Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Skiles, Hawks, Jefferson

April 23rd, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scott Skiles is still “very interested” in coaching again but isn’t pushing the issue, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders notes within his NBA AM piece. Skiles isn’t actively seeking or campaigning for a job with the Magic or any other team, nor would he insist on player personnel power or control if he were to become a team’s coach, league sources told Kyler, a reversal of the narratives from earlier.

Here’s the latest out of the Southwest Division:

The second highest bid for the Hawks came in around $815MM, which includes the approximately $120MM worth of arena debt, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. The franchise is awaiting the NBA Board of Governors to approve the sale of the team to the Ressler Group for approximately $850MM, which also includes the arena debt amount.
The Hornets are relieved that center Al Jefferson has decided not to opt out of his contract for next season and become a free agent, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Charlotte did not want to have to commit to a deal for Jefferson beyond this season, even at a reduced cost, Deveney adds. The organization hopes that the big man can give the Hornets another solid year while the team figures out what its frontcourt is going to look like in the future, adds the Sporting News scribe.
Kemba Walker was glad to have had surgery during the season to repair a tear in his left knee, Matt Rochinski of NBA.com writes in his season recap for the Hornets‘ point guard. “[The surgery] was something that I had to do and I’m happy I got it done,” Walker said. “I’m feeling good. I won’t do anything different and will still have a pretty good summer [working out and getting stronger], so I’m looking forward to it.” Walker will be entering the second season of the four-year, $48MM extension he signed with the team last October.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Zeller, Gordon

April 22nd, 2015 at 8:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Veteran guard Ben Gordon became the odd man out in the Magic‘s rotation once James Borrego took over as the team’s interim coach, Ken Hornack of FOX Sports Florida writes. Borrego preferred to see what the backcourt pairing of Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton could accomplish, which left Gordon on the outside looking in, Hornack notes. Gordon’s $4.5MM salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed. In 56 games this season Gordon averaged 6.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest.

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Hornets big man Cody Zeller had successful surgery today to repair damage to his right shoulder, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link). The 22-year-old appeared in 62 contests for Charlotte this season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. Zeller is expected to resume basketball activities in three months.
Grant Hill‘s presence as part of the Hawks‘ new ownership group could aid GM Danny Ferry in retaining his position within the organization, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post opines (Twitter link). Ferry and Hill have ties through Duke University, which both men attended, Bontemps notes.
Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweeted that Hill’s involvement with the Ressler group should provide a good indicator of how Kevin Garnett could function as part of the Wolves’ ownership when he retires. Garnett has acknowledged an interest in buying the Wolves at some point, and owner Glen Taylor said that his return as a player enhanced his chances of becoming a part-owner.
Heat rookie point guard Shabazz Napier showed promise during his rookie season, but needs to be a more consistent player moving forward, Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida writes in his profile of the player.

Hornets Notes: Jefferson, Stephenson, Biyombo

April 19th, 2015 at 6:59pm CST by Will Joseph

Al Jefferson, who has a $13.5MM player option for next season and recently said he would likely opt in, is committed to dropping 20 to 25 pounds this summer, Hornets GM Rich Cho said during a media session, transcribed by Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “He [Jefferson] seemed genuinely disappointed in our season both as a team and as an individual,” Cho said. Also during Cho’s availability, the GM stated the obvious about the team’s decision to sign Lance Stephenson to a three-year, $27.405MM deal: “It didn’t work out as we expected it to,” Cho said. “I don’t want to look backwards, I want to look forward. I expect Lance to work hard this off-season and have a better season next year.” Stephenson shot only 17% from three-point range.

Here’s more from the Hornets:

Cho was mostly complimentary of backup center Bismack Biyombo, who is set for restricted free agency and played regularly the second half of the season, except for 11 games he missed with a bruised knee. “I thought Biz was up-and-down a little bit. He definitely improved,” Cho said. “There were spurts when he was really good, like before he got injured. And then after the injury it took him a while to get back.” There is a distinct possibility that the Hornets won’t make his qualifying offer, which would be $4,045,894.
During the same media session, Cho said it’s conceivable the Hornets could trade their lottery pick and that Charlotte owns several tools to improve the roster. “We have our draft picks going forward,” Cho added. “We don’t have any bad contracts, long-term. I think we’re in a good position moving forward. … Not this summer, but next summer, we’ll have significant cap room.”
In a separate piece, however, Bonnell makes the argument that the Hornets are actually very much limited in resources. If Jefferson and shooting guard Gerald Henderson don’t exercise opt-out clauses in their contracts the team has about $65MM in player-salary obligations, which is close to next season’s projected cap, Bonnell points out. Therefore, the most the Hornets could spend on a free agent this summer is the mid-level exception, which is $5.464MM in a first-season salary, Bonnell adds. Bonnell identifies the Hornets’ most glaring need as shooting; they finished this season 29th in field goal percentage and last in three-point shooting. That player, therefore, likely won’t be someone who would demand a high price tag. “We’re not in a position to get a max-level player,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. “Nor do we need to.”

2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Hornets

April 17th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The D-League’s regular season is now complete, and the three-round D-League playoffs are underway. The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season.

We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue with a look back at how the Hornets utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…

D-League Team: Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Affiliation Type: Shared

D-League Team Record: 28-22

Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 2

Total D-League Assignments: 2

Player Stats While On Assignment:

Jeffery Taylor: 1 assignment, 4 games, 11.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 1.5 APG. .333/.312/.750.
Noah Vonleh: 1 assignment, 2 games, 7.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.5 APG. .353/.667/.000.

D-League Signings

Elliot Williams (Santa Cruz Warriors-Golden State affiliate): Signed 10-day contract on February 4th.

Assignment/Recall Log

December 27th: Assigned Noah Vonleh (Recalled December 31st)
December 28th: Assigned Jeffery Taylor (Recalled January 9th) *

*Note: Taylor was assigned to the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s affiliate.

Southeast Notes: Fournier, Henderson, Heat

April 16th, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Al Jefferson indicated earlier today that he would likely opt in and remain with the Hornets next season. Swingman Gerald Henderson also has player option for 2015/16, his being worth $6MM, but Henderson says that he hasn’t thought about free agency yet, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. The 27-year-old did say that he would prefer to remain with Charlotte, Bonnell adds. Henderson appeared in 80 games for the Hornets this season, averaging 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per contest.

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

After a difficult first campaign with the Hornets, Lance Stephenson vowed to return next season much improved and with his confidence back, Bonnell notes. “My 3-point percentage was the lowest ever in history. That’s terrible,” Stephenson said. “It’s confidence – just wanting the shot to go in so bad and then you lose your confidence. That plays a major part when you don’t have confidence in your shot. This summer I’m going to find my confidence.” Stephenson’s 17.1% three-point accuracy wasn’t quite the worst ever, but it was a sharp drop from last season’s 35.2%.
Evan Fournier is eligible to sign an extension this summer, and the swingman loves playing for the Magic, but he acknowledged that contract extensions are usually reserved for star players, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel tweets.
Dwyane Wade says that he won’t be recruiting Luol Deng and Goran Dragic to remain with the Heat next season, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets. “Nope,” Wade said about playing recruiter. “They know. If they want to be here, they’ll be here.” Both Deng and Dragic possess player options for the 2015/16 campaign.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan fully expects restricted free agent Tobias Harris to be with Orlando next season, John Denton of Orlando Magic.com relays (Twitter link). “I’ve said all along that we don’t envision a scenario where Tobias isn’t with us next season,” stated the GM.

Al Jefferson Says He’ll Likely Opt In

April 16th, 2015 at 1:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:16pm: Jefferson elaborated on his thinking, making his decision seem even more set in stone. “I’ve got unfinished business here,” Jefferson said when asked whether he’d opt out, as Bonnell relays via Twitter. “That’s not even an option for me.”

12:10pm: Al Jefferson said today that it’s highly unlikely he’ll turn down his $13.5MM player option for next season, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Most formal decisions on options aren’t due until June 29th, but the news is nonetheless a blow for teams in the market for a big man this summer. The 30-year-old Jefferson is the 14th-ranked free agent in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings one year removed from a career season.

Jefferson regressed this year amid injuries, but he still played in 65 games and averaged 16.6 points and 8.4 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game. He was only the third leading scorer for Charlotte, but he nonetheless remains a key part of the Hornets, and coach Steve Clifford expressed continued faith in the 11-year veteran, saying it’s not a given that he’ll continue to struggle with injuries, Bonnell tweets. Owner Michael Jordan indicated before this season that he’d want to keep Jefferson if he elected free agency, given the chance the big man took when he signed with a downtrodden Charlotte team in 2013.

Should Jefferson indeed opt in this year, the Jeff Schwartz client would be positioning himself to hit free agency just as the salary cap rises sharply after next season. It’s a gamble that he’d have a bounce-back performance in 2015/16 and that teams wouldn’t look askance at his advancing age.

An opt in from Jefferson would give the Hornets almost $60MM in commitments against a projected $67.4MM salary cap, not counting Gerald Henderson‘s $6MM player option. The team will likely be limited to the mid-level and biannual exceptions to pay free agents more than the minimum, but Clifford doesn’t think the Hornets need to make a splashy upgrade, as Bonnell relays (on Twitter). “We’re not in a position to get a max-level player. Nor do we need to,” Clifford said today.

Southeast Notes: Frye, Hornets, Heat

April 12th, 2015 at 1:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Channing Frye is hoping to stay with the Magic, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The team gave Frye a four-year, $32MM contract as a free agent last summer, but the team reportedly saw him more as a complementary player than as a star. Frye was traded in 2007, and he hopes it won’t happen again. “It’s been a tough year, but it’s been an awesome year because I’ve grown, I think, a lot more in being patient, not just assuming guys know certain things, being able to communicate better,” Frye said. “I hope to be back here, and I really do enjoy my time here. I love these guys. No matter who’s here, who’s not and who’s coaching or who’s not, I feel like we’re going to go in the right direction.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Shooting should be a priority for the Hornets if they don’t win the draft lottery, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The team drafted P.J. Hairston last year and brought in Marvin Williams and Brian Roberts to improve its three-point shooting, but the Hornets have sunk to a league-worst 31.5% this season. Two possibilities Bonnell mentioned are Croatian Mario Hezonja and Kentucky’s Devin Booker.
With their playoff hopes all but gone, the Heat should be focused on a less exciting goal, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Miami will keep its first-round pick in June only if it lands in the top 10. If it’s 11 or higher, the selection could go the the Sixers. The draft pick swap was part of the sign-and-trade that brought LeBron James to Miami in 2010. Miami is currently 10th in the Hoops Rumors Reverse Standings.

Southeast Notes: Hennigan, Tavares, Harris

April 9th, 2015 at 7:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Magic CEO Alex Martins wouldn’t confirm that the team will seek an extension with GM Rob Hennigan, but Martins made it clear to Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel that he’s quite pleased with Hennigan’s performance. The GM’s deal currently runs through next season. “Rob has maximized our return on every single transaction he’s been a part of from a player personnel standpoint,” Martins said. “He has taken our roster and assets, built and improved upon them and is putting the pieces in place for sustained, long-term success.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

Discussing 2014 draft-and-stash big man Edy Tavares, who is also known as Walter Tavares, Hawks director of international scouting Himar Ojeda relayed that the franchise may indeed sign the player for next season, Mariano Galindo of Zoom News writes (translation by HoopsHype).”It’s too early to tell if we’re bringing him in for next season because we don’t know how the roster is going to look like and it’s not just our decision, but his too,” Ojeda said. “But yes, we seriously consider the possibility of bringing him in for the 2015/16 season.“
Magic forward Tobias Harris insists that he hasn’t ruminated about potentially becoming a restricted free agent this summer, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “This is the team I’m on right now,” Harris said. “This is the team I’m focused on. That’s all I can worry about. I trust in God’s plan for my life, and everything that’s going to happen in the future I know will work out for the best. That’s how I look at it. There’s a lot of things you have to look at in any type of free agency, but what I think what everybody’s beginning to forget is that [I’ll be] a restricted free agent. So whatever happens, it’s in the organization’s hands to make a call. So I think everybody has to really keep that in mind and not just say, ‘You might want to go here and there.’“
Hornets coach Steve Clifford‘s salary for the 2015/16 season became guaranteed when the team qualified for the playoffs during the 2013/14 campaign, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. Clifford’s contract contains a clause that if the franchise made the playoffs in either of Clifford’s first two seasons, the third season would become fully guaranteed, Bonnell notes. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported this news.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lowe’s Latest: Lopez, Biyombo, Davis

April 7th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Most executives around the league expect Brook Lopez to turn down his player option for next season, worth more than $16.744MM, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe. That’s on the heels of his surge over the past month, as he averaged 20.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in March, and he’s upped those numbers to 22.8 PPG and 9.8 RPG so far in April. Lowe wrote in December that most execs thought Lopez would pick up the option, so it seems his hot streak has changed thinking around the league. Still, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck wrote just a week after Lowe’s report in December that he had heard from many executives who expected even then that Lopez would opt out. The Nets center said a few weeks ago that he hadn’t thought about what to do with the option, so there’s some mystery here. Lowe has more rumors from his latest column, which focuses on players with decent chances of becoming this year’s version of what DeMarre Carroll was in 2013, when he signed a two-year, $5MM pact that wound up a bargain deal for the Hawks.

Bismack Biyombo will almost certainly see the value of his qualifying offer from the Hornets shrink from more than $5.194MM to nearly $4.046MM thanks to the starter criteria that he has virtually no chance of meeting. Executives are “nearly unanimous” that he wouldn’t command annual salaries of that nearly $5.2MM amount in free agency this summer, according to Lowe, though while most people believe a team could snag him for about $4MM a year, no one is sure about that, Lowe adds.
Ed Davis rejected a multiyear contract offer from the Grizzlies this past summer, several league sources tell Lowe. He instead signed with the Lakers on a two-year deal for the minimum salary with a player option that he’s said he plans to decline in search of a long-term deal this summer. Davis turned down a rookie scale extension in the fall of 2013 that would have given him annual salaries of $5-6MM beginning this season, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reported this past October.
Derrick Williams doesn’t intrigue front offices as much as he did a year ago, Lowe writes. He, too, is in line for a reduced qualifying offer from the Kings for failing to meet the starter criteria.
Lowe identifies the Spurs as a team to watch on Mirza Teletovic, though it’s unclear if that’s just speculation. The Nets can match offers if they extend a qualifying offer of more than $4.21MM.

Eastern Notes: MCW, Sixers, Draft, Walker

April 5th, 2015 at 12:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Michael Carter-Williams admits he struggled to adjust after being traded, but the Syracuse product is happy to be in Milwaukee, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes. “It’s good to know I’m going to be here growing with guys and knowing the chemistry,” Carter-Williams said. “I’m a Milwaukee Buck now and I hope I’m here for a while.” The Bucks have gone 7-14 since the point guard made his team debut.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Sixers have several players who have improved over the course of the season and Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News believes coach Brett Brown deserves recognition for the progress. Cooney looks at the development of the team’s young prospects, including Nerlens Noel and Robert Covington.
Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders what the Sixers would do if they landed one of the top two picks in the draft. Centers Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns are widely expected to be the first two players off the board in some order and Philadelphia already has three young frontcourt players under team control in Joel Embiid, Noel and Dario Saric. The Sixers are currently third place in our Reverse Standings with a record of 18-59.
Kemba Walker doesn’t believe the Hornets‘ struggles this season are coach Steve Clifford‘s fault, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. “It has nothing to do with him,” Walker said. “He does a great job, he’s a fantastic coach. He always does his best to give us the right game plan, to try and get wins. I’m 100 percent behind him. I believe in him.”