Hornets Exercise 2026/27 Options On Miller, Salaun
The Hornets have picked up their rookie scale team options on wing Brandon Miller and forward Tidjane Salaun, the team announced today in a press release.
[RELATED: Decisions On 2026/27 Rookie Scale Team Options]
The club’s decision to exercise Miller’s fourth-year option and Salaun’s third-year option ensures that both players are guaranteed to receive their full salaries for the 2026/27 season. Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 draft, will make $15,104,626 in the final year of his rookie contract, while Salaun, 2024’s sixth overall pick, will earn $8,237,880.
Miller had a terrific rookie season for Charlotte in 2023/24, averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in 74 outings (68 starts) and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting behind star big men Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. However, he has been limited to just 29 appearances since then due to health issues, including wrist surgery last season. He’s currently sidelined as a result of a left shoulder subluxation.
Salaun didn’t make the same sort of impact as Miller in his own rookie season in 2024/25, posting an underwhelming shooting line of .330/.283/.713 in 60 games and averaging just 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per contest. The 20-year-old Frenchman has played 13.8 minutes per night off the bench so far this fall, but the Hornets remain confident enough in his longer-term outlook to lock in his $8.2MM salary for next season.
While Miller will become eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2026, Charlotte will have to make one more decision on Salaun’s rookie contract, either exercising or declining his 2027/28 option (worth about $10.45MM) next fall.
LaMelo Ball Fined $35K By NBA
Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has been fined $35K by the NBA for making an obscene gesture during the team’s loss to the Heat in Miami on Tuesday, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
The incident occurred with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s blowout victory. Ball attempted to drive into the lane while being defended by Heat guard Davion Mitchell and was called for a charging foul as he went up for a shot.
After the whistle, the Hornets guard quickly shot a middle finger toward the official who made the foul call (Twitter video link). Ball was hit with a technical foul on top of the charging violation.
The fine is a drop in the bucket for Ball, who is earning a salary of $37,958,760 this season on his maximum-salary contract. Through four games, he’s averaging 26.3 points, 9.5 assists, and 8.3 rebounds per night, along with a 39.5% mark on three-point attempts. All of those figures would be career highs.
NBA Investigators Reportedly Never Cleared Rozier, Still Looking At Beasley
Despite his lawyer’s assertion that the NBA “cleared him two years ago,” Terry Rozier was never technically cleared of wrongdoing after the league looked into suspicious betting activity involving the guard in 2023, a source in the league office tells investigative reporter and podcaster Pablo Torre (Twitter video link).
“Terry’s investigation was never closed, so he was not cleared of anything,” that source said. “Us not being able to find something is not the same as cleared. It is true we did not find a violation of our rules, but we did not close our investigation.”
As Torre outlines, the NBA hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate Rozier following a flurry of activity on his “under” prop bets prior to a March 23, 2023 game when he was a member of the Hornets.
According to Torre, Rozier was interviewed via Zoom and turned over his phone to investigators, who looked for specific search terms. After not finding a “smoking gun,” those investigators ultimately deferred to the feds, while the guard was permitted to continue playing, first for the Hornets and later for the Heat.
Rozier is now facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after being accused of telling his friend – and co-defendant – De’Niro Laster that he would remove himself early from that March 2023 game.
According to a federal indictment, Laster was paid $100K for sharing that information with another defendant, Marves Fairley. The tip was then allegedly shared with others, resulting in the group wagering $259K on those “under” prop bets, which hit after Rozier left the game in the first quarter with a foot injury. Prosecutors allege that winnings were later delivered to and counted at Rozier’s home.
Veteran NBA sharpshooter Malik Beasley has also been investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the NBA for possible illegal betting activity, and Torre hears from sources that both of those investigations are still ongoing.
According to Torre, the NBA previously looked at Beasley for bets he made on other sports. While he was cleared in that case, the league hasn’t yet closed its latest probe, despite so far finding “no hard evidence of Beasley altering his performance or communicating with gamblers to tip his performances,” per a league office source.
Beasley remains unsigned, with news of the investigation having broken just before he officially became a free agent this summer.
Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups Won’t Be Paid While On Leave
3:08 pm: The National Basketball Players Association has put out the following statement in response to the NBA’s decision to withhold Rozier’s salary, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link):
“While we are in agreement with the league that upholding the integrity of the game is of the utmost importance, their decision to place Terry on leave without pay is counter to the presumption of innocence and inconsistent with the terms of our Collective Bargaining Agreement,” an NBPA spokesperson said. “We plan to challenge their decision via the proper channels.”
12:30 pm: Reynolds clarifies (via Twitter) that Rozier’s withheld salary will be placed in an interest-bearing account rather than in escrow.
11:40 am: Heat guard Terry Rozier won’t receive his NBA salary while on leave after being arrested on federal charges related to an illegal betting scheme, reports Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
Confirming Reynolds’ report, ESPN’s Shams Charania says those pay checks will be held in escrow, pending the outcome of the FBI’s cases.
Charania adds that Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups – who was arrested in a separate but related illegal gambling case – also isn’t being paid.
Rozier has a cap hit of roughly $26.6MM this season. As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the veteran guard would have received his first of 24 twice-monthly $1,110,126 pay checks later this week. If he’s eventually cleared and permitted to play in the NBA again, he would receive his full withheld salary, a source tells Reynolds.
Although Rozier isn’t being paid, the NBA also isn’t awarding the Heat any immediate cap or luxury tax relief, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Winderman hears that discussions about the Heat’s cap situation are ongoing, with Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link) confirming that there’s still a scenario in which the team could be granted some “special” relief even without the league voiding Rozier’s contract.
The Heat are currently operating right up against the luxury tax line and don’t have room to sign a 15th man in free agency without going into the tax.
Federal investigators have accused Rozier of providing inside information about his health to a friend – who sold it to bettors – and pulling himself from a March 2023 game (while he was a member of the Hornets) so that several “under” prop bets would hit. He left that game early, citing a foot injury and didn’t play for the rest of the 2022/23 season.
ESPN’s Paula Lavigne and David Purdum reported on Tuesday that Rozier faced an $8,218,211 tax lien from the Internal Revenue Service later in 2023. However, Rozier’s attorney Jim Trusty told ESPN that his client actually owed the IRS a fraction of that amount.
“Terry never owed anyone $8 million,” Trusty said. “He owed $9,000 of the total $8 million in taxes from 2021, and it has been paid. We just need the IRS to help remove the now-defunct lien.”
Trusty made an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday to further defend his client, as Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald detail, transcribing that interview. Trusty didn’t dispute the idea that Rozier told a friend about his health back in March 2023, but described it as “a situation where a friend took information and ran with it. According to Trusty, the then-Hornets guard never shared information about his availability for the purposes of illegal betting.
“I think the prosecution basically knows it, but they liked the idea of having him as a trophy in this case to kind of mirror the bigger case with Chauncey Billups,” Trusty said. “And I hope over time they will start to realize maybe a little bit of buyer’s remorse. They bit off more than they can chew.
“This is an innocent guy who’s getting completely screwed, to use some legal vernacular, in terms of his career. It’s an 11-year vet. He’s played 1,000 games. They’re latching onto a game where the NBA literally cleared him two years ago and trying to suggest that somehow they know better and that they know he was a conspirator, as opposed to just somebody who had a hurt foot.”
Southeast Notes: Young, Magic, Miller, Hornets, Heat
The Hawks opted not to pursue contract extensions with stars Trae Young or Kristaps Porzingis ahead of the 2025/26 season, deciding instead to assess the fit of the roster in the coming months before determining whether to commit long-term to their current core. Although Young admitted late last month that he was a little disappointed about entering training camp without a new deal in place, he told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN he’s not stressing about the situation.
“I think it’s going to be great. I’m not worried about it,” Young said. “As much as I wish it was, it’s not all in my hands and I can’t control everything. I just can only control the present. And I know if we win, everybody eats … I understand what winning can do. If certain things don’t go my way as far as injuries, health and stuff that I can’t control, that may be the man above telling me there’s another plan for me. I’m focused on making sure all my guys, (head coach) Quin (Snyder) included, get taken care of and succeed.”
The Hawks have dealt with some health issues to open the season, but had three starters back in the lineup on Monday, as Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain), Porzingis (flu-like symptoms), and Zaccharie Risacher (right ankle sprain) all returned from brief absences. It wasn’t enough to beat the Bulls though, as Atlanta fell 128-123 to drop to 1-3 in the first week of the season.
Still, Young expressed to Youngmisuk that he’s bullish about the amount of talent on the Hawks’ new-look roster, as well as the opportunity to play alongside a big man like Porzingis.
“I haven’t had a guy like him in the NBA,” Young said. “So I think you’ll be able to really see what different things that I can do with a guy that can pick and pop and spread the defense, spread the five man out to 30 feet. I think you’ll be able to see a lot of different things that I haven’t been able to show in the past, too. Hopefully this year I get a lot more catch-and-shoot shots, something that a lot people don’t think I can do.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Atlanta isn’t the only Southeast team off to a slow start after upgrading its roster this offseason. The Magic lost a third straight game on Monday, prompting Josh Robbins of The Athletic and Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required) to explore whether the club will be able to play the uptempo style of offense it wants to while maintaining its defensive identity. “I think you can do both,” Magic guard Jalen Suggs said. “… A lot of what we’re talking about and trying to put emphasis on is getting out, playing fast, getting good looks, crashing (the offensive boards) … It just takes being very detailed and a concerted effort to then get back on defense after all that and sit down and get stops.”
- Hornets forward Brandon Miller is seeking a second opinion on his injured shoulder, NBA insider Chris Haynes said during an appearance on The Association on NBA TV (Twitter video link). Miller’s injury – a left shoulder subluxation – is one that can be treated either surgically or non-surgically depending on the severity, so he and the Hornets are likely weighing all his options as they consider the best path forward for the former No. 2 overall pick.
- Exploring whether the Heat have a case for compensation after not being informed of an NBA investigation into Terry Rozier before they acquired him from the Hornets in January 2024, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald speaks to ESPN’s Bobby Marks about what Marks calls an “unprecedented situation.” The Hornets haven’t said one way or another whether they knew about the investigation into unusual betting related to Rozier when they made the deal. “It’s a gray area that I think the league is going to have to look long and hard at,” Marks told Chiang. “When players are being investigated and are part of trade discussions, do they have the authority and morality to disclose that information? Because on the other end, legal will say, ‘Well, wait a minute. If we disclose it and the guy is not guilty, then we’ve just harmed the trade.'” Marks added that the Heat are “highly unlikely” to recoup the first-round pick they gave up for Rozier.
Hornets’ Brandon Miller Diagnosed With Shoulder Subluxation
Hornets wing Brandon Miller has been diagnosed with a left shoulder subluxation — a partially dislocated shoulder — the team announced on Monday (via Twitter).
According to the Hornets, Miller will be sidelined for Tuesday’s game in Miami and will be reexamined when the team returns to Charlotte. The Hornets’ next home game is Thursday vs. Orlando — another update could come before that contest.
Miller sustained the shoulder injury in the second quarter of Saturday’s loss in Philadelphia. Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer hears the injury occurred when Miller slipped while trying to fight through a screen.
The 22-year-old also missed Sunday’s game in Washington, which was the second of a back-to-back. Tuesday’s contest will be his second straight absence.
As of a few years ago, the average time missed for in-season shoulder subluxations that did not require surgery was approximately 21 days, according to Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com. We’ll have to wait and see whether or not Miller’s ailment requires surgical intervention.
It’s an unfortunate setback for the former No. 2 overall pick, who was limited to just 27 games last season due a right wrist injury which required surgery. Miller recorded 25 points and seven assists in the Hornets’ season opener.
With Miller out most of the past two games, Kon Knueppel, Collin Sexton and Sion James have seen an uptick in playing time.
Heat Notes: Fontecchio, Rozier, Hornets Trade, Offense
Forward Simone Fontecchio was acquired by the Heat this summer in a sign-and-trade deal that sent Duncan Robinson to Detroit.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra was familiar with Fontecchio’s game, having extensively scouted his play with the Italian national team during the 2023 and 2024 offseasons while serving as an assistant with Team USA, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“Italy was my scout, so I literally watched every single one of his games for two years over there,” said Spoelstra, who has since been promoted to Team USA head coach. “He’s an explosive number-one option for Italy. When you shoulder those kinds of responsibilities and have everyone game-planning against you, yet still are able to have big games, that was really impressive.”
It was unclear how much Fontecchio would play for Miami this season after a disappointing ’24/25 campaign with the Pistons in which he shot just 33.5% from long distance. But he has been in the rotation ahead of young players like Pelle Larsson to this point, Winderman writes, and has gotten off to a strong start through two games, averaging 13.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.5 APG and 1.0 SPG in 21.0 MPG.
“For us, it’s a different option,” Spoelstra said. “We like his competitiveness. He, obviously, can really shoot the ball, but he’s not limited to that. He’s able to do other things like put the ball on the floor, fly off screens or just space off of your better players. We’re just really thankful that we have him with us.”
Here’s more on the Heat:
- In the wake of Terry Rozier‘s arrest — he’s facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after being accused of removing himself from a March 2023 game (when he was a member of the Hornets) so that several “under” prop bets would hit — Winderman argues the NBA should “right a wrong” and either rescind the first-round pick Miami owes Charlotte or give the Heat a compensatory first-rounder. As Winderman explains, the Heat reportedly didn’t know about the incident when they traded for Rozier in January 2024, nor were they aware of any league investigation into the matter. If Miami was granted a compensatory pick, the team would have its full complement of future first-rounders available to trade — the Heat are currently limited by the Stepien rule, Winderman notes.
- In a mailbag for The Sun Sentinel, Winderman says the league could also opt to remove Rozier’s salary from the Heat’s cap sheet while his legal situation plays out. The 31-year-old would still continue to be paid in Winderman’s hypothetical, but not counting against the team’s books would give Miami much more financial flexibility, both now and going forward.
- The Heat have been pleased with their new uptempo offense through two games, but they want to make sure it’s firing on all cylinders for an entire season, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “Playing with a pace like this, you love to see everybody collectively having fun, everybody getting to touch the ball,” Bam Adebayo said. “You can’t really scout plays for us. There are no plays. In the whole first half [Friday against the Grizzlies], I don’t think Spo ran a play. We’re trying to make it last all season. It’s fun when we play like this. It’s fun when we can get up and down, and run with that pace. And obviously, we need to make shots to dictate that. But our thing is just to keep playing this style of basketball, where there’s no hold. We’re swinging, we’re cutting. It’s hard to scout a team when everybody is live. So that’s what we’re trying to get to and that’s starting to be our identity.”
Injury Notes: Miller, Luka, LaVine, Hawks, Barlow
Guard/forward Brandon Miller, who missed most of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, was ruled out for the remainder of Saturday night’s game in Philadelphia due to left shoulder soreness, the Hornets announced (via Twitter).
According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Miller checked out early in the second quarter and “appeared to be in a good amount of pain,” though it wasn’t immediately clear when the injury occurred — or how serious it might be.
Miller, 22, was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 draft and was coming off a solid first game in which he recorded 25 points and seven assists in 31 minutes against Brooklyn.
Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is questionable for Sunday’s matchup at Sacramento due to a left finger sprain, per the team’s injury report (Twitter link via Jovan Buha). According to Buha, Doncic sustained the injury early in Friday’s victory over Minnesota and had his finger wrapped for the rest of the evening. As we relayed this morning, Doncic broke a franchise record by scoring 92 combined points in the Lakers’ first two games. Jaxson Hayes (left knee soreness) is also questionable for Los Angeles, while Zach LaVine is questionable for the Kings due to an illness, tweets Sean Cunningham of NBC Sacramento.
- The Hawks played without their entire starting frontcourt in Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma City, notes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Center Kristaps Porzingis missed his second straight contest with flu-like symptoms, as did 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, who is battling a right ankle sprain. Forward Jalen Johnson missed his first game with his own right ankle sprain.
- Forward Dominick Barlow, who has started the Sixers‘ first two games despite being on a two-way contract, was ruled out for the second half of Saturday’s eventual win over Charlotte after suffering a right elbow laceration, tweets Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Another two-way forward, Jabari Walker, got the starting nod in the second half, as Tony Jones of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).
Southeast Notes: Kalkbrenner, Knueppel, Suggs, McClung, Houstan
The Hornets made a statement about moving into a new era by starting rookies Ryan Kalkbrenner and Kon Knueppel on opening night, writes Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (subscription required). Kalkbrenner, a second-round pick, became the second player in franchise history to record a double-double in his NBA debut, scoring 10 points and collecting 11 rebounds in a victory over Brooklyn.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “I think both of us have a good attitude about it. We’re just going to make the most of the opportunity that we get. Whether it’s starting, coming off the bench, whatever. We were lucky enough to get the experience to start tonight. I think I can say it for Kon, but definitely for myself, that we’re just happy to help the team win.”
Knueppel also had a productive debut with 11 points and five rebounds as Charlotte became the first team since 2019 to post an opening-night win with two first-year players in its starting lineup. Nine Hornets reached double figures in scoring, and Knueppel was happy about the balanced offense.
“Everybody ate,” he said. “Everybody is playing unselfishly. How many guys did we have? Nine? That’s winning basketball. That’s how it’s supposed to be played. So, hopefully we can keep that going.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Jalen Suggs was able to play in the Magic‘s first two games, but the team is being cautious as he bounces back from a left knee cartilage injury that brought an early end to last season, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required). Suggs logged 19 minutes Friday night, with coach Jamahl Mosley using him three to four minutes at a time. “Those short bursts will help him in a lot of ways, just being able to settle himself down as well as when he goes to the bench, he can analyze the game even more,” Mosley said. “It’ll be that for quite some time, but just being able to have him out there is a great thing.” Suggs won’t play Saturday against Chicago on the second night of a back-to-back.
- The Osceola Magic offered a message of thanks to three-time Slam Dunk Contest winner Mac McClung after trading his G League rights to the Windy City Bulls. McClung spent the past two years in Osceola and appeared in two games with the Orlando Magic last season on a two-way contract.
- Mosley gave a positive review to former Orlando forward Caleb Houstan, who recently received a two-way deal from the Hawks, Beede tweets. “I’ve said it time and time again, he’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen and been around,” Mosley stated. “You tell him to stay out of the gym, he comes back to the gym. He’s probably driving those guys crazy over there because it’s all hours of the night that he wants to come back (to the gym).”
Heat Didn’t Know About Terry Rozier Investigation When Trade Took Place
The Heat weren’t aware that Terry Rozier was under suspicion of illegal gambling activity when they acquired him from Charlotte in January 2024, multiple sources tell Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
Rozier was arrested Thursday by the FBI as part of a federal investigation into illegal sports betting, jeopardizing his basketball future and raising plenty of questions about what the move means for the team. Without action from commissioner Adam Silver, Rozier and his expiring $26.6MM salary will remain on Miami’s roster for the rest of the season.
The NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity regarding Rozier 10 months before the trade took place, but the league has a policy of not informing its teams about such matters, according to Jackson and Chiang.
No warning was given to the Heat before the league approved the trade, which sent veteran guard Kyle Lowry and a first-round pick to Charlotte, multiple sources told the authors. Their sources also said Hornets officials didn’t share information about the probe with the Heat, and Mike Cristaldi, Charlotte’s chief communications officer, refused to say whether they were aware of the allegations against Rozier.
The Heat didn’t learn that Rozier was being investigated by the NBA and FBI until it was reported by the Wall Street Journal after the trade was complete, according to the authors.
They describe the team as being in “information gathering mode” and still undecided on whether it will appeal to the league in an effort to get back the draft pick that’s now owned by the Hornets. That pick will convey to Charlotte in 2027 if the Heat reach the playoffs that season. Otherwise, it becomes unprotected in 2028.
Two spokesmen from the league office refused to explain to Jackson and Chiang why the NBA doesn’t inform all its teams when unusual betting activity is detected or whenever it opens an investigation into a player. The authors point out that having that information might have dissuaded Miami from trying to trade for Rozier.
They add that the NBA has declined to say whether Silver would consider voiding Rozier’s contract before the case is decided in federal court. The team currently can’t sign a replacement for Rozier or fill its open roster spot without moving into luxury tax territory. If Rozier were to be expelled from the NBA, the Heat would be about $28MM below the tax threshold, giving them plenty of room to sign two players and fill out their roster.
Jackson and Chiang point out that having the draft pick returned would provide a lot more flexibility in trade talks, giving Miami tradable first-rounders in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032. The team is currently limited to trading no more than two future picks (2030 and 2032).
The NBA office denied a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that the league ordered Rozier to be benched after he left the game that prompted the investigation, the authors add. A league spokesman said Rozier suffered a foot injury that was confirmed by an MRI.