Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Magic, Hawks, Cobbs

November 3rd, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was an active year for extensions around the league as a whole, but the only two Eastern Conference players to sign rookie scale extensions in October reside in the Southeast Division, where Nikola Vucevic and Kemba Walker each wound up with four-year, $48MM deals. The Cavs were active, too, but their extension with Kyrie Irving happened back in July and the Anderson Varejao extension isn’t of the rookie scale variety. Time will tell if Vucevic and Walker prove wise investments for a pair of clubs that had the NBA’s worst records just two seasons ago, but in the meantime, here’s more news from around the Southeast Division.

The passage of the extension deadline left the Magic with some cap flexibility for next summer after they failed to reach a deal with Tobias Harris, but the free agent market doesn’t give them much chance to capitalize on it, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel examines.
Hawks executive and prospective owner Dominique Wilkins doesn’t believe the team’s racism scandal will affect its ability to attract top free agent stars, as he tells USA Today correspondent Ray Glier. “I don’t buy that,” Wilkins said. “Do they want to come in with the negativity? Of course not. But this is a great town to live in. This franchise has been to the playoffs seven straight years. This is a healing process. If it’s genuine, guys will come.”
Hornets training camp invitee Justin Cobbs is headed to play for Latvia’s VEF Riga, the team announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Cobbs spent camp with both the Hornets and Spain’s Laboral Kuxta in an unusual arrangement, but he failed to earn a spot with either club.

Hornets Notes: Walker, Taylor, Jefferson

October 30th, 2014 at 1:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The start of the season has gone just about as well as could be scripted for Kemba Walker and the Hornets, who reached a deal on a four-year, $48MM extension Tuesday and formally announced it today. In between, Walker hit the game-winning shot to give Charlotte an overtime victory Wednesday in its first regular season game since reclaiming the Hornets nickname. Here’s more from The Hive:

Hornets GM Rich Cho didn’t hide his enthusiasm about the Walker extension, and Walker is excited, too, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer notes (Twitter links). “I would love to be here as long as I can,” Walker said. “I love the city of Charlotte.”
Jeff Taylor received 18 months of probation and was ordered to pay $1,840 today after pleading guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor domestic assault and property destruction charges, reports Kevin Grasha of the Lansing State Journal. Taylor remains on paid leave from the Hornets, and Cho said today that the team will take its cues from the league, noting that the NBA has yet to finish its investigation of the matter, Bonnell observes (Twitter links).
Al Jefferson can hit free agency in the summer if he turns down his $13.5MM player option, but Michael Jordan made it clear earlier this week that he has no intention of letting the center get away, as the owner told Bonnell. “Al is a straight shooter. We love him,” Jordan said. “He took a gamble on us. That obviously plays into our thinking.”

Hornets Sign Kemba Walker To Extension

October 30th, 2014 at 12:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Kemba Walker and the Hornets have officially signed a rookie-scale extension, the team acknowledged in a formal announcement. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported on Tuesday that the sides had agreed to terms on what is a four-year, $48MM deal. It contains no options or incentive clauses, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) confirms. Earlier Tuesday, Hornets owner Michael Jordan made it known that he intended to work out a new deal with Walker.

“Today is a great day for the Charlotte Hornets,” Hornets GM Rich Cho said in the team’s statement. “To be able to retain such an important piece of the core we are building here in Charlotte is exciting. Kemba is an integral part of the culture we’re trying to create within our organization and we are excited that he will continue to be a part of our team for years to come.”

Walker, a Jeff Schwartz client, averaged 17.7 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 4.2 RPG in a career-high 35.8 minutes per contest last season. Walker’s scoring average was identical to his 2012/13 mark and he’s accustomed to being a leading scorer for Charlotte. However, not everyone sees him as a go-to player and his $12MM average annual salary is sure to draw some criticism. About a month ago, Zach Lowe of Grantland wrote that he has heard from executives around the league that the the UConn product is not a “championship point guard.” Walker got his first taste of NBA postseason basketball last season and Charlotte has a good shot at a return trip this year.

As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors pointed out earlier, the Hornets had about $22.7MM in guaranteed salary on the books for 2015/16 prior to the Walker agreement, though that number increases when factoring in a $13.5MM player option for Al Jefferson, $10MM+ in rookie scale team options that the team has since exercised, and a $6MM player option for Gerald Henderson. With that in mind, the new deal for Walker doesn’t leave the Hornets much room to add an impact free agent next summer. However, if the Hornets didn’t lock up Walker to a new deal before then, they would have risked seeing two top players — Jefferson and Walker — potentially hit the open market.

Even though Walker’s scoring average stayed the same from 2012/13 to 2013/14, his shooting percentage dipped from 42.3% to 39.3% as his uptick in long two-point attempts cost him some accuracy. That slide was also reflected in his PER as it declined from 18.8 in 2012/13 to 16.8 this past season. Walker’s PER score in 2013/14 put him 17th amongst all qualified point guards.

Kyrie Irving, Kenneth Faried, Markieff Morris, and Marcus Morris have also taken advantage of the extension window that opened on July 1st.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: Hornets, Celtics, D-League

October 29th, 2014 at 10:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The contracts of Alonzo Gee (Nuggets) and James Ennis (Heat) both became fully guaranteed today, and a partial guarantee of $250K has kicked in for Dewayne Dedmon (Magic), since both Dedmon and Ennis were on their teams’ respective rosters come opening night, and Gee was still on his team’s roster past October 29th, as is shown on our schedule of contract guarantee dates.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Celtics look to improve upon their 25-win season of a year ago, and began their quest at home tonight with a 121-105 victory over the Nets. In his season preview, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com believes Boston’s outlook has improved, and Rajon Rondo will have a strong season as he looks to silence his doubters and maximize his value heading into next summer.
In a separate article, Blakely looks at the top five players who changed teams and donned new uniforms this summer. Blakely also examined the five best rookies making their debuts this season, including Elfrid Payton, Jabari Parker, and Marcus Smart.
Hornets owner Michael Jordan believes that the addition of Lance Stephenson gives his team a legitimate shot to contend in the Eastern Conference, the Associated Press reports. Jordan especially likes Stephenson’s “fight,” saying, “One of the reasons why I admire his game is he takes on challenges. For us to get any place in the East, we need someone to challenge LeBron. He challenged LeBron.”
Former Sixers coach Larry Brown slammed the organization’s rebuilding through “tanking” plan, John N. Mitchell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I hate what’s going on in Philly,” Brown said. “They don’t have a basketball person in the organization. It makes me sick to my stomach.”
Malcolm Turner of Wasserman Media Group has been hired as the president of the NBA D-League, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
Roger Mason has been hired as the NBPA’s director of player relations, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report tweets. It is unclear if accepting this position would prevent Mason from continuing his playing career. The 34-year-old Mason made 25 appearances for the Heat last season, averaging 3.0 PPG in 10.4 minutes-per-game.

Lakers Notes: Randle, Bryant, Roster

October 29th, 2014 at 7:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have already suffered some significant blows to their roster with both Steve Nash and Julius Randle being lost for the season with injuries. Even if the franchise is approved for Disabled Player Exceptions, they will still have two of their maximum 15 roster spots occupied by injured personnel. If Los Angeles loses another player to injury the team could apply for a temporary hardship increase that would allow the franchise to carry up to 16 players, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter links). This scenario could help the team maintain its depth in the wake of another player loss, but once one of the injured players was able to return to action, the 15 player max would resume, Pincus notes.

Here’s more from Los Angeles:

The only bright side to the Lakers losing Randle for the season is that the team will be in contention for a top-five lottery pick next summer, J.A. Adande of ESPN.com opines. Los Angeles’ 2015 first-rounder is owed to the Suns but is protected for picks one-through-five, notes Adande.
The Lakers should take a page out of the Sixers’ playbook and try to hit bottom this season, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. This includes trying to convince Kobe Bryant to waive his no trade clause and dealing the future Hall-of Famer, Ford opines. Ford lists the Knicks, Nets, Mavs, and Hornets as teams that would potentially be interested in obtaining Bryant.
The loss of Randle will hurt the Lakers much more than losing Nash, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders opines. Los Angeles wasn’t expecting much from Nash, and had Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price on board to make up for any time that Nash would have missed. With Randle, this season was important for his development, and the team was planning to run a large portion of their offense through him, Koutroupis notes.
The Lakers and Bryant have faced criticism for the two year, $48.5MM contract extension he signed back in 2013. Hornets owner and former NBA great Michael Jordan defended Bryant for inking the pact, DeAntae Prince of The Sporting News writes. “Can I criticize him for maximizing his opportunity from a financial standpoint? No,” Jordan said. “Does his decision have an effect on how the team will structure certain things? Maybe.”

Hornets Opt In With Kidd-Gilchrist, Zeller

October 29th, 2014 at 5:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hornets have exercised their fourth-year option on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and their third-year option for Cody Zeller, the team has announced. These moves don’t come as a surprise since both players factor heavily into Charlotte’s current rotation and their future plans as well. Kidd-Gilchrist is set to earn $6,331,404 in 2015/16, and Zeller will take home $4,204,200, which brings the team’s current total salary commitment for that season to approximately $33.2MM. That figure doesn’t take into account Al Jefferson‘s $13.5MM, nor Gerald Henderson‘s $6MM player options.

Kidd-Gilchrist was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and he hasn’t quite lived up to being selected that high, averaging just 8.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.2 APG for his career. His defense has always been a strength, but it’s on the offensive side of the game where Kidd-Gilchrist has lagged, with a career slash line of .464/.167/.682.

The 7’0″ Zeller was chosen with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and averaged 6.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG during his rookie campaign last season. His shooting numbers were .426/.000/.730, not an excellent percentage of makes for a player of his size. Zeller was the only player to appear in every game for Charlotte last season and was one of just two rookies to play in all 82 contests.

Southeast Notes: Bosh, Jordan, Hornets, Heat

October 28th, 2014 at 8:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Hornets owner Michael Jordan has finally learned how to win games without the basketball in his hands, writes Steve Reed of the Associated Press. “I can impact the game in shorts and tennis shoes,” Jordan said. “When I had those on it was easy to prove people wrong. It’s hard to do that now when I have a suit on. I have to rely upon other people understanding my message and my focus.” The Hornets have high expectations this season and many expect the team to make playoffs. Here’s more from the Southeast division:

Chris Bosh isn’t shy about stating his desire to have more freedom in the offense as a reason he chose the Heat over the Rockets in free agency, tweets Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. In terms of a slice of an apple pie chart, said Bosh (link), “It would be a big slice, a nice slice. A big-man slice. Big. Huge. Unhealthy slice. Close to half.”
Although the Hornets are not making a substantial amount of money, Jordan claims the team is getting closer to breaking even, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Charlotte is believed to have lost $34MM in basketball operations last year, according to Zach Lowe of Grantland.
Jordan was quick to point out that money wasn’t a main reason why Josh McRoberts departed the Hornets this offseason, writes Bonnell. McRoberts signed with the Heat for a four year deal worth the full value of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception (~$22.6MM).
One of the reasons Danny Granger chose the Heat in free agency was the team’s high shooting percentage over the last few years, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “They have a lot of layups, a lot of open threes, things some other teams just don’t get, which is why they shot such a high percentage. I definitely think I will be able to do that here. I’m definitely going to be over 40 percent, probably 45, 46,” said Granger. Granger added that he hopes to become a more efficient player with the Heat.

Hornets Push For Extension With Kemba Walker

October 28th, 2014 at 3:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hornets owner Michael Jordan intends to sign an extension with Kemba Walker rather than let him hit free agency and said that he’s hopeful that the “real conversations” between the sides bear fruit in advance of Friday’s deadline, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (All Twitter links). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier this month that Charlotte was in talks with the Jeff Schwartz client.

Executives around the league often say that Walker isn’t a “championship point guard,” as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote about a month ago, though the 24-year-old hasn’t had much chance to show what he can do in meaningful games during his three years with the team. Last year’s playoff appearance was his first, and he held steady at 17.7 points per game during the 2013/14 regular season in spite of the addition of marquee free agent Al Jefferson. The Hornets are poised to return to the postseason this year, but it appears Jordan is anxious to strike a deal before skeptical executives have a chance to drive up the point guard’s value next summer.

The Hornets only have about $45.2MM in guaranteed salary for 2015/16 even with Walker’s extension. That doesn’t include a $13.5MM player option for Jefferson nor a $6MM player option for Gerald Henderson, however.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images.

Eastern Notes: Wade, Jennings, Qvale

October 28th, 2014 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

If the Bulls and Cavaliers meet in the Eastern Conference Finals this year, it should be a compelling affair, if evidenced only by the virtual dead heat between the clubs among Hoops Rumors readers who’ve weighed in on which team they think will win the NBA title. Still, the health of Derrick Rose is an X-factor after the point guard missed all but one game of the past three postseasons, and no one knows quite how the Cavs will come together with all of their new pieces, so there’s plenty of mystery surrounding the East this season. Here’s the latest from around the conference:

The idea of signing with the Bulls “played on my heart,” as Dwyane Wade told TNT’s David Aldridge, but the longtime Heat guard reiterated that Miami is his home, as Aldridge notes amid his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The Bulls reportedly put out feelers to Wade this summer, and they also pursued him in 2010.
Former Pistons front office chief Joe Dumars took the fall, but Brandon Jennings tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he and Josh Smith simply didn’t perform to the level they should have after the Pistons committed a combined seven years and $78MM to the duo. “We did get a new contract, both of us, so the blame has to go to both of us, actually,” Jennings said. “I’m going to put myself in there because I’m the point guard. So if anything, I’m going to hold myself accountable first, before anyone else. I definitely didn’t do my job last year. It was one of the most embarrassing seasons ever, especially with the talent that we had, and I feel like we should have [gone] farther than we did. But I put that on myself. That really bothered me all summer. So I have a lot to prove this year.”
Hornets camp invitee Brian Qvale has signed with Tofas Bursa of Turkey, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, who was the first to report the deal, via Twitter). Charlotte waived the center last week.

Spurs Sign Robert Vaden, Fuquan Edwin

October 24th, 2014 at 7:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Spurs have signed Robert Vaden and Fuquan Edwin, the team has announced. The length and terms of the deals were not disclosed, but they’re likely minimum-salary arrangements with perhaps small partial guarantees. These moves bring San Antonio’s preseason roster count up to 18 players, leaving the team three over the regular season maximum. Both players were likely signed with an eye on sending them to the D-League, as teams can retain the D-League rights for up to four players.

The 6’5″ Vaden technically has one year of NBA experience, even though he’s never appeared in a regular season or playoff game. The Thunder signed him to a multiyear deal in the final days of the 2010/11 season and traded him the following preseason to the Timberwolves, who cut him before opening night. He was most recently with Belfius Mons-Hainaut in Belgium where he appeared in 10 games, logging 9.0 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 27 minutes per night. Vaden was originally drafted with the No. 54 pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Hornets (then known as the Bobcats). In four college seasons split between Indiana and UAB, Vaden averaged 15.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG. He also spent two seasons in the NBA D-League for the Tulsa 66ers, averaging 11.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.

Edwin went undrafted this year after spending four seasons at Seton Hall. In 127 career games for the Pirates, he averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.4 APG while playing 30.3 minutes a night. Edwin played for the Thunder in the summer league, appearing in three games, and notching 1.3 PPG in 7.5 minutes per night.