving Harrison a chance to earn some playing time.
The Hornets had several players eligible for free agency in the summer of 2016, and while they lost some players, such as Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin, they were able to re-sign key pieces like Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams, much to the relief of Kemba Walker.
“I was nervous as hell,” Walker told David Aldridge of NBA.com. “I didn’t want to lose those guys. I knew we couldn’t pay everyone. I wish we could have gotten a lot of the guys back, but unfortunately, the way this business works is it can’t happen all the time. Nic and Marv were high priority … I got a chance to go out to Dallas and be a part of Nic’s meeting. Me and [Michael Kidd-Gilchrist] flew out. It was super cool. We got a chance to sit in the room and say a few words.”
General manager Rich Cho admits the team was worried about potentially losing Batum. As Aldridge details, teams like the Mavericks and Wizards were interested in the veteran forward, but the Hornets didn’t want him to take a meeting with another team — and he didn’t.
Here’s more from Aldridge:
- Barring any last-minute complications, the NBA and the NBPA will likely reach an official agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement during the week of December 5, reports Aldridge. The league and the union will likely take the week after Thanksgiving to make sure everyone’s up to speed on the new deal before formally announcing it.
- According to Aldridge, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson approached Chris Hansen and his investment group about getting involved in the Seattle arena project, rather than vice versa. While it may still be years before a new Seattle arena is built, Wilson’s cache and his willingness to invest in the project should only help, Aldridge writes.
- While there’s no indication that they have interest, Aldridge believes the Wizards should look into trading for Omri Casspi, who has fallen out of favor in Sacramento. Casspi told Matt George of Cowbell Kingdom that he and Kings head coach Dave Joerger haven’t spoken since the preseason.
Listed below are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA.
- The Grizzlies sent rookie guard Wade Baldwin to the Iowa Energy, the team announced in an email. He has appeared in nine games for Memphis, averaging 3.1 points.
- The Knicks recalled center Marshall Plumlee from Westchester, the team tweeted.
- The Hornets recalled guard Aaron Harrison and forward Christian Wood from Greensboro, the team announced on its website. They were the first players ever to be assigned to the new D-League franchise.
- The Spurs recalled guards Bryn Forbes and Dejounte Murray from their Austin affiliate, according to the team’s website. Both players were sent down Saturday to participate in a game against Erie.
- The Wizards will recall guard Danuel House from the Sixers‘ affiliate in Delaware in time for Monday’s game, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.
Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Hornets have assigned a pair of players to the D-League, announcing today in a press release that guard Aaron Harrison and forward Christian Wood have been sent to the Greensboro Swarm. Harrison and Wood have each only appeared in a single game for Charlotte this season, but if they remain with the D-League squad until Friday night, they should get plenty of minutes for Greensboro in the team’s game against the Raptors 905.
- Rakeem Christmas, who spent a good chunk of his rookie season in 2015/16 with Fort Wayne, has been assigned to the Mad Ants for the first time this season, the Pacers announced today in a press release. It’s not clear how long the assignment will last.
- The Raptors have once again assigned Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet to their D-League affiliate, and with the NBA team headed on a nine-day road trip, Caboclo and VanVleet could have a longer stay with the Raptors 905 this time around, writes Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic.