The Hornets signed young forward Aleksej Pokusevski to a two-year contract which is non-guaranteed for the 2024/25 season, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). Charlotte will get a chance to monitor the 7’0″ forward and see if he can live up to his former 17th overall draft selection status.
Pokusevski became the fourth former Thunder player to join the Hornets after the deadline, joining Vasilije Micic, Tre Mann, and Davis Bertans. According to Sam Perley of Hornets.com (Twitter link), those connections are helping him feel comfortable in his new home.
“It feels good,” Pokusevski said. “The guys are great. [Having former OKC teammates here] makes it easier. Vasa, Tre, Bertāns. It feels better that I can talk to the guys that I know and they can explain how things are going here.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Hornets guards Seth Curry (right ankle) and Cody Martin (left ankle) exited the second half of Charlotte’s Friday matchup against the Sixers due to injuries, according to team PR (Twitter link). They will both be evaluated on Saturday.
- Hawks guard Trent Forrest is seeing his hard work pay off after getting his two-way contract converted into a standard deal, writes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Lauren Williams (subscriber link). According to Williams (Twitter links), coach Quin Snyder lauded Forrest’s progression and work ethic. “He’s just he’s been a guy that’s, it’s hard to, have durability and in this league and Trent’s, a guy that’s continuing to work to put himself in a position where he is where he is right now,” Snyder said. “And I say that with full confidence that he’s going to continue to work. And that’s one of the things that we really appreciate about him. Happy for him. I think he he’s earned everything everybody’s given him in this profession.“
- As the Wizards continue to deal with injuries, their bench players are starting to see more opportunities, according to The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace (subscriber link). Eugene Omoruyi, Jules Bernard, Jared Butler, Johnny Davis, Patrick Baldwin Jr., and Justin Champagnie have all received first-quarter minutes as of late. Omoruyi was promoted to a standard deal from his two-way contract on Friday. “Right now, it’s a lot of discovery,” Kyle Kuzma said. “Trying to figure out what a lot of guys do, what they can do, what they can’t do, what they bring to winning basketball.“
I am not a Poku believer at all, but he was playing pretty decently for OKC last season. I think he can be a solid nba player ngl