The Hornets have signed center Marques Bolden to a two-way contract, according to a release from the team. To create a roster spot for Bolden, Charlotte waived two-way center Nathan Mensah.
Bolden recently spent time with the Hornets on a 10-day contract, which was ended early to make room for Aleksej Pokusevski on the 15-man roster. He appeared in one game with Charlotte. The 25-year-old has also had NBA stops in Cleveland and Milwaukee. He spent part of this season on a two-way deal with the Bucks, but only appeared in two games.
Bolden played three seasons at Duke, averaging 3.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 88 career collegiate games (24 starts). He has been the most productive in the G League, where he’s averaged 13.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks while shooting 55.6% from the floor and 39.7% from deep in 31 regular season and Showcase Cup games with the Wisconsin Herd.
Mensah signed with the Hornets on a two-way contract in December after joining the team in training camp. He immediately carved out a small role, playing about 40 combined minutes in his first two career games and averaging 16.1 minutes from early to late January. However, his role diminished as time went on and he was nearing his active-game limit, prompting Charlotte to make the move to Bolden. In 25 games with the Hornets, Mensah averaged 1.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocks.
The Hornets have 15 players on standard contracts and all three of their two-way spots are filled. Bolden joins Amari Bailey and Leaky Black as the Hornets’ two-way players.