Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Clifford, Pistons, Smart, Raptors, Sixers

June 29th, 2022 at 3:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

Although the Hornets fired him as head coach following the 2017/18 season, Steve Clifford still had a good relationship with general manager Mitch Kupchak and owner Michael Jordan, writes Steve Reed of The Associated Press. Those ties resulted in Clifford getting his old job back after Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson pulled out of an agreement to coach the team.

“You want to evolve and get better at what you do,” Clifford said Tuesday at his introductory press conference. “I have coached a lot more games than I had when I was here the first time and worked with another team. You learn a lot from that.”

Clifford was brought in to fix a defense that ranked 22nd in the league this season, and he told reporters that will be an emphasis. Clifford doesn’t plan major changes to the offense, which will continue with a fast-paced philosophy led by LaMelo Ball.

“We are going to play offensively with a very similar emphasis that they have played with the last couple of years,” Clifford said. “Offense starts with playing through the strengths of your best players and Ball is a great talent with a passion for the game and a flair for playing in the open court and we want to take advantage of that.”

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Acquiring Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks from the Knicks will give the Pistons greater flexibility next offseason, observes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Detroit will have team options on both players for 2023/24 and can create $19MM in cap room by letting them go. With Cory Joseph and Hamidou Diallo both on expiring contracts, Kelly Olynyk holding a $3MM partial guarantee and DeAndre Jordan‘s $7.9MM in dead money coming off the books, the Pistons should have north of $45MM in cap space for 2023, Edwards writes.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart barely notices anymore when he’s the subject of trade talks, tweets basketball writer Mark Murphy. “Every year my name is in talks, and I’m still here,” Smart said. “I’m still the longest tenured Celtic. So I take it as a compliment. It means you’re valued pretty high and if your name is talked about people want you. But I don’t pay much attention.”
The Raptors are expected to target centers in free agency with Isaiah Hartenstein and Thomas Bryant being players to watch, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice examines the Sixers‘ options in free agency and looks at how James Harden‘s option decision will impact the team’s cap situation.

Eastern Free Agent Rumors: Sexton, Bagley, Claxton, Hartenstein, Bridges

June 29th, 2022 at 11:48am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers are trying to re-sign Collin Sexton, but their first offer was short of what he’s hoping for, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

The free agent guard wants a new deal that averages about $20MM per year, sources tell Fischer, but Cleveland’s early offer in extension talks was below that number. Fischer says it was similar to Jordan Clarkson‘s “three-year, $51MM” deal, but Clarkson’s contract is actually worth $52MM over four years, so it’s unclear which of those figures was closer to Cleveland’s initial offer.

Sexton missed most of last season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He was recently cleared for full basketball activities and should be ready for training camp.

There’s more on Eastern Conference free agents, all from Fischer:

Marvin Bagley III, who was acquired at the trade deadline, is expected to re-sign with the Pistons for more than $10MM per year. Fischer compares the expected deal to what the Hornets gave Kelly Oubre, which was two seasons at $24.6MM with a partial guarantee on the second year.
Fischer confirms a report that Nic Claxton will likely remain with the Nets, probably for an amount in the neighborhood of the full MLE.
The Bulls and Magic could be among the suitors for center Isaiah Hartenstein now that the Clippers are expected to give their full taxpayer MLE to John Wall. Chicago has been linked to several centers, but Fischer hears that the team would prefer not to use its entire non-taxpayer MLE of $10.1MM, so Hartenstein may be a lower-cost option. Rumors have emerged that Orlando may have interest in Hartenstein, but Fischer adds that he could also decide to remain in L.A. on a cheaper deal and hope to cash in later.
The Pacers are considering an offer for Hornets forward Miles Bridges, but Fischer says it’s not clear if Indiana is ready to hand out such a large contract. Fischer adds that the Grizzlies have been considered a “sleeper candidate” due to the presence of Jaren Jackson Jr., his former college teammate, but sources tell Fischer that Memphis isn’t expected to pursue Bridges.

Hornets’ Bouknight Undergoes Hand Surgery

June 28th, 2022 at 4:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets guard James Bouknight underwent surgery on Monday to repair a tendon in his fifth digit on his right hand, the team announced in a press release.

Bouknight will not participate in the summer league next month.

The 11th pick of last year’s draft, Bouknight had a disappointing rookie campaign. He only made 31 appearances last season, averaging 4.6 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 8.9 MPG. He missed games due to wrist, neck and elbow injuries.

He also had a sideline altercation with now former head coach James Borrego in early February.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Brandon Valentine at Novant Health Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital in consultation with Hornets team physician Dr. Marcus Cook.

Miles Bridges, Collin Sexton Among Players Receiving QOs

June 28th, 2022 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have issued qualifying offers to a pair of forwards, officially making Miles Bridges and Cody Martin restricted free agents, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Bridges’ qualifying offer is worth $7,921,300 as a result of him meeting the starter criteria in 2021/22. That one-year offer is essentially a placeholder, giving the Hornets the ability to match any offer sheet Bridges signs as a free agent. He could accept the QO, but will likely receive a far more lucrative long-term contract — perhaps even a max deal.

Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak expressed confidence in the team’s ability to re-sign Bridges today, telling reporters that “we’re going to bring him back.”

As for Martin, his qualifying offer is worth a more modest $2,228,276. He’s coming off a strong season as a rotation player in Charlotte and has earned a raise himself, albeit not one as substantial as the one Bridges will receive.

Bridges and Martin rank sixth and 29th, respectively, on our list of the top 50 free agents of 2022, and will each move up a spot when we officially remove Kyrie Irving.

Here are a few more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:

The Cavaliers have extended qualifying offers to Collin Sexton and RJ Nembhard, making both players restricted free agents, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter links). Sexton’s QO will be worth $7,228,448 instead of $8,559,357 because his torn meniscus prevented him from meeting the starter criteria. Nembard’s QO is for a two-way deal with a small partial guarantee.
The Raptors made qualifying offers to both of their two-way free agents, Justin Champagnie and David Johnson, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Toronto has reportedly agreed to a two-way deal with Ron Harper Jr., which would leave only one two-way slot for Champagnie or Johnson, so perhaps the team plans to promote one of them to a standard contract.
The Raptors also continued their annual tradition of submitting a qualifying offer to French guard Nando De Colo, who has been out of the NBA since 2014 and continues to play for Fenerbahçe in Turkey, Murphy notes. There’s no indication De Colo will ever return to the NBA, but if he does, the 35-year-old’s RFA rights would be controlled by Toronto. The qualifying offer projects to be worth $2,011,516, based on a $122MM cap.

Hornets’ Kupchak On Bridges: “We’re Going To Bring Him Back”

June 28th, 2022 at 2:03pm CST by Rory Maher

At a press conference announcing Steve Clifford as head coach on Tuesday, Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak sounded pretty unequivocal about the team’s desire to retain Miles Bridges, who will be a restricted free agent once the team tenders him a qualifying offer.

“As an organization, we love Miles. We’re going to bring him back,” Kupchak said (video link via Bally Sports: Hornets). “He’s been great for the franchise and I believe with his work ethic he’s only going to get better.”

Kupchak’s statement is notable because Shams Charania reported last week that rival executives believe Bridges will command a maximum-salary contract or something close to it, and Charania’s sources believe Charlotte may be hesitant to match an offer sheet worth the max.

In an ESPN appearance on Monday, Brian Windhorst said Bridges isn’t receiving a max offer from Charlotte at this point.

“He’s not being offered, from what I am told, a max contract by the Charlotte Hornets right now,” Windhorst said (video link from Talkin’ NBA). “So he’s gonna go out in the marketplace starting on Thursday (or) Friday and see if he can get that offer from somewhere else, so we’re gonna find out.”

When Kupchak signed an extension last month, he said the club wanted to keep Bridges around. “Our intention is to keep Miles long-term, yes. He’s a big part of our future,” he said at the time. Free agency starts in just two days, and Kupchak hasn’t publicly wavered in his commitment to Bridges.

It’s been rumored that the Hornets are trying to gauge the trade market for a number of players to accommodate a new contract for Bridges after the forward had the best season of his career in 2021/22. The 24-year-old posted career-highs in points (20.2), rebounds (7.0) and assists (3.8), along with a .491/.331/.802 shooting slash line in 80 games (35.5 minutes per contest).

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report previously stated the Pacers and Pistons might pursue Bridges, and Marc Stein has heard Detroit is a fan of Bridges as well. However, both of those reports came prior to the draft last week, so it’s unclear if the two Central Division teams are still interested in tying up their significant cap space by signing Bridges to an offer sheet that can be matched by Charlotte, especially given Kupchak’s statement.

Hornets Pick Up Jalen McDaniels’ 2022/23 Option

June 28th, 2022 at 9:41am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have exercised their team option on forward Jalen McDaniels for the 2022/23 season, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The option is worth $1,930,681.

The decision doesn’t technically lock in that $1.93MM salary for McDaniels, since his contract remains non-guaranteed even with the option picked up. But as long as the 24-year-old remains under contract through August 1, he’ll receive his full guarantee.

A former second-round pick, McDaniels has emerged as a regular part of Charlotte’s rotation over the last two seasons. He has averaged 6.7 PPG and 3.3 RPG on .476/.357/.721 shooting in 102 games (17.6 MPG) during that time.

Assuming McDaniels plays out the ’22/23 season on his current deal, he’ll become eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer.

While the Hornets have no other outstanding player or team option decisions looming, the club will have some decisions to make on players without fully guaranteed contracts. Like McDaniels, big man Nick Richards has a non-guaranteed salary ($1.78MM) for next season, while only $5MM of Kelly Oubre‘s $12.6MM salary is guaranteed.

Southeast Notes: Clifford, Hornets, Davis, Heat

June 24th, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Rory Maher

Steve Clifford, who is now embarking on a second stint with the Hornets, signed a three-year contract with a team option in the final year, sources tell Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Clifford will earn $4MM in each of the next two seasons, Boone adds.

In case you missed it, you can find our full story on Clifford’s hiring right here.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

Hiring Clifford for a second time is just wild enough to work, argues Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer. The Hornets made the playoffs twice in Clifford’s first five-year stint with the team, and in 10 years prior and four years since, the team has only made the postseason one time, says Fowler, who notes that Clifford’s work ethic, professionalism and honesty are all admirable traits. According to Fowler, Clifford “always had a good relationship” with owner Michael Jordan, and he didn’t burn any bridges when he was fired in 2018, leading to the unexpected possibility of bringing him back.
Johnny Davis, the 10th pick of the draft by the Wizards, hopes to make a lasting impact in the NBA, writes Austen Tealer of WashingtonWizards.com. “I want to leave a legacy of being a great teammate and a winner, that’s the main goal,” Davis said. “I want to win an NBA championship whenever I can.” For his short-term goals, Davis hopes to become a regular part of the rotation and help the club make the playoffs, per Tealer.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald considers possible fallback options if the Heat can’t re-sign forward P.J. Tucker. Taurean Prince, Thaddeus Young and T.J. Warren are a few free agents on Jackson’s list, among others. Tucker is declining his $7.35MM player option to be come an unrestricted free agent, and he’s said to have several suitors outside of Miami.

Hornets Hire Steve Clifford As Head Coach

June 24th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Rory Maher

6:27pm: The Hornets have officially named Clifford their head coach, per a team press release.

“We are pleased to welcome Steve back to our franchise,” said Kupchak. “We believe that his previous experience and coaching philosophy make him the best coach for our team. Steve has a proven track record of improving defenses and is detail oriented. He has a history of maximizing players’ talent and working with them to develop and expand their skill sets. Steve is committed to playing with the same offensive pace that our fans are accustomed to seeing the last few years. We are confident that he will be able to help our young players continue to grow as we look to take the next step as a team.”

4:33pm: The Hornets are hiring Steve Clifford to be their head coach for a second time, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Marc Stein reported yesterday morning that Clifford had unexpectedly emerged as a serious candidate to replace James Borrego, who was fired after the team lost in the play-in tournament for the second consecutive season. Roderick Boone and Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer reported this morning that Clifford met with GM Mitch Kupchak and owner Michael Jordan earlier this week.

Clifford will receive a “multi-year” contract, Boone tweets.

The Hornets were reportedly looking for a veteran head coach who could help improve the team’s defense, and Clifford has a long-held reputation as one of the better defensive tacticians in the league. Across his eight seasons as a head coach, Clifford’s clubs were top 10 in defensive rating five times.

Clifford, 60, previously coached the Hornets from 2013-18, compiling an overall record of 196-214. He took the club to the postseason in 2014 and 2016 — those are Charlotte’s only playoff appearances since 2010.

After his stint with the Hornets, Clifford was hired by Orlando to be their head coach, accumulating a 96-131 record from 2018-2021, including a couple of postseason trips in his first two seasons. His overall record with the Magic is a little deceptive, as Orlando pivoted into a full rebuild in his final season, when the team went 21-51.

Clifford was a long-time assistant prior to becoming a head coach, with stops in New York, Houston, Orlando and Los Angeles from 2000-2013. He was a consultant with the Nets last season.

Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, formerly the head coach of the Nets, had previously reached an agreement to become the Hornets’ new coach, but backed out of the deal and never signed the contract, thus re-starting the club’s coaching search.

Mike D’Antoni, who was said to be meeting with Jordan this week, was reportedly a finalist during both searches. There were conflicting reports on whether Terry Stotts was also a finalist before the team reached a deal with Atkinson — Stein wrote that D’Antoni was the “only other known finalist” at that point, but other outlets suggested he was still in the mix late in the process.

Hornets, Isaiah Whaley Agree To Exhibit 10 Deal

June 24th, 2022 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets and undrafted rookie forward Isaiah Whaley have reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 deal, a league source tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Whaley spent all five years of his college career at UConn, appearing in a total of 138 games for the Huskies. In 2021/22, he averaged 7.7 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 32 games (28.5 MPG) as a full-time starter.

Although Whaley wasn’t a major offensive threat at UConn, he earned a reputation as a talented defender. He averaged 2.4 blocks per contest across his final two college seasons, and was the co-winner of the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021.

Whaley’s Exhibit 10 contract will put him in line for a bonus worth up to $50K if he’s waived by Charlotte before the regular season begins and joins the Hornets’ G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. An Exhibit 10 deal can also be converted into a two-way contract before the start of the regular season.

Hornets Notes: Williams, Coaching Search, McGowens

June 24th, 2022 at 10:50am CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets were considering three centers heading into Thursday’s draft, but Duke’s Mark Williams was at the top of their list, writes Varun Shankar of The Charlotte Observer. Williams opened eyes with his measurements at the draft combine and will have the longest standing reach in the NBA at 9’9″. General manager Mitch Kupchak likes the idea of Williams catching lob passes from LaMelo Ball, but he said the 20-year-old big man needs to improve as a rebounder and add strength to get ready for the next level.

“He has a lot of work in getting stronger and I don’t have any doubt that he’ll work hard and get in the weight room,” Kupchak said. “He’s a good rebounder, I wouldn’t say that he’s gonna be our rebound monster right now, but I think if he gets stronger, I think he can become an excellent rebounder.”

The Hornets actually drafted Memphis center Jalen Duren first, but he was traded to the Knicks and ultimately to the Pistons. Charlotte received a protected first-round pick and four second-rounders in return, and Kupchak explained that the team wasn’t comfortable adding two more rookies after having three on the roster this season.

“We didn’t feel using both picks was prudent,” he said.

There’s more from Charlotte:

Kupchak also spoke about Kenny Atkinson‘s decision to reconsider his agreement to become the Hornets’ next head coach, per Steve Reed of The Associated Press. Kupchak has been discussing the situation with owner Michael Jordan and indicated the organization may consider some new possibilities. “We have spent a lot of time going over candidates, maybe some new candidates and making sure we cover our bases,” Kupchak said. “We have never felt the need to rush this process. We want to pick the right coach — and we thought we did.”
Former Hornets head coach Steve Clifford met with Kupchak and Jordan this week and is now considered to be a serious candidate for the position, sources tell Roderick Boone and Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer. Jordan also met with Mike D’Antoni, who was considered the runner-up when the offer was made to Atkinson.
Nebraska’s Bryce McGowens, whom Charlotte traded up to draft at No. 40, is likely to be given a two-way contract, Boone tweets.