Eastern Notes: Williams, Nets, Wizards
Mo Williams was traded to the Hornets on Tuesday but their interest in the veteran point guard dated back to last summer when he was on the free-agent market, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The Hornets were shopping for a backup to Kemba Walker but ultimately settled on Brian Roberts, Bonnell adds. Their interest in Williams was rekindled when Walker suffered a knee injury that will sideline him until at least early March, Bonnell notes.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Nets coach Lionel Hollins expects to have the same roster after the trade deadline, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Any move by the Nets would likely involve Deron Williams, Joe Johnson or Brook Lopez but the market for them is underwhelming because of their salaries and, particularly in Williams’ case, a lack of production, Bontemps adds. The fact that the Nets must swap first-round picks with the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks, courtesy of their acquisition of Johnson in 2012, leaves them no incentive to strip the roster to increase their chances of moving into the lottery, Bontemps notes.
- John Wall feels the Wizards need to add another play-making guard or wing player to the second unit, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports. Rather than making a deal, the Wizards could wait to fill that spot with a free agent bought out of his contract after the trade deadline or an overseas pickup, Castillo notes. Former Pistons point guard Will Bynum, who is currently playing in China for the Guangdong Southern Tigers, could fill the void when the CBA playoffs end, Castillo adds. Wall told Castillo that he endorses Bynum’s skill set and competitive nature.
- Brandon Bass and Marcus Thornton could be moved before the trade deadline as the Celtics continue their quest to shed salary and stockpile draft picks, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Both will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. Bass, who is averaging 9.5 points and 4.2 rebounds, is making $6.9MM this season. Thornton, who is averaging 8.9 PPG, has a $8.575MM salary.
- The Hawks will have to give All-Star Paul Millsap a substantial raise to retain him, according to Paul Newberry of the Associated Press. That’s just what Millsap planned when he left the Jazz to sign with Atlanta for what turned out to be a bargain rate of two years and $19MM, Newberry adds. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Northwest Notes: Chandler, Afflalo, Jackson
Denver’s demands for Wilson Chandler are higher than they are for Arron Afflalo, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears, and some believe that he’s among the few Nuggets the team isn’t shopping, Stein writes. There are conflicting reports about whether Denver has been shopping Chandler, though the general belief has been that GM Tim Connelly and company are seeking a first-round pick in exchange, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported. Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reported that a first-rounder is the Nuggets’ asking price for Afflalo, too, so there may be a more nuanced difference between what they’re asking for each. In any case, the Nuggets appear to be active, as Stein writes, and there’s more from his piece amid the latest from the Northwest Division:
- Afflalo and Reggie Jackson are two of the three players whom GMs mentioned most frequently when Stein asked about the biggest names likely to move at the deadline. Brook Lopez, whom the Nuggets and Thunder have reportedly sought, is the other.
- Adreian Payne went from the best team in the Eastern Conference to the worst team in the West in Tuesday’s trade that sent him from the Hawks to the Timberwolves, but he doesn’t mind that, as Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes. Instead, last year’s No. 15 overall pick is excited about the chance to play after going on four D-League assignments and appearing in only three NBA games with Atlanta.
- Minnesota’s futile attempts to surround a young Kevin Garnett with veterans during Flip Saunders‘ first stint at Wolves coach gave Saunders, now both coach and president of basketball operations, a lesson about what not to do, argues Michael Rand of the Star Tribune. Tuesday’s pair of trades were further indication that Saunders intends to follow a different path with Andrew Wiggins and surround him with young talent, Rand believes.
Trade Candidate: Deron Williams
Two and a half years ago, Deron Williams was the single most sought-after free agent in the NBA. It’s almost unfathomable to think of Williams in that context now, but Williams came away with the most lucrative deal in a weak class. Williams, teammate Brook Lopez, who’s now also a trade candidate, Eric Gordon, Roy Hibbert, Nicolas Batum and JaVale McGee came away with the six most lucrative contracts that summer, as our free agent tracker shows. Times have changed not only for Williams but for the market, too.
That’s particularly so at the position Williams plays. George Hill and Goran Dragic were the point guards who received the next most lucrative contracts after Williams that summer, but it seems Dragic’s value has seemingly leapfrogged that of Williams. Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Jeff Teague, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley, Ty Lawson, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Jennings, Brandon Knight and Jrue Holiday are others who’ve improved their games since Williams signed his contract. That lengthy list only encompasses players who were in the NBA the season before Williams signed, so it doesn’t include Damian Lillard, whom the Blazers drafted in 2012 using a pick they acquired from the Nets in exchange for Gerald Wallace.
It isn’t just that Williams is in his third straight season of averaging few points than the year before, as his scoring average has dipped from 21.0 points per game the season before he signed the contract to 12.9 PPG this year. The quality of point guards around the league has risen to unprecedented heights, and Williams, once in the conversation with Chris Paul as the league’s best at his position, is merely a run-of-the-mill producer at this point. His PER of 15.4, the lowest he’s put up since his rookie season, suggests that he’s above average at best.
He’s not even starting for the Nets at this point, although a slow recovery from injuries, which have largely been behind his decline, seems to be the chief reason why he’s been unable to take his job back from Jarrett Jack. Still, it’s surely disheartening for Nets GM Billy King to see Williams, who’s making more than $19.754MM this season and almost $21.043MM next year with a player option for a whopping $22.331MM-plus in 2016/17, come off the bench and play just 23.5 minutes per game when he does so. He’s appeared in only nine games since New Year’s Day, only furthering the decline in his trade value.
The notion of a Williams trade has been a legitimate one since at least this past May, when Howard Beck of Bleacher Report wrote that the Nets wouldn’t rule out a deal. Multiple reports followed in December indicating that the Nets are prepared to move on from Williams, as well as Lopez and Joe Johnson, with conflicting information about whether the team was initiating trade talks about the trio or merely open to the idea of parting with them. The most substantive recent discussions, by far, seemed to be with the Kings in December, but Sacramento’s insistence on taking back Mason Plumlee in such a deal put the kibosh on that. Brooklyn’s reluctance to part with Plumlee, whom the Kings were apparently demanding, shows that the team isn’t willing to take just any deal to move off Williams and his bloated contract, at least not yet. A source predicted to Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Williams would stay put, given the lack of attractive offers, as Stein wrote last month. Still, deadlines drive deals, as always, and so it’s conceivable that the Nets will revisit the Sacramento talks as next week’s trade deadline draws ever closer.
Brooklyn would like to trade two of Williams, Lopez and Johnson, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote. Lopez seems easiest to trade, given his somewhat cheaper salary and the shorter length of his deal, which could be over at season’s end thanks to a player option. Johnson is locked in through next season at salaries between $3MM and $4MM more than Williams makes each year, but that deal is assured of ending a year before Williams’ might, and Williams is owed the most money of the trio.
Williams and Lopez both reportedly drew mention when the Nets and Celtics talked about a deal involving Rajon Rondo, before Boston sent Rondo to the Mavs instead. The Hornets, predictably, appeared to have no interest in Williams when they spoke with the Nets about Lance Stephenson in December, given the presence of Walker. Charlotte’s point guard has since gone down with injury, but Walker’s short-term absence probably won’t change the equation for the Hornets. The Rockets reportedly made preliminary inquiries about Williams a year ago, but the Nets were unwilling to give him up at that point. Now, it’s debatable whether the Rockets would be better off with Williams or incumbent Houston point guard Patrick Beverley regardless of the profound gap between what Williams is making and Beverley’s minimum salary. The Lakers and Knicks are in need of point guards and have cap flexibility to burn, but there have been no indications that either of them would want to forfeit that flexibility for Williams.
It’s tough to envision much of a market for Williams, particularly given his recent production. He went scoreless Monday, his third straight outing of five points or less.
“I have no idea [what’s wrong with Williams],” coach Lionel Hollins said after the game to reporters, including Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “I feel bad for the kid because he’s trying and it’s just not happening.”
Williams, at 30, is a “kid” compared to the 61-year-old Hollins, and while he’s certainly not young for an NBA player, he’s not especially old, either. The possibility exists that Williams will regain some of what he seems to have lost, but it seems out of the realm of possibility that he’ll ever be the player he was when he last put pen to paper on a contract. The market may well force the Nets to attach a first-round pick or an intriguing young player like Plumlee to a Williams deal if they’re to part ways with their highly paid point guard, and the Nets seem prepared to keeping paying Williams’ salary for a while longer if it comes to that. Deadlines often inspire moves that teams otherwise wouldn’t make, but Hollins doesn’t expect the team will swing a deal, and at least as far as Williams goes, the coach is probably right.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, ‘Melo, Kirilenko
The Raptors appear to be in buying mode if they’re to make a deadline move, while the Sixers and Knicks are probably sellers, and the Celtics have already demonstrated their willingness to part with immediate assets with their flurry of trades so far this season. That leaves the Nets, amid persistent rumors surrounding Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson for the past two months. Still, coach Lionel Hollins doesn’t expect that the Nets will make any deadline moves, as Tim Bontemps of the New York Post observes. Here’s more from around the Atlantic while we wait to see if Hollins is correct about what GM Billy King and company do:
- Heat team president Pat Riley said he called agent Leon Rose about Carmelo Anthony this past summer when Anthony was already deep into his free agent decision-making, but the Knicks star insists he never personally heard from the Heat, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- Andrei Kirilenko‘s wife gave birth to a healthy baby son this week, according to Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (Twitter link), and that’s a signal that movement might be afoot for Kirilenko’s NBA career. Kirilenko, without specifying the issue that’s kept him from playing since November 13th, told reporters in December that it would be resolved by February. The veteran forward has been on suspension while taking leave to tend to his wife for the past few months, and the Sixers have reportedly viewed him as a trade chip.
- Xavier Thames, the No. 59 pick in the 2014 draft whose rights belong to the Nets, is joining the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants, reports Reggie Hayes of The (Fort Wayne) News-Sentinel. Thames had been playing with Baloncesto Sevilla of Spain.
And-Ones: Kings, Allen, Lopez, Wolves
DeMarcus Cousins and Tyrone Corbin both called the latest round of Kings coaching upheaval a “distraction,” as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter link). Cousins released a statement through his agency saying that he hadn’t been consulted when the team fired Michael Malone and isn’t being consulted now, expressing hope for a quick resolution and support for George Karl should the team choose to hire him. Still, Cousins decried the public chatter of a coaching move while Corbin remains in place. Rudy Gay, who’s hinted at dissatisfaction with Corbin in the past, instead expressed admiration Tuesday for the job Corbin’s done under trying circumstances, as Jones also notes in his story.
While we wait to see how it all plays out in Sacramento, here’s more from around the league:
- A Nets source tells Windrem that no deal with the Hornets involving Lopez, Stephenson and Zeller was ever that close (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- There’s no guarantee that Ray Allen makes his decision on whether or not he’ll return to the NBA this season within 10 days of All-Star Weekend, as Jim Tanner, Allen’s agent, tells Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter link). It was rumored that the 39-year-old sharpshooter was going to make a choice regarding his future shortly after the All-Star break.
- The Hornets offered Lance Stephenson and Cody Zeller to the Nets last month and were ready to call the league office to finalize the trade, reports Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (All Twitter links). The sides were quite close to agreement, Windrem adds, and so close that people at the D-League Showcase, which was taking place at the time, thought it was a fait accompli, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. It was the closest Brooklyn has come to trading Lopez, Joe Johnson or Deron Williams this year, according to the NetsDaily scribe.
- The Wolves sent the Hornets $344,462 in cash Tuesday in the Mo Williams trade, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows on his Wolves salary page (Twitter link). Minnesota created two trade exceptions in that deal, one worth Troy Daniels‘ $816,482 salary and another worth the $500K difference between the salaries for Williams and Gary Neal, Pincus tweets.
- That means the Wolves had to take Adreian Payne into one of their existing trade exceptions to make their trade with the Hawks work, and that’s just what Minnesota did. The Wolves absorbed Payne’s $1,855,320 salary into their $4,702,500 Corey Brewer exception, leaving the $6,308,193 Kevin Love exception untouched and reducing the Brewer exception to $2,847,180, as Pincus shows on the Basketball Insiders Wolves salary page.
- The Hawks would wind up with Minnesota’s second-round picks for both 2020 and 2021 if the lottery-protected 2017 first-rounder the Wolves gave up in the Payne trade doesn’t convey to Atlanta by 2019 at the latest, Pincus also reports on that page.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Hornets Acquire Mo Williams
12:28pm: The Timberwolves have followed with a official announcement of their own (on Twitter).
12:09pm: The trade is official, the Hornets announced. Williams, Daniels and some cash go to Charlotte. Neal and the Heat’s 2019 second-round pick that the Hornets had acquired from a previous trade go to Minnesota, according to the statement. The Hornets have released Elliot Williams from his 10-day contract to make room on the roster, the Hornets also announced.
“We are excited to be adding two quality players to our organization,” Hornets GM Rich Cho said. “Mo Williams is a proven NBA player who gives us additional versatility and depth in the backcourt, both while Kemba Walker is out and after Kemba returns. Troy Daniels is an outstanding shooter who we are already familiar with from having had him in our training camp last season.”
11:50am: The Hornets and Wolves have reached agreement on a deal that would send Mo Williams and Troy Daniels to Charlotte and Gary Neal plus a second-round pick to Minnesota, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Shams Charania of RealGM originally reported the deal was close (Twitter link). The move represents Charlotte’s effort to make the playoffs and avoid having Lance Stephenson play point guard in the absence of the injured Kemba Walker, Wojnarowski tweets.
The Wolves acquired Daniels via trade from the Rockets on December 19th, so they can’t aggregate his salary in any deal until February 19th, the day of the trade deadline. However, since Williams’ salary of $3.75MM is within 150% plus $100K of Neal’s $3.25MM salary, that part of the swap can go as its own trade, and Charlotte can take in Daniels, who makes the minimum, using the minimum-salary exception. The Daniels part can function as its own trade, meaning he can go out on his own and the trade can become official before the deadline.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities on Monday identified the Hornets as a likely suitor for Williams, shortly before Wojnarowski reported that talks between the Wolves and Hornets regarding Williams and Daniels had reached an impasse after having taken place recently. It seems the sides worked out their differences within the past day, with Charlotte, coming off back-to-back losses to the Sixers and Pacers, likely the party that reignited talks, though that’s just my speculation.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported late last month that rival teams believed Wolves were making Williams available in exchange for a draft pick, and Wolfson identified the Cavs, Clippers and Heat among the “teams to watch” regarding the 32-year-old point guard. There was also a slight chance the Pistons would become involved, according to Wolfson. Ultimately it was the Hornets who emerged with him, and Williams tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he can see himself finishing his career in Charlotte (Twitter link). However, Williams, who’ll be a free agent at season’s end, said earlier this week that he wouldn’t ask for a trade and wanted to sign a multiyear deal with Minnesota, as Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press wrote.
“This was a difficult decision because of what Mo brought to our team and the impact he had on our young guys,” Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders said of the move in the team’s statement. “As a coach, you wanted to keep him because of his professionalism and understanding of what you wanted out of him as a player. He scored 52 points against Indiana and did everything we asked him to do. On the other side, we knew we were moving in a different direction with our youth so we felt it was in our best interest to make the deal. We thank Mo and Troy for their contributions and wish them the best of luck in Charlotte.”
The Hornets were reluctant to give up future-focused assets for a short-term fix, GM Rich Cho told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer shortly after the Walker injury, but Bonnell argues the 2019 second-rounder isn’t much of a compromise from that position (Twitter link). Daniels, who’s averaged just 2.8 points in 7.3 minutes per game split between Houston and Minnesota this season after a breakout performance in the playoffs last year, comes at the cost of a guaranteed minimum salary for next season, but that, too, isn’t much of a sacrifice.
Neal, who’s enduring the worst three-point shooting season of his five-year career, departs Charlotte almost a year after the then-Bobcats acquired him from the Bucks in part because of the long-range threat he represented. He’s set to hit free agency in the summer, though Minnesota appears ready to trade him or work a buyout, so there’s a decent chance his stay with the Wolves will be a brief one.
Elliot Williams was on day No. 7 of the 10-day contract that the Hornets waived Jannero Pargo in order to accommodate. Today’s trade leaves the Hornets with 15 contracts that are guaranteed through the end of the season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eastern Notes: Dudley, Crowder, Jack
Jared Dudley was skeptical about coming to play for the Bucks, but after playing with the team for just half a season, the forward is considering staying Milwaukee for the long-term, writes Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times. “I’ve been giving it thought,’’ Dudley said. “For me, it’s about adding more years. You obviously want to play longer. I want to come back here. Definitely. I mean, this team is building each year and will get better.” The 29-year-old is set to make $4.25MM during the 2015/16 season but if he elects the early termination option in his contract, he can become a free agent at the end of this season.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Jae Crowder is fitting in nicely with the Celtics, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSSNE.com. The forward is known for his defense but there is another reason why coach Brad Stevens has been able to give him significant playing time. “What I like is his versatility,” Stevens said. “And coming off the bench you have flexibility of where you bring him.” Boston is 3-1 over its last four games and Crowder is averaging 12 points and 5.5 rebounds during those contests.
- Jarrett Jack has been one of the major reasons that Brooklyn is still in the playoff hunt, writes Reed Wallach of NetsDaily.com. Last offseason, Jack was acquired as part of a three team trade that was primarily about giving the Cavs financial flexibility. The point guard has not only been able to bolster the Nets‘ bench unit, but he has provided the team with a good starting option when Deron Williams is unable to play because of injuries. Jack has started 25 of the Nets’ 50 games this season.
- James Johnson can be a contributor for the Raptors come playoff time, opines Eric Koreen of the National Post. Koreen notes that although Johnson has shooting issues from the perimeter, he more than makes up for it with his stout defense. Johnson is averaging 1.0 blocks per game and owns a player efficiency rating of 18.4.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Grant, Stoudemire
Andrea Bargnani is available to play tonight for the Knicks, as Newsday’s Al Iannazzone notes (Twitter link), and if the former No. 1 overall pick whom the Knicks are reportedly trying to trade makes it into the game, it’ll be just his third appearance all season. New York is also considering a buyout deal with Bargnani, though it seems such a move wouldn’t happen unless he’s still a Knick once the trade deadline passes. Still, it’ll be difficult for the Knicks to find a taker, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors wrote when he examined the big man’s trade candidacy last month. Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- The NBA is mandating that Mikhail Prokhorov sell his 45% stake in the Barclays Center if he’s to sell his 80% share of the Nets, as Daniel Kaplan and John Lombardo of SportsBusiness Journal report in a subscription-only piece. A source close to the owner told Kaplan and Lombardo that the requirement will complicate the sale, which Prokhorov reportedly intended to encompass only his majority ownership of the team. The league reasons that the team’s lease at the arena is burdensome and a drain on the club’s finances, as the Barclays Center makes a profit while the team loses money, as Robert Windrem of NetsDaily explains.
- Jerami Grant tumbled in last year’s draft because teams were concerned about his offensive abilities, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, but the 39th overall pick has revamped his shot and turned into a rotation player for the Sixers, as Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers examines.
- The Knicks would gain roster flexibility and Amar’e Stoudemire would have a chance to play for a contender, so a buyout deal would make sense for both parties, argues Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Knicks Notes: Stoudemire, Galloway, Draft
Amar’e Stoudemire isn’t emotional about the possibility that tonight could be his last home game in a Knicks uniform, telling Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, “I haven’t thought about that at all.” (Twitter link). Stoudemire, 32, is considering a buyout and is expected to make a decision during the All-Star break. He is in the last season of a five-year, $99.7MM contract and is making more than $23.4MM this season.
There’s more regarding Stoudemire and the Knicks:
- A buyout would have benefits for the team and for Stoudemire, Begley writes in a separate piece. It would cut the Knicks’ luxury tax bill, which currently stands at $6.4MM, and open a roster spot for a younger player such as Orlando Sanchez or Thanasis Antetokounmpo from the Knicks’ D-League affiliate in Westchester. A buyout would allow Stoudemire to leave the last-place Knicks to play for a contender, with the Mavericks rumored to be the front-runner if he hits the open market. But the Warriors could be in the running because of Stoudemire’s ties to head coach Steve Kerr and assistant Alvin Gentry from their days in Phoenix, reports Frank Isola of The New York Daily News (Twitter link).
- Langston Galloway believes he made the right decision to pass up offers in Europe for a chance to prove himself in the D-League, according to Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. After going undrafted out of St. Joseph’s, Galloway received what he called “significant” offers to play in Italy, Germany and Spain. “But I talked to my agent and my parents and I thought the best decision was to stay and try and develop in the D-League,” Galloway said. “Even though it’s not a prestigious league, I knew I could build on my game every day. Westchester gave me the opportunity.”
- While Knicks fans have been frustrated by all the losing this season, they are in a much better position for the future than the cross-town Nets, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Brooklyn, he notes, will have no cap room this summer and will almost certainly be exchanging its draft pick with the Hawks, who could have the 30th overall choice. The Knicks, tied for first in Hoops Rumors’ latest Reverse Standings, are in the running for the top pick and Duke phenom Jahlil Okafor, and will have cap room to chase Kevin Durant in 2016.
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Crawford, Heat, Hornets
The Hawks have taken the league by storm this season and they can thank the Spurs for giving them the blueprint for success, writes Paul Newberry of the Associated Press. Atlanta, like San Antonio, created a team-first atmosphere in which ball movement is one of the major focuses. Point guard Jeff Teague has bought into the team’s philosophy. “I’m enjoying every minute of it,” said Teague. “We’re so unselfish. We don’t care about glory or accolades. It’s just a joy to play on a team like that.” The Hawks have won 35 out of their last 38 games and own a record of 42-9, which is the best in the entire league.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat are struggling on offense this season but the team continues to pass on adding proven scorers, like Jordan Crawford, to the roster, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Crawford, who averaged 12.2 points per game during his time in the NBA, would give the team a much needed scoring option off the bench, but concerns about the 26-year-old’s maturity have turned Miami away. The Heat are scoring 92.4 point per game this season, which is second worst in the league.
- Although the Heat have lost five out of their last six games and own a record of 21-29, which is good for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, the team remains committed to making the postseason, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. “Everybody can see the potential of our young group, and they’re getting great opportunities to play, for something, for the playoffs, with our veteran core,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. If Miami finds itself outside the playoff picture, the team has motivation to lose more games because its first-round draft pick will go to the Sixers if it doesn’t fall within the top 10. The Heat have the 12th worst record in the league, as our reverse order standings show, making it unlikely that they keep their pick if they remain in this position at the end of the season.
- The Hornets continue to push for a playoff berth and veteran Jason Maxiell has been key to the team’s success during Kemba Walker‘s absence, writes Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer. Maxiell signed with Charlotte for the veteran’s minimum about a month before the start of the season and the 32-year-old has served as a mentor for the 10th youngest team in the league. The Hornets are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-27.