An abundance of wing players makes it unlikely that the Hornets will re-sign Kelly Oubre, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The free agent forward has expressed a desire to stay in Charlotte and was a valuable contributor last season, but there may not be enough playing time for him with the new roster.
The addition of No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller and the expected return of Miles Bridges reduce the need for Oubre, Boone adds. Gordon Hayward will be back for another season unless the Hornets can find a taker for his $31.5MM expiring contract, and Cody Martin and Bryce McGowens will also compete for playing time.
Oubre has spent the past two seasons in Charlotte after signing as a free agent in 2021. He averaged 17.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 124 games and was effective both as a starter and coming off the bench.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Jordan Poole should be the focal point of the Wizards‘ offense next season, Josh Robbins and Anthony Slater of The Athletic state in a look at what he’ll bring to Washington. The Wizards have already traded Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis, and Kyle Kuzma may be leaving in free agency. Without their top three scorers from last season, much of the offense will flow through Poole, who showed an ability to carry the scoring load at times with the Warriors. Robbins notes that coach Wes Unseld Jr. gave Kuzma the freedom to create his own shots, which will likely also happen with Poole.
- In an interview with NBC Sports Washington, Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said he was happy to land Serbian center Tristan Vukcevic with the 42nd pick in last week’s draft. “Young, 20 years old. He’s played internationally, I feel like I’ve watched him for a long time now, since he was a youth as well,” Dawkins said. “With him, seven feet, skilled, can pass, can shoot.” It hasn’t been determined if the Wizards will bring Vukcevic to the NBA next season or have him spend more time in Europe, but Dawkins plans to talk to his representatives about having him play in Summer League.
- Dylan Murphy is the new head coach for the Magic‘s G League affiliate in Osceola, the team announced (via Twitter). Murphy has been with Orlando for five years and was an assistant coach for the last three seasons.
Create his own shots ??????
WAAAAaaaaattttTT …….
what’s that mean. Throw up threes whenever he’s open. Now we will see the handle he don’t got……. Can’t wait to see Deni punch him out !!!!!!
With him making that much might as well see if he can even come close to producing. Going to be a long year for the wizards anyways
Charlotte got about 45gms to prove that they can be a legit playoff team in the East or they’re gonna have to make some hard decisions on how to proceed with Melo. Seems like he’s destined to make his way to a bigger market/better franchise if the Hornets continue to range from mediocre to poor on the court. If they play it right they could get a lot for him at the deadline tho
I think someone should offer Bridges a contract. One Hornets won’t match.
Tsunami Papi could be a Philly target if they have the MLE to use.
I wonder if Poole for Hayward was ever a consideration