Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Mitchell, Stewart, Giannis, Beachamp, A. Jackson

December 18th, 2023 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Donovan Mitchell didn’t want to discuss his future on Saturday after leading the Cavaliers to a win in their first game since long-term injuries knocked Darius Garland and Evan Mobley out of the lineup, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. There is already speculation that Mitchell, who has a $37MM player option for 2025/26, will end up somewhere else if he turns down an extension offer from Cleveland. Rumors escalated on Friday when the Cavs announced the prognosis for Garland and Mobley, but it’s not a topic Mitchell feels like addressing.

“My job is to focus on this,” he said, referring to on-court matters. “We have two guys that are out, so I’m not answering anything. And no disrespect. I appreciate that you have to ask the question, but I’m not going there with any of those questions. My focus is on these guys being out, us trying to find a way to get wins.”

Mitchell posted a career-high 13 assists as he took over full-time point guard duties in Garland’s absence. According to Vardon, coach J.B. Bickerstaff talked to Mitchell before the game about the need to get role players involved in the offense as they handle more responsibility with Garland and Mobley sidelined. Bickerstaff is also seeking greater production from center Jarrett Allen, who finished Saturday’s game with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

“J.B. said before the game, it’s not our job to go out there and try to be Superman,” Allen said. “It’s not our job to go out there and try to make up for everything that’s lost. It’s just for us to try to find one area that we can improve in and try to help the team win.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Several contenders, including the Celtics, Thunder and Mavericks, have expressed an interest in Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart, sources tell James L. Edwards of The Athletic. Stewart has been one of the few bright spots in Detroit’s ugly season, averaging 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds through 25 games. He signed a four-year, $64MM extension this summer and would be subject to the poison pill provision in any trade until July 1. Edwards also addresses trade suggestions from readers, saying he’s heard the Pistons don’t have interest in adding Utah’s John Collins or Charlotte’s P.J. Washington.
After passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the Bucks‘ career leader in rebounding Sunday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo talked about what it means to eclipse an NBA legend, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “That a kid from Greece, a skinny kid from Greece that was drafted, supposed to play in the G League, be in a position to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record, I don’t think anybody thought about that,” Antetokounmpo said.
MarJon Beauchamp and Andre Jackson are both contributing to a Bucks team that needs production from its young wings, Nehm adds in a full story.

Minor Update On Ball; Mensah Makes Solid First Impression

December 16th, 2023 at 3:07pm CST by Luke Adams

After announcing on December 8 that they’d reevaluate LaMelo Ball (right ankle sprain) in a week, the Hornets offered a very minor update on Friday, tweeting that the star guard has “continued progressing” in his conditioning and individual activities. Updates on his status will be provided “as appropriate,” the Hornets added. It doesn’t sound as if Ball has resumed practicing with the team or that his return is imminent.
After signing a two-way contract with the Hornets on Thursday, center Nathan Mensah was immediately thrust into a rotation role for the injury-plagued club, backing up Nick Richards at the five in Friday’s loss to New Orleans. Mensah fouled out in just 13 minutes of action but he grabbed seven rebounds and made a solid first impression, per Shane Connuck of The Charlotte Observer. “He did a great job,” Brandon Miller said. “His presence down there, I felt like he did a great job on the defensive side, just getting boards, some blocks. He’s gonna be great for us.”

Hornets Sign Nathan Mensah To Two-Way Contract, Waive Theo Maledon

December 14th, 2023 at 8:45pm CST by Tristan Tucker

8:45pm: The Hornets officially announced the signing of Mensah to a two-way contract in a press release.

5:38pm: The Hornets are planning to sign center Nathan Mensah to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Mensah has been playing with Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, this season after spending training camp with the Hornets this summer on an Exhibit 10 contract. Mensah is averaging 10.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 0.8 steals in 14 Showcase Cup games with the Swarm this season.

Mensah, 25, played five seasons for San Diego State, where he averaged 6.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks across 146 appearances with his collegiate team. In 2022/23, Mensah helped the Aztecs to an appearance in the NCAA national championship, where they ultimately fell to UConn.

To open up the two-way roster spot necessary for Mensah, the Hornets announced they officially waived guard Theo Maledon.

It’s a little surprising to see the Hornets part with Maledon, considering he’s made 57 appearances and eight starts over the past two years with the team in 18.5 minutes per night. However, he’s gotten off to a slow start to the season, shooting just 28.8% from the field. In two years with the Hornets, Maledon averaged 6.1 points and 3.2 assists after spending the first two seasons of his career with the Thunder.

With Mensah set to be signed, the Hornets will be back up to the limit of 18 players on the roster. Charlotte has 15 players on standard deals and, after Mensah’s signing is made official, will have him, Leaky Black and Amari Bailey on two-way deals.

Warriors, Knicks, Lakers Top Latest NBA Franchise Valuations

December 13th, 2023 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors remain the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico (subscription required), who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2023 on Wednesday.

Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $8.28 billion, making them one of three teams to surpass the $7 billion mark this year. The Knicks have a projected worth of $7.43 billion, while the Lakers come in at $7.34 billion, per Sportico.

As Badenhausen details, Sportico spoke to more than 30 team executives, owners, investors, bankers, consultants, and lawyers in compiling their latest NBA franchise valuations. According to Sportico, the average value of an NBA team is up 33% from a year ago and 70% from when the site first started publishing valuations three years ago.

A combination of factors are contributing to the soaring value of NBA franchises, says Baudenhausen. Those factors include national media deals, international opportunities, scarcity (ie. only 30 teams are available), and an equal 1/30th stake in the league.

In the past, we’ve used Forbes as our primary source for NBA franchise valuations, but with Badenhausen making the move from Forbes to Sportico in recent years and the outlet establishing itself as a go-to resource for sports business news, we’re highlighting Sportico’s projections in 2023.

Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico, Forbes, or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But thse projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.

Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2023:

Golden State Warriors: $8.28 billion
New York Knicks: $7.43 billion
Los Angeles Lakers: $7.34 billion
Boston Celtics: $5.12 billion
Chicago Bulls: $4.83 billion
Los Angeles Clippers: $4.56 billion
Miami Heat: $4.17 billion
Philadelphia 76ers: $4.13 billion
Toronto Raptors: $4.11 billion
Houston Rockets: $4.05 billion
Dallas Mavericks: $4.03 billion
Phoenix Suns: $4 billion
Brooklyn Nets: $3.98 billion
Sacramento Kings: $3.46 billion
Denver Nuggets: $3.4 billion
Atlanta Hawks: $3.35 billion
Washington Wizards: $3.33 billion
San Antonio Spurs: $3.29 billion
Portland Trail Blazers: $3.28 billion
Indiana Pacers: $3.27 billion
Utah Jazz: $3.24 billion
Cleveland Cavaliers: $3.22 billion
Milwaukee Bucks: $3.2 billion
Orlando Magic: $3.12 billion
Detroit Pistons: $3.1 billion
Oklahoma City Thunder: $3.08 billion
Charlotte Hornets: $3 billion
Minnesota Timberwolves: $2.94 billion
Memphis Grizzlies: $2.82 billion
New Orleans Pelicans: $2.72 billion

For the most part, the most significant valuation increases (by percentage) within the last year belonged to the teams on the bottom half of this list. Besides the Bucks, whose projection rose by 32%, every franchise in the bottom 10 received at least a 50% bump from Sportico’s 2022 valuations.

The Nuggets, who cracked the top half of this list following their 2023 championship, were another big riser — their valuation increased by 60% and they moved up six spots.

It’s worth noting that the Mavericks‘ reported valuation in Mark Cuban‘s sale to the Adelson and Dumont families reportedly came in around $3.5 billion, well below Sportico’s valuation.

However, more recent reporting has suggested the final valuation will be closer to $4 billion when the transaction closes. That was also a unique situation since Cuban is retaining control of basketball operations as part of the sale agreement, despite surrendering majority control of the business. He’ll hang onto about 25% of the franchise, according to Sportico.

Ball Progressing From Ankle Injury

December 10th, 2023 at 5:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball suffered a severe sprain of his right ankle on November 26 and he’ll be reevaluated in approximately one week. Ball told The Charlotte Observer’s Roderick Boone that he’s gradually progressing in his recovery from the injury.

“Just slow progress. I’m doing treatment every day, just trying to get better,” the Hornets star said. “From when it happened, it feels a little better.”

Ball is optimistic he can return to the Hornets lineup sooner than expected: “It feels way better than when it happened because at first I couldn’t even put any pressure on my foot. But now I can stand on two feet, walk a little. Still (have) a little limp, but way better than it was.”

The Hornets list Mark Williams (low back contusion) and Nick Smith Jr. (right foot) as doubtful for the their game against Miami on Monday. Williams, who is averaging 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, departed after playing 20 minutes against Toronto on Friday.

Hornets To Reevaluate LaMelo Ball In One Week

December 8th, 2023 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have issued an update on LaMelo Ball ‘s right ankle sprain, announcing today (via Twitter) that he has resumed individual work and will be reevaluated in one week.

Ball, who injured his ankle on November 26, reportedly suffered a severe sprain, with reports at the time indicating he was expected to be out for a while. It sounds like he’s making good progress in his recovery, having shed his walking boot and crutches earlier this week, per Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be ready to return when he’s evaluated again at the end of next week.

According to Boone, Ball has yet to take part in a practice with the Hornets, but has been spotted after practices taking some jump shots and putting his full weight on the injured ankle.

An All-Star in 2022, Ball was off to a hot start this season, averaging career highs in points per game (24.7) and field goal percentage (44.3%), among other categories, through his first 15 games.

The Hornets are 1-3 in his absence, with veteran guard Terry Rozier taking on more ball-handling responsibilities. Rozier has averaged 24.0 points and 8.0 assists per night in the four games since Ball went down.

Terry Rozier Replacing LaMelo Ball As Point Guard

December 6th, 2023 at 5:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Terry Rozier is taking on more point guard duties for the Hornets while LaMelo Ball is sidelined with a right ankle strain, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Rozier is averaging a career-high 6.6 assists per game and recorded 13 last Thursday at Brooklyn. “Definitely just getting guys involved early, making sure they feel good,” Rozier said. “Finding guys in their spots, knowing fourth-quarter plays, having a meeting going into the game. So, it just changed in that aspect. But the main thing is winning, so that’s what we are trying to do.”

Hornets Vice Chairman Fred Whitfield Steps Down From Position With Team

December 6th, 2023 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime Hornets executive Fred Whitfield is stepping down from his position with the team and leaving the organization, the club announced today in a press release.

Whitfield isn’t on the basketball operations side of the organization, but has been the head of business operations for 17 years and is the president and vice chairman of Hornets Sports & Entertainment, the team’s ownership group. He has also long held a minority stake in the franchise.

Whitfield’s departure from the Hornets comes just a few months after new co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin took control of the franchise, having purchased majority control from former owner and chairman Michael Jordan.

A North Carolina native, Whitfield worked closely with Jordan through several different stages of his career, having held positions at David Falk’s player representation agency, in the Wizards’ front office, and with Nike and Jordan Brand.

“We thank Fred for all he has done for our organization and for the role he has played in helping get our ownership group up to speed over the last several months,” Schnall and Plotkin said in a statement. “His experience, knowledge and relationships in this industry, league and community have been invaluable to our franchise. We appreciate his hard work and dedication and wish him all the best.”

Whitfield cited health and family reasons in his statement confirming his departure from the Hornets.

“Over the last 18 months I have successfully battled a serious case of throat cancer,” Whitfield said. “I’ve also been focused on supporting my mother, who has her own health issues. As these priorities have occupied more of my time and energy, I realized that now is the right time to leave my role with the Hornets, who are on a tremendous path to success with the energy and ideas brought by our new owners, Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin.

“I’m grateful to them for their support during this challenging time, and I also want to thank the prior ownership groups under the leadership of Bob Johnson and Michael Jordan for giving me such a tremendous opportunity.”

Whitfield first joined the franchise in 2006, just two years after Charlotte had returned to the NBA as an expansion franchise. He oversaw the name change from the Bobcats to the Hornets in 2014.

Neither the Hornets’ announcement nor Whitfield’s statement says anything about divesting his shares in the team, so it’s not clear whether he’ll hang onto that minority stake or whether he’s selling it to Schnall and Plotkin (or another minority shareholder).

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Ball, Heat, McClung

December 5th, 2023 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

With Jalen Johnson unavailable due to a wrist injury, the Hawks have been experimenting a little more with different frontcourt combinations, including playing centers Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu alongside one another, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required).

The pairing is very much a work in progress, particularly on the offensive end, but it showed some intriguing potential against bigger teams like San Antonio and Milwaukee, according to Williams.

“There’s certain times in the game where that allows itself and there’s certain matchups where I think it pays dividends defensively,” head coach Quin Snyder said. “(Saturday vs. Milwaukee) was one of those nights).”

For his part, Okongwu is on board with the idea of handling power forward alongside Capela if it means he’ll get an opportunity to play a little more.

“Whatever it takes for me to be on the court longer, I’ll do it,” Okongwu said. “Playing the four, it’s obviously is an adjustment but nothing I can’t do.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Hornets guard LaMelo Ball still has a noticeable limp and isn’t expected to return anytime soon, but he’s no longer wearing a walking boot, tweets Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. That’s a promising first step in Ball’s recovery from a severely sprained right ankle, which he’s scheduled to have reevaluated this week.
Buoyed by a seven-game winning streak in the first half of November, the Heat are 11-9 after 20 games, but many of their victories have come against subpar competition and they’ve lost four of their last five contests. Jimmy Butler kept coming back to one word when describing the team’s performance so far, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “We stand right where we don’t want to be, which is very mediocre, not good, not bad, not great, not any of those things,” Butler said. “Just mediocre. You talk about our offense has been mediocre. You talk about our defense has been mediocre. That’s the word I would use.”
Mac McClung, who has been playing for the Magic‘s G League affiliate this season, was named the NBAGL’s player of the month for November, the league announced on Monday (Twitter link). McClung averaged 25.4 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game in nine November contests for the Osceola Magic, but isn’t under contract with Orlando — the 2023 slam dunk champion remains an NBA free agent, available to sign with any team.

Hornets Notes: Hayward, Williams, Richards, Miller, Bridges

December 4th, 2023 at 8:02am CST by Arthur Hill

With his time in Charlotte possibly ending soon, Gordon Hayward talked to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about his three-plus years with the Hornets, which he admits have been “up and down.” Hayward has an expiring $31.5MM contract that makes him an attractive trade chip, and Scotto reported last week that several contenders have already called about his availability.

“There have been moments where it’s been really fun with big-time wins,” said Hayward, who came to Charlotte in a sign-and-trade deal in 2020. “There have been a lot of moments where I was injured my first two years at the beginning of the year. They were unfortunate injuries. Those suck. There’s nothing you can do about that. It’s sports, and it happens.”

Hayward has been healthy this season and has helped the Hornets remain competitive, averaging 14.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists through 17 games. He’s enjoying his role as a veteran leader and discussed several of his young teammates with Scotto. He said Brandon Miller is exhibiting unusual poise as a passer for a rookie, LaMelo Ball has developed a more complete game and Mark Williams has the potential to become an elite defender.

“He’s got a great feel for the game,” Hayward said of Willians. “In Utah, you could see the same thing with Rudy Gobert. Initially, he’s young and kind of like Bambi out there, but you can’t teach that defensive feel where they have good timing and know when to help or when to play cat and mouse. Offensively, he’s got great hands and catches just about everything. He’s still going to get better and has a ways to go, but I think he’s definitely taken a step, and he’s certainly got a bright future.”

There’s more from Charlotte:

The Hornets plan to bring Nick Richards along slowly in his return from a concussion, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Richards missed six games while he was in the league’s concussion protocol and played just nine minutes in his first game back Saturday night. “(Have to watch) more so just his minutes because most injuries when guys are hurt, they can still do cardio and not lose a great deal of conditioning over a couple weeks,” coach Steve Clifford said. “With him and a concussion, he wasn’t able to do anything. … He’s going to need a few games to just get his conditioning level back.”
Clifford was impressed by Miller’s determination to keep playing after turning his ankle in Tuesday’s game, Boone adds. “You don’t get a lot of younger players who are like that anymore,” Clifford said. “He went out there in the second half and actually played pretty well. He was limping around a little, but he has more of an old-school type outlook on this game.”
In a separate story, Boone looks at how Miles Bridges was able to return to an elite level so quickly after his 10-game suspension.