Nick Richards Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Stein’s Latest: Butler, Beal, Okogie, C. Johnson, Mavericks

January 20th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler‘s return from his seven-game suspension hasn’t changed the Heat‘s desire to work out a trade before the February 6 deadline, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column (subscription required).

Butler was back in the starting lineup and played 33 and 28 minutes as Miami split a pair of weekend games, but concerns remain that the relationship will continue to deteriorate if he’s still on the roster past the deadline. Sources tell Stein that the Heat are “exploring every potential pathway” to assemble a multi-team trade to get Butler off their roster.

The Suns remain Butler’s preferred location, but it’s not clear that Phoenix is eager to pursue him or that it has enough assets left to make a competitive offer, Stein adds. Phoenix gave up three second-round picks and got one in return in last week’s trade for Nick Richards. That leaves the Suns with just their 2031 first-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder from Denver to offer in any deal.

The Raptors have been mentioned as a team that might be interested in helping to facilitate a Butler trade, and Stein says a well-placed source told him that “about half the league” has expressed similar sentiments to Miami. He cites the Timberwolves as another club that might be willing to help the Heat move Butler on to his next location in exchange for other assets.

Stein shares more inside information from around the NBA:

League sources confirmed to Stein a report that Butler’s camp hasn’t told the Bucks not to pursue a deal. However, he believes Milwaukee might be more interested in reviving its previous interest in Suns guard Bradley Beal if it’s going to add a player in that salary range. Stein points out that the Bucks can’t trade for either player without dropping below the second apron, which would likely mean trading Pat Connaughton‘s $9.4MM contract without taking back any salary in return.
Some rival teams are questioning why the Hornets were willing to take on extra salary in the Richards trade while only netting two second-round picks, Stein adds. Charlotte acquired Josh Okogie at $8.3MM while parting with Richards’ $5MM contract, a move that will save the Suns more than $20MM in luxury tax. Stein speculates that the Hornets may have another move planned involving Okogie before the deadline.
Stein hears that the Nets don’t feel an urgency to trade Cameron Johnson because they’ve already weakened their team enough for tanking purposes by unloading Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith. Brooklyn is just 4-13 since sending Schröder to Golden State and has moved into sixth in the race for the best lottery odds.
Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is typically active at the deadline, but Stein doesn’t believe the team’s injury woes will force him into a move. “We look at everything,” Harrison said in a recent interview with Dalton Trigg for his Mavs Step Back Substack (subscription required), “but we’re not going to be reactionary to a short-term injury.”
Discussing the Mavericks, Stein also writes that it would be a “misnomer” to suggest Dallas is shopping center Daniel Gafford. However, he didn’t outright dispute a previous report stating that the Mavs have been willing to discuss the big man.

Pacific Notes: Richards, Poole, Green, Curry, Vincent, Clippers

January 18th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nick Richards looked like the big man the Suns have been missing during his debut with the team Saturday afternoon at Detroit, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Richards, who was acquired from Charlotte earlier this week, came off the bench to post 21 points and 11 rebounds in nearly 30 minutes.

Beyond that, Rankin notes that Richards brought energy and “edginess” to the game by competing for rebounds at both ends and driving hard to the basket, which created open three-point attempts for his teammates. He was a plus-22 in a game Phoenix won by four points.

“Everything was flowing,” Richards said. “I was out there being me, playing my style of basketball.”

Jusuf Nurkic, who was recently removed from the starting lineup, remains sidelined with the flu. However, coach Mike Budenholzer said Nurkic has “turned the corner” and his condition will be monitored to see if he’ll join the team before its road trip ends Wednesday in Brooklyn.

Rankin expects Richards to replace Mason Plumlee as the starter soon, and rookie Oso Ighodaro gives the team four capable big men, meaning one or two of them won’t see regular minutes if they’re all still on the roster after the trade deadline.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Wizards‘ visit to Golden State Saturday night prompted questions to coach Steve Kerr about Jordan Poole, according to Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. Poole played an important role on the 2022 championship team and once appeared to be a future star for the Warriors, but he was traded to Washington in the summer of 2023 following an infamous incident with Draymond Green. “It’s just really fun to see all of his work pay off and just his growth as a professional, to see it in pretty dramatic fashion over those few years, it was wonderful to see,” Kerr said.
Green will undergo an MRI on Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game with a left calf injury, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Warriors guard Stephen Curry twisted his ankle, but he doesn’t believe it’s serious.
After missing most of last season due to injury, Gabe Vincent is enjoying the chance to finally be able to contribute to the Lakers, per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. He had a season-high 14 points in Wednesday’s win over Miami, his former team, then followed that with 10 points Friday against Brooklyn. “My role … is just win games, help us win games,” Vincent said. “Some nights it might be purely defensive, some nights I might be on the ball some more, some nights I might be spotting up. But whatever the task is, I’m out there to help this ballclub win games.”
When the teams meet Sunday, the Clippers will finally be able to host the Lakers in their own arena after years of sharing a facility, notes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. The Clippers moved into the new $2 billion high-tech Inuit Dome this season. “I heard that place is sick,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said. “I heard it’s really cool.”

Pacific Notes: Richards, Russell, Christie, Ballmer

January 18th, 2025 at 10:12am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Suns addressed a position of need by trading for Nick Richards on Wednesday, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports writes. According to Bourguet, the Suns value the Kentucky product for his athleticism, defense, rebounding and size, along with the fact that he’s under contract for next season at a team-friendly price (a non-guaranteed $5MM).

In recent games, Phoenix has been at a disadvantage on the offensive glass, which Richards will help address. The former Hornet is averaging 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 56.1% from the field in 21 games (nine starts) this season.

Suns players and coaches expressed excitement about being able to add Richards into their organization, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Head coach Mike Budenholzer said Richards was expected to meet the team Friday in Detroit and that he foresees the center making his Suns debut Saturday against the Pistons.

“We’re excited about adding Nick and what he can bring to our team and how he can impact the game defensively around the rim,” Budenholzer said. “On the boards on both ends of the court. Screen setter. Just that kind of seven-foot size, athleticism can always be impactful.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

On Friday, ahead of his first matchup with the Lakers after being traded back to Brooklyn, D’Angelo Russell expressed that he was appreciative of his time with Los Angeles, but that he was ready to move on, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link). He called his second stint with the Lakers a “blur.” Russell scored 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists in the matchup on Friday night but missed a potential game winner.
Kings head coach Doug Christie is a massive part of the franchise’s history, having been a key starter and contributor for the 2001/02 Sacramento team that fell in the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers. Now, under the interim Christie, the Kings have climbed from 13-19 to 21-20 and are firmly back in the postseason picture following the departure of coach Mike Brown. The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson explores Christie’s journey from his tenure as a player to his time as an assistant for the team beginning in 2021.
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie Ballmer, co-founders of the Ballmer Group, pledged an initial $15MM to help combat the Los Angeles wildfires, they announced on their website. “We love L.A. and are committed to supporting the communities affected by the devastating wildfires,” the statement reads. “In coordination with our local partners, Ballmer Group will contribute to addressing immediate food and shelter needs in the community and supporting our first responders.  … We’ve dedicated an initial $15 million in emergency funding for the many people impacted by these fires, particularly in the historic, racially diverse community of Altadena.” The full list of organizations and efforts they’re providing support for can be found on their site.

Jeff Peterson: Hornets Will Continue To ‘Listen To Everything’

January 16th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

After finalizing a deal to send Nick Richards to the Suns on Wednesday, Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson suggested in a Zoom call with reporters that the team isn’t done exploring its options on the trade market, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

“We’ve received calls on multiple of our players,” Peterson said. “Nick Richards, we received multiple calls on him. We have good players. I think some of the injuries from a synergy standpoint have made it really tough to jell and see what this group can do.

“But, yeah, I think at this point, look, we are going to listen to everything. We are not going to do anything to compromise the future, but we are going to do what’s best for the organization that we see going forward in order to be sustainable going forward.”

Richards had been a productive contributor for the Hornets in recent years and was on a team-friendly contract, with a $5MM salary this season and a $5MM cap hit for 2025/26. However, as Boone details, Charlotte was comfortable sacrificing some depth in the middle due to the fact that starting center Mark Williams is healthy and looking like his old self, while two-way big man Moussa Diabate has emerged as a regular part of the rotation.

“We feel good about it,” Peterson said. “(Head coach) Charles (Lee) and me are lockstep in what a deal like this means for the roster.”

As Peterson explained, his goal is to build a “sustainable” contender and to avoid “taking shortcuts,” which is why he remains focused on stockpiling assets that will benefit the team in the long run.

“I have zero interest in making the playoffs for one year, and then being out for the next four or five, and then in for two and out again after that,” he said. “So, we want to again build something that has sustainability to it. So, at the same time, we’ve got to continue to take advantage of deals like this that’s adding picks to our treasure chest, if you will, or whatever it may be for us to have that optionality.”

Here’s more on the Hornets on the heels of their first in-season deal of 2024/25:

Josh Okogie may not end up being part of the Hornet’ long-term plans, but Peterson’s comments on Wednesday indicated that the club isn’t necessarily looking to flip him right away. As Boone relays, Charlotte’s head of basketball operations referred to Okogie as the kind of player “we want to bring into this organization,” lauding his character and competitiveness. “He’s having a career year shooting the basketball this year,” Peterson added. “It speaks to his work ethic and amount of time he puts into the gym. So he’s physical, he’s a great defender. We are just excited to get him into the organization.”
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms that the Suns and Hornets explored a bigger deal involving Richards and Jusuf Nurkic before agreeing to their Richards/Okogie swap. According to Scotto, Phoenix coveted Hornets swingman Cody Martin, but Charlotte wasn’t willing to take on Nurkic’s sizable contract, which includes a $19MM+ guaranteed salary in 2025/26.
Scotto says the Hornets will continue to prioritize adding draft capital in the coming weeks while positioning themselves for a high pick in the 2025 draft. Scotto identifies Martin, point guard Vasilije Micic, and possibly Okogie as some trade candidates to watch.

Hornets Trade Nick Richards To Suns

January 15th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

6:43 pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Suns and Hornets.

3:47 pm: The Suns and Hornets have agreed to a trade that will send center Nick Richards and a second-round draft pick to Phoenix in exchange for Josh Okogie and three second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Suns only have three tradable second-rounders on hand: Denver’s 2026 and 2031 selections, and Phoenix’s own 2031 pick. Those are the three picks headed to Charlotte in the deal.

According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the pick being sent from the Hornets to the Suns is a 2025 selection. It will be the least favorable of Denver’s and Philadelphia’s picks, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Charania (Twitter link). Barring an unexpected development in the second half of this season, that figures to be the Nuggets’ second-rounder.

Richards, 27, has seen regular rotation minutes in Charlotte since the start of the 2022/23 campaign and served as the team’s primary starting center in ’23/24 with Mark Williams sidelined. So far this season, he has appeared in 21 games, averaging 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 21.0 minutes per night.

Richards is on a team-friendly contract that pays him $5MM this season, with a $5MM non-guaranteed salary for next season. Okogie’s deal is also guaranteed in 2024/25 and non-guaranteed in ’25/26, but he’s earning $8.25MM this season, so the swap will reduce Phoenix’s projected end-of-season luxury tax bill by approximately $20MM, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), while giving the team an athletic option in the frontcourt.

Richards is expected to take over as the Suns’ starting center once he gets acclimated, tweets Gambadoro.

Reporting over the weekend indicated that the Suns and Hornets were in talks about a potential Richards trade that would send second-round draft capital to Charlotte.

Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic was believed to be part of those discussions, but the Hornets were likely unwilling to take on Nurkic’s contract, which has a significantly higher cap hit ($18.13MM) than Okogie’s and is also fully guaranteed for next season ($19.38MM). An Okogie/Richards swap is simpler from a cap perspective and doesn’t require Charlotte to include a second player.

Because they’re operating over the second tax apron, the Suns have limited options on the trade market this season. They’re not able to aggregate contracts or take back more salary than they send out. This deal meets those requirements while taking advantage of an Okogie contract that had been viewed as a probable trade chip since it was first signed in July. Not coincidentally, Okogie became trade-eligible on Wednesday.

Besides its newly acquired 2025 second-round pick, Phoenix’s only remaining tradable draft asset is its 2031 first-rounder. The front office figures to make that first-round selection available as the club continues to weigh its options on the market ahead of the February 6 deadline.

As Marks tweets, Phoenix will generate a $3.25MM trade exception as a result of this transaction. The Suns would be able to use that exception during the season, but not in the 2025 offseason as long as they continue to operate over the second apron.

As for the Hornets, after taking advantage of their significant breathing room below the luxury tax line to take on contracts and acquire three second-round picks from the Knicks in the Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster in the fall, they’re taking a similar path here, absorbing some extra salary in a deal for their backup center and netting multiple future second-rounders in the process.

Charlotte will still be operating $7MM+ below the tax line once this move is official, leaving the team with some flexibility to potentially facilitate another deal or two with a cap-strapped trade partner by Feb. 6.

While the Hornets are making this trade for the draft assets rather than for Okogie, the veteran swingman has been solid in limited minutes this season, averaging 6.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game across 25 outings, with career-high shooting percentages of 49.1% from the floor and 38.1% on three-pointers. He’s considered a versatile and above-average wing defender.

If Okogie isn’t part of Charlotte’s plans going forward, the club could look to flip him in the coming weeks, though he’ll be ineligible to have his salary aggregated with another player’s.

Southeast Notes: Williams, Wizards, Brogdon, Risacher

January 13th, 2025 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Mark Williams has firmly reestablished himself as the Hornets‘ starting center after returning from injuries that kept him out of action for nearly a full calendar year, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

Williams was dominant in Sunday’s loss at Phoenix, posting 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and a block. Most of that damage came in the first half when he had 22 points and 13 rebounds, joining Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama as the only players this season to reach those numbers by intermission.

“I just wanted to come out, be aggressive obviously,” Williams said. “The first game (against Phoenix), we won by playing with pace. So, I just wanted to go out there, and start with those things and it showed for itself.”

Boone adds that two-way big man Moussa Diabate was impressive while Williams and Nick Richards were sidelined with injuries, so Charlotte could make a move at the position before the February 6 trade deadline. A league source told Boone that the Suns have interest in acquiring Richards, confirming reports from over the weekend. Boone notes that Richards had 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks against Phoenix when the teams met last week, which likely helped his trade value.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Wizards coach Brian Keefe spoke for less than a minute after Sunday’s 41-point loss to Oklahoma City, per Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Keefe, who only took one question from reporters, was upset that his players didn’t respond to the challenge of facing one of the NBA’s best teams. “We deserve to be criticized by [Keefe],” Corey Kispert said. “… This one is definitely on us as players. Credit to him. He takes a lot of criticism and deflects a lot of praise. And oftentimes that’s not fair because we play and he doesn’t, and it’s our job to be way, way better than we were tonight.”
A foot issue that has caused Malcolm Brogdon to miss four straight games could turn into an extended absence, Shankar adds. For Friday and Sunday, the Wizards changed Brogdon’s designation on the injury report from “right foot pain” to “a plantar fascia contusion on his right foot.” Injuries have limited the veteran guard to 18 games this season. He missed the preseason and the first 11 games due to thumb surgery, then sat out four games in December with an injured hamstring.
Along with learning how to play in the NBA, Zaccharie Risacher had to adjust to a new culture when the Hawks selected him with the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, notes Lauren Williams of the Journal-Constitution. This season is the first extended time Risacher has spent outside of his native France. “I feel like I’m learning every day, and my English has started to get better,” he said. “Just being able to speak with everybody around here, it can be at the facility, within the organization, but also in real life with like people outside in my building, when I go to restaurants or whatever, I speak English all the time. So it really helped me to get better.”

Suns, Hornets Have Discussed Nick Richards, Jusuf Nurkic

January 12th, 2025 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns and Hornets have had discussions about the idea of a trade that would send Jusuf Nurkic and draft capital to Charlotte and Nick Richards to Phoenix, confirms John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links). The talks, described as “ongoing” by Gambadoro, were first reported by Evan Sidery of Forbes (Twitter link), who referred to them as “preliminary.”

Nurkic has fallen out of the rotation in Phoenix. After serving as the Suns’ starting center for most of the season, he came off the bench on Monday and Tuesday, then was a DNP-CD in Thursday’s and Saturday’s games. The veteran big man is known to be on the trade block, but his $18.13MM salary this season and a guaranteed $19.38MM salary for next season will make it difficult to move him.

Richards is a younger, more versatile center whose contract is also far more team-friendly than Nurkic’s — the Hornets’ big man is owed $5MM this season and another $5MM in 2025/26. He has averaged 9.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 21.2 minutes per game through 20 games this season.

Given the disparity between the two players’ salaries, the Hornets would have to send out at least one more player (earning at least $5.63MM) to make a trade legal. The Suns would likely prefer Cody Martin ($8.12MM), a versatile wing who is having a solid bounce-back year after a couple injury-plagued seasons, while Charlotte may want to include veteran point guard Vasilije Micic ($7.72MM), the former EuroLeague MVP who has struggled with his shot since making the move to the NBA in 2023.

Both Martin and Micic have one more year of team control beyond this season, but neither player’s 2025/26 salary is guaranteed at this point. The same goes for Richards.

The Suns, who are facing second-apron restrictions, could also legally acquire Grant Williams ($13.03MM) or Josh Green ($12.65MM) along with Richards in exchange for Nurkic, though Williams is out for the season following knee surgery. Both he and Green have two more guaranteed years on their contracts after this season.

Phoenix currently has three tradable second-round picks: Denver’s 2026 and 2031 picks and the Suns’ own 2031 second-rounder. Even if the Suns were willing to include all three of those picks, it’s unclear whether the Hornets would have the appetite to take on Nurkic, whose sizable guaranteed salary would significantly reduce their flexibility in ’25/26 — especially if Charlotte can’t get out of a multiyear deal of its own in the process.

As we wrote earlier today in a Front Office article, the Hornets have several potential trade chips who are earning mid-level money or less, which could make them an intriguing trade partner for a team facing apron-related restrictions. The Suns wouldn’t be able to trade Nurkic for a player earning more than his $18.13MM salary, but could potentially acquire multiple rotation-caliber players from Charlotte if they’re able to sufficiently sweeten the pot with draft assets.

Knicks Notes: Hart, All-Stars, McBride, Robinson, Centers

January 4th, 2025 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks forward Josh Hart is having the best season of his nine-year NBA career, averaging personal bests of 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, along with a career-high 57.1% mark on field goal attempts. His 14.6 points per game and 38.2% three-point rate are also well above his career rates, and he has been a positive asset defensively for the 24-11 Knicks.

As Steve Popper of Newsday writes, teammate Karl-Anthony Towns believes Hart has a real All-Star case. Hart himself is less convinced — and suggested he’d be perfectly happy to be excluded and take advantage of his vacation time during All-Star week.

“I can get an All-Star? Hell no,” Hart said. “I feel like they appreciate what I do but like I said, my game is not glitz and glamour that breeds that kind of accolade. And I’m fine with that. I’m a servant to these guys. I want to make sure they’re good. I want them to get the accolades. I want to have my toes to touch some sand come February.”

Hart admitted it would be “amazing” to earn All-Star recognition, but he pointed to Jalen Brunson and Towns as the Knicks’ likely representatives and made a case for the team’s other two starters ahead of himself.

“(Mikal Bridges) and OG (Anunoby) would be more than deserving,” Hart said. “I think that’s on us to continue to win and continue to highlight those guys and show what they can do on both sides of the ball. So we got to continue to win for that to happen and make sure we sacrifice so those guys can be in that position.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

In a battle of red-hot clubs, the Knicks had their nine-game winning streak snapped on Friday by a Thunder team that won its ninth straight contest. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic takes a closer look at the matchup, writing that the Knicks continue to trend in the right direction despite being unable to record a signature win.
Knicks guard Miles McBride missed a second consecutive game on Friday due to a hamstring strain. Referring to the injury as “frustrating”, he told Stefan Bondy of The New York Post that he’s playing it safe with his recovery because he doesn’t want to risk making things worse. “Just seeing how it feels. It’s tough with hamstrings,” McBride said. “Those type of injuries, you don’t want to rush it. But I’m progressing.”
A number of teams have been inquiring about the health of Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who says three clubs he spoke to recently didn’t gain any clarity on the subject. Although Robinson is a potential trade candidate, Begley believes New York’s preferred outcome would be for the big man to get healthy and finish out the season with the team, since his value on the court would exceed his value on the trade market due to concerns about his surgically repaired feet.
If the Knicks aren’t confident about Robinson’s ability to get healthy and stay healthy, Jonas Valanciunas, Goga Bitadze, and Nick Richards are among the centers the team may be interested in, Begley says, noting that all three of those big man were on New York’s radar last summer.

Fischer: Valanicunas Among Several Centers On Trade Block

December 19th, 2024 at 3:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Jonas Valanciunas of the Wizards may be the most “attainable” and desirable trade candidate among centers this season, but he’s certainly not the only big man who could be on the move prior to the February 6 deadline, league sources tell Jake Fischer (Substack link via The Stein Line).

According to Fischer, several teams are looking for help in the middle, including the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks and Pelicans. The Clips and Bucks are interested in reserve centers to complement their starters (Ivica Zubac and Brook Lopez, respectively), with Lopez also drawing trade interest since last summer.

The Warriors are another team contemplating a trade involving big men, with Kevon Looney garnering “plenty of interest” from rival clubs, Fischer writes. Like Lopez, who earns $23MM in 2024/25, Looney is on an expiring contract ($8MM).

Confirming a recent report from Stefan Bondy, Fischer says Knicks center Jericho Sims is viewed as a potential trade candidate due to his inconsistent playing time as a backup this season. Fischer also notes that New York gauged injured center Mitchell Robinson‘s trade value around this time last year.

Despite his lengthy injury history, Trail Blazers center Robert Williams may be the “most coveted” big man on the market outside of Valanciunas, but it’s no lock that Portland will end up moving him, according to Fischer’s sources. If the Blazers do trade a member of their frontcourt, expect it to come closer to the deadline, Fischer adds.

Here’s more from Fischer:

Like Clint Capela, whom we highlighted in another story, Nikola Vucevic is a starting center who could be on the move, but it’s unclear if the Bulls will be successful in their attempts to trade the two-time All-Star, in part due to his contract ($20MM in ’24/25, $21.5MM in ’25/26).
Valanicunas, Williams and Walker Kessler are among the big men on the Lakers‘ trade wish list, sources tell Fischer. However, the Jazz have declined multiple offers for Kessler, so it’s difficult to decipher if Utah is actually willing to trade him or is simply gauging what he might bring in return.
Chris Boucher (Raptors), Day’Ron Sharpe (Nets), Trey Lyles (Kings), Daniel Theis (Pelicans) and Nick Richards (Hornets) are also “known to be on the market,” according to Fischer.

Hornets Notes: Bridges, Ball, Micic, Williams

December 11th, 2024 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Miles Bridges is getting closer to making his return as the Hornets start to overcome their early-season injury issues, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges, who hasn’t played since November 19 because of a bone bruise on his right knee, was able to participate in team activities during Wednesday’s practice.

“It’s good,” he said. “You know I hate sitting out. I’m progressing toward the right way. That’s what I’m trying to get to. I’m getting better every day.”

Charlotte’s 7-17 start can be explained by the lengthy string of injuries that has hit the team since Mark Williams suffered a strained tendon in his left foot just before the start of training camp. Nick Richards, Tre Mann, LaMelo Ball and Tidjane Salaun followed him on the injury list, and Grant Williams was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Williams and Richards have already resumed playing, and Mann is expected to be reevaluated in the next few days.

“You see different teams dealing with injuries now, so I’m kind of happy that we’ve got that out the way — except for Grant missing the whole year,” said Bridges, who added that he re-aggravated his condition by trying to return too soon. “But just guys being able to come back now, it’s the right time — at the meat of the season. So, I feel like we’ll be good.”

There’s more from Charlotte:

Coach Charles Lee said the team is being cautious with Ball, who is recovering from a left calf strain he suffered in a November 27 game, Boone adds. Ball was projected to miss at least two weeks, and Lee said he’s not quite ready to return. “You’ve got to be able to see, No. 1 how does his body respond to trying to run, especially full speed motions?” Lee said. “And then after that, it’s how do we see him do some cutting now within the full speed running, So, there’s a progression.”
Vasilije Micic should be considered expendable as the Hornets explore trade options ahead of the February 6 deadline, Boone states in a mailbag column. Micic has been seeing increased minutes as a backup point guard while Ball and Mann are sidelined, but Boone views KJ Simpson as more of a long-term foundation piece than Micic.
Fans shouldn’t expect Williams to reclaim his place in the starting lineup anytime soon, Boone adds in the same piece. Injuries forced the big man to miss nearly a full calendar year, so he’ll need time to regain his conditioning before he’s able to play more than 30 minutes every night.