- After Miles Bridges was formally charged with felony domestic abuse in Los Angeles County on Tuesday, the Hornets issued a brief statement on the situation: “We are aware of the charges that were filed today against Miles Bridges. These are very serious charges that we will continue to monitor. As this is a legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time.” The Hornets still have a qualifying offer out to Bridges, but his restricted free agency is unlikely to be resolved before the two sides get a clearer sense of how his legal case may play out.
Hornets forward and restricted free agent Miles Bridges has been charged with felony domestic abuse in Los Angeles County, tweets Steve Reed of The Associated Press.
A press release from the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office stated that Bridges is facing multiple charges — one felony count of injuring a child’s parent and two felony counts of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily injury or death. The case also includes an allegation of causing great bodily injury on the domestic violence victim.
Arraignment is scheduled on Wednesday at L.A. County Superior Court.
“Domestic violence creates physical, mental and emotional trauma that has a lasting impact on survivors,” DA George Gascón said in a press release. “Children who witness family violence are especially vulnerable and the impact on them is immeasurable. Mr. Bridges will be held accountable for his actions and our Bureau of Victim Services will support the survivors through this difficult process.”
The alleged assault of the victim occurred on or about June 27 or June 28, according to the criminal complaint. The case remains under investigation by L.A.’s Police Department, the release adds.
Bridges was just days away from potentially signing a massive new deal with the Hornets or an offer sheet from a rival team before he was arrested. His NBA future is now up in the air.
- Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer explores whether the Hornets are truly any closer to making the playoffs than last season. Charlotte re-signed Cody Martin, but the team still doesn’t have any resolution on restricted free agent Miles Bridges, who is currently facing felony domestic violence charges.
- After going undrafted out of North Carolina, Brady Manek is hoping to be considered for an open two-way slot with the Hornets, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Manek considered several possibilities before accepting a Summer League invitation from Charlotte. “I just wanted to get a chance just to be able to play, get to show what I’m about,” Manek said. “I’ve shown what I’m about. I’m not going to become a point guard overnight. I’m still Brady. I’m still going to be able to shoot it.”
- Hornets summer league player LiAngelo Ball remains hopeful for a true shot with the team, Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer writes. Ball is playing summer league with Charlotte for the second straight year. “Every little chance I get, I’ve got to come in and do everything right and play hard,” Ball said as part of a larger quote. His brothers, LaMelo and Lonzo, currently start for the Hornets and Bulls, respectively.
- Montrezl Harrell‘s court date has been pushed back until August, according to Sara Coello of the Charlotte Observer. Harrell was caught driving with three pounds of marijuana in Kentucky back in May. As Coello notes, Harrell’s offense could result in getting one-to-five years in prison, plus receiving a fine of up to $10K. Harrell finished last season with the Hornets and is now an unrestricted free agent.
Free agent guard Scottie Lewis underwent surgery on Thursday to repair a fractured lower left leg, the Hornets announced in a press release.
According to the team, there’s currently no timetable for Lewis’ return to the court, but he’s expected to make a full recovery.
Lewis, 22, was the 56th overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Florida and spent his rookie season on a two-way contract with the Hornets. He only played in two NBA games, but he was a regular for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate, averaging 12.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.3 BPG in 32 regular season NBAGL contests (30.5 MPG).
Lewis didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Hornets when his two-way contract expired, so he became an unrestricted free agent last week. However, he had been on Charlotte’s Summer League roster — his injury occurred on Thursday during a practice in Las Vegas.
While the Hornets didn’t provide a return timeline in their announcement, Lewis’ injury sounds like one that will require a recovery period of months, not weeks, so we probably shouldn’t expect to see him on an NBA roster this fall.
Jalen Smith‘s new deal with the Pacers, initially reported as a two-year agreement, is actually a three-year contract with a player option in year three, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link). The deal also includes a trade kicker, says Agness.
Hoops Rumors can confirm Agness’ report and add that Smith’s trade kicker is worth 10%. The Pacers gave the big man the highest starting salary they legally could after the 2022/23 option in his rookie scale contract was turned down last year, resulting in a 2022/23 cap hit of $4,670,160 and subsequent 8% annual raises. Smith’s three-year deal has a total value of $15.13MM.
Here are a few more details on recently signed or agreed-upon contracts:
- According to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, Victor Oladipo‘s two-year deal with the Heat will be worth in the neighborhood of $18MM. As we relayed on Wednesday evening, Oladipo agreed to lower his 2022/23 salary in exchange for a second-year option. Dewayne Dedmon‘s two-year contract with the Heat, meanwhile, is worth $4.7MM in ’22/23 with a non-guaranteed $4.32MM salary in ’23/24.
- Cody Martin‘s four-year contract with the Hornets is worth a total of $31.36MM, Hoops Rumors has learned. Martin’s $8.68MM salary in the final season of the deal (2025/26) is non-guaranteed.
- Gary Payton II‘s three-year deal with the Trail Blazers has a starting salary of $8.3MM and is worth $26.15MM in total, slightly below its reported value of $28MM, Hoops Rumors has learned. The signing leaves Portland with a small portion of its mid-level exception remaining.
- Jae’Sean Tate‘s three-year contract with the Rockets has a base value of $20.63MM, but can be worth up to $22.13MM if Tate earns all of his unlikely incentives. Kelly Iko of The Athletic previously reported that those incentives are tied to the team’s performance and that Tate’s contract includes a third-year team option.
- Anfernee Simons‘ new four-year, $100MM contract with the Trail Blazers is fully guaranteed, without any incentives, Hoops Rumors has learned. It begins at $22.32MM in 2022/23 and eventually increases to $27.68MM in ’25/26.
- New Raptors forward Otto Porter will earn $6MM in 2022/23, with a $6.3MM player option in ’23/24, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Former Hornets forward Arnoldas Kulboka is headed back to Europe, with Greek team Promitheas Patras B.C. announcing in a press release that it has signed Kulboka to a one-year contract for the 2022/23 season.
The 55th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Kulboka initially remained overseas, playing for Brose Bamberg in Germany and Bilbao in Spain before coming stateside for the 2021/22 season.
Kulboka signed a two-way contract with the Hornets last August, but only played a total of five minutes in two appearances with Charlotte, spending most of his first NBA season with the Greensboro Swarm in the G League.
The 24-year-old Lithuanian averaged 14.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.3 APG on .443/.411/.884 shooting in 30 regular season NBAGL games (28.6 MPG). He also put up 13.2 PPG with a .458 3PT% in 13 Showcase Cup contests (24.9 MPG).
Although Kulboka showed some promise in the G League, he didn’t receive a two-way qualifying offer from the Hornets last week and became an unrestricted free agent, opening the door for him to return to Europe. He figures to have a far larger role with his new team in Greece than he would’ve had with any NBA club.
While many free agent agreements have been reported since last Thursday evening, few will become official until the NBA’s moratorium period ends this Wednesday. That means the terms that have been reported – and the cap space or cap exceptions teams will use to complete those signings – haven’t yet been locked in.
Still, we have a pretty good sense of what the cap room situation looks like for teams around the league. Here’s a snapshot, as of the morning of July 4, of which clubs still have the most spending power:
Teams with cap room:
By our count, the Spurs project to have about $38MM in remaining cap room, and could push that number even higher by stretching Danilo Gallinari‘s partial guarantee across three years when they officially waive him. However, it’s very unlikely they’d do so unless they have a specific need for that extra room. San Antonio could also create some extra space by waiving Keita Bates-Diop or Tre Jones, who have non-guaranteed salaries for 2022/23, though there has been no indication that will happen.
The Pacers, meanwhile, should have a little over $26MM in cap room once the Malcolm Brogdon trade is finalized, based on our projections. Like San Antonio, Indiana has a couple players without full guarantees (Duane Washington and Terry Taylor) and could create more cap space by waiving one or both.
The Pistons have already committed a chunk of their cap room to taking on Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, and Kemba Walker from New York, but haven’t used it all yet. If Walker gives back his minimum salary in a reported buyout agreement and Detroit uses its room exception to sign Kevin Knox to his two-year, $6MM deal, the team could have $14MM+ in space — or even more, if Walker’s dead money is stretched across three seasons.
It remains unclear what the Spurs, Pacers, and Pistons will do with their remaining cap room. All three teams have been linked to restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton at some point during the offseason and could theoretically still make a run at him, with Indiana and Detroit perhaps sending back players in a sign-and-trade deal to fit a max deal for the big man under the cap. Still, there’s a sense the Pistons have backed off Ayton after landing Jalen Duren on draft night, and it’s unclear whether the Spurs or Pacers have serious interest.
Accommodating salary-dump trades to acquire more assets could be an option for all three teams, either in the offseason or close to the trade deadline.
The Knicks are the other team expected to use cap room this summer, but after signing Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein, they won’t have much left over. Even if they waive Taj Gibson and sign Brunson and Hartenstein to the lowest starting salaries possible based on their reported contract terms, New York projects to have less than $5MM in remaining room.
Mid-level exception teams:
The Hornets, Grizzlies, Thunder, Magic, and Jazz all still have their full non-taxpayer mid-level exceptions available, giving them the ability to offer up to about $10.5MM to a free agent. It’s worth noting though that Utah’s cap situation remains in flux as we wait to see what other moves the team has up its sleeve after trading Royce O’Neale and then agreeing to a blockbuster deal involving Rudy Gobert.
The Hawks, Nets, Heat, Pelicans, and Suns haven’t committed any mid-level money to free agents yet, but unless they shed salary, they’ll probably be limited to the taxpayer MLE (worth about $6.5MM) due to their proximity to the tax line.
The Bulls have used a small portion of their mid-level exception and should still have $7MMish available to spend, but doing so would push them into luxury tax territory, which ownership may be against.
There are some teams that could theoretically open up part or all of their mid-level exception if they’re able to turn reported free agent agreements into sign-and-trades. For example, Ricky Rubio agreed to a three-year, $18.4MM deal with the Cavaliers that will presumably use the MLE, but if Cleveland and Indiana were able to work out a sign-and trade deal involving Rubio, it would free up the Cavs’ mid-level to use on another move.
Dejounte Murray is excited to team up with Trae Young and had been talking to his new partner in the Hawks‘ backcourt about the possibility for the past two to three weeks, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Speaking at press conference Friday, Murray said Atlanta was the only team he wanted to join and told reporters that he probably would still be with the Spurs if it hadn’t been for the opportunity with the Hawks.
Atlanta paid a premium price to acquire Murray, sending Danilo Gallinari and a sizable package of draft assets to San Antonio. General manager Landry Fields said the Hawks took time to assess the risks before committing to the trade.
“This wasn’t one of those that came about in a day,” Fields said. “Looking at what we were going to part with up front was one thing and then once we started to engage with San Antonio, it turned into another thing. We took time between talks to sit and think about how this was going to impact us in the future, how was this going to impact our current team, projection-wise what we are going to look like in several years, after factoring all of that in, we got to a place we were comfortable with.”
Here are some other notes from the Southeast Division:
- Justin Holiday and Maurice Harkless, who are being acquired from the Kings in the Kevin Huerter trade, are both expected to be on the Hawks’ opening night roster. Kirschner adds. He also states that Atlanta continues to listen to offers for John Collins.
- The Wizards were able to retain star free agent Bradley Beal in free agency, but questions remain about whether it was the right move for the team, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. Washington agreed to a five-year, $251MM deal with the three-time All-Star, prompting Robbins to explore whether keeping Beal at that price will keep the Wizards stuck in mediocrity due to their limited cap flexibility.
- The Magic‘s free agency moves further prove the team believes in its young core, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel opines. Orlando reached agreements with Mohamed Bamba, Gary Harris and Bol Bol, and guaranteed Moritz Wagner‘s salary. The team appears ready to run it back and continue developing its own players rather than adding outside help.
- The Hornets are expected to hire Tyrone Corbin and Bob Beyer to Steve Clifford‘s coaching staff, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets. Corbin worked for Clifford in Orlando, while Beyer coached under Clifford in Charlotte. Corbin and Beyer hold over 30 years of combined NBA coaching experience.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.