And-Ones: Porzingis, Windler, Walker, Awards Ballot
Assuming he’s healthy, Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis intends to play for Latvia during the EuroBasket tournament this summer, as EuroHoops.net relays.
“Whether I want to play for the national team or not – that’s a silly question,” Porzingis said, according to FIBA. “The past few summers didn’t work out because I was injured. I’ve never refused the national team. When I haven’t played, it’s because of injuries. This summer, I’ll be there. Health is the main thing – then everything else will follow.”
Here are a few more items of interest from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA wing Dylan Windler spent the 2024/25 season with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League. The Australian team announced in a press release that it has re-signed the 28-year-old to a new two-year contract. “It just felt right to come back to Perth, I feel like we’ve got some unfinished business in the playoffs after going out in the semi-finals like we did,” Windler said. “We enjoyed it there and it’s a great situation for me basketball-wise and I look forward to continuing to build on the team that we had last year and see what new faces we can bring in and what we can build together.”
- Veteran NBA guard Kemba Walker, who made four All-Star teams during his time in the league, announced his retirement as a player last July. However, evidently he will return to the hardwood this summer, according to Chris Haynes, who reports (via Twitter) that Walker has reached an agreement to play in the BIG3. Dwight Howard will also be competing in the 3-on-3 league. Walker spent this past season as a player enhancement coach with the Hornets.
- Tim Bontemps of ESPN has an official NBA awards ballot. He recently revealed his choices for all the major 2024/25 awards as well as some of the reasoning behind the selections. Perhaps most interestingly, Bontemps voted for Clippers center Ivica Zubac as Defensive Player of the Year, with Cavaliers forward/center Evan Mobley finishing as his runner-up.
Hornets Notes: Ball, Nurkic, Williams, Peterson, Miller, Bridges, Lee
Once again, point guard LaMelo Ball struggled to stay on the floor this season due to injuries. Hornets head coach Charles Lee believes there’s one way Ball can improve upon his availability, according to Steve Reed of The Associated Press.
“He’s got to get stronger,” Lee said.
Ball, who only suited up in 47 games this season, doesn’t run away from that notion.
“I definitely agree,” Ball said. “Just being in the weight room, and everything they’re saying.”
Ball, who has four years remaining on his maximum-salary rookie extension, underwent surgeries on his right wrist and right ankle but should be ready to go in training camp.
“LaMelo is an incredible competitor, and he knows that in order for us to have the best chance to win and get to where we want to go, he has to be on the floor,” president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said. “We’re providing every resource, and again, he’s putting the time in and taking ownership in it. We’re happy the season is over in that regard and he’s able to ramp up and have a healthy start to the season next year.”
We have more on the Hornets:
- Jusuf Nurkic, who has one year remaining on his contract, wants to stay with the Hornets. “Hopefully, it’s a two-way street and the organization feels the same way, but so far so good,” Nurkic told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “Hopefully, we can build something special for years to come.” Nurkic was acquired from Phoenix in a midseason deal.
- As for Mark Williams, who was headed to the Lakers until he failed their physical, he isn’t sure what plans the franchise has for him. “Obviously, be prepared for whatever,” the big man said, according to Boone. “Obviously, this is where I’ve been since the start of my career. At the same time I’ve learned it’s a business, being traded and then coming back for reasons above me. So, yeah, I think it’s definitely understanding the balance of it being a business and enjoying your teammates and people you’ve made great connections with.”
- Peterson isn’t looking for any quick-fix solutions this offseason to make the team a contender, Boone relays. “I will double down on how we’re not going to expedite anything,” Peterson said. “We’re not going to skip steps. I think there’s plenty of examples that we’ve seen around the league and in other sports that when you try to skip steps and go too fast, that’s when big mistakes end up happening and ones that make it really, really hard to crawl out of that hole. We’re going to be patient, diligent, opportunistic, very strategic in terms of how we build it.”
- A torn ligament in his right wrist short-circuited Brandon Miller‘s sophomore season, Alex Zietlow of the Charlotte Observer writes. The big question surrounding Miller, who only appeared in 27 games, is when will he return? He’s multiple months away from returning to the court but the second pick of the 2023 draft should be a full go for training camp.
- Miles Bridges said that one of Lee’s strengths is his willingness to take input from the players, according to Boone. “Yeah, before he makes big decisions he asks me or Melo or Brandon, asks one of us how we feel about it,” Bridges said. “He loves having our input on stuff. So, yeah, he’s for sure a player’s coach.”
And-Ones: Wong, 82 Games, Powell, Jamaica, More
After being waived by the Hornets prior to the All-Star break, guard Isaiah Wong signed a rest-of-season contract with the Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas in February. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links), Wong has since agreed to extend his relationship with Zalgiris, though his new deal comes with opt-out potential.
As agent Darrell Comer explains to Scotto, Wong’s new three-year contract includes outs for the NBA, EuroLeague, and China. Specifically, it features an opportunity for the 24-year-old to opt out during the summer of 2025 for a two-way contract offer from an NBA team, and Wong is indeed expected to generate two-way interest, Scotto reports.
The 55th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Wong spent his rookie year on a two-way deal with the Pacers, then appeared in 20 games off the bench for Charlotte this season. He averaged 6.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 13.3 minutes per night as a Hornet, with a shooting line of .390/.394/.735.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has previously expressed a desire to reduce the 82-game NBA season and still feels strongly about the issue, having emailed NBA commissioner Adam Silver to make his case before the start of this season, according to Christian Clark of The Athletic. However, even though he believes it’s a logical way to address load management and player participation issues, Kerr is skeptical it will ever happen. “We should be playing fewer games,” he said. “Everyone knows that. But it’s a money issue. How many of the constituents are willing to take less money?”
- Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press takes a closer look at the players who appeared in all 82 regular season games this season, including Spurs point guard Chris Paul, who became the first player to start 82 games in his 20th NBA season (John Stockton previously made 82 starts in his 19th year). As Reynolds notes, Knicks forward Mikal Bridges played just six seconds on Sunday in order to keep his streak of 556 consecutive regular season appearances alive.
- Clippers guard Norman Powell has committed to representing Jamaica during the pre-qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup this summer, according to an announcement from the Basketball Jamaica Association. The games will be played from August 8-10. “I’m super excited to join Team Jamaica,” Powell said in a statement. “Coach (Nick) Turner and I have worked on this for a while, and now it’s a reality. I’m ready to grind and need everyone’s support to make it happen.”
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) has launched his offseason preview series for 2025 by identifying the top front office priorities for the Jazz, Hornets, and Wizards this offseason. While the draft will be crucial for all three clubs, they also have several veteran players to make decisions on, including Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, LaMelo Ball, and Jordan Poole.
Hornets Re-Sign Jaylen Sims
The Hornets have re-signed Jaylen Sims for Sunday’s regular season finale after his 10-day contract expired overnight, per a team press release.
As our tracker shows, the Hornets currently have a full 15-man standard roster. However, they were able to sign Sims using a hardship exception, as the team has multiple players dealing with significant injuries.
Hardship contracts typically cover 10 days, but Charlotte’s season concludes today. He will earn $6,650 for one day of work with his hometown team, and the Hornets will carry an identical cap hit on their books.
A 6’6″ shooting guard, Sims went undrafted out of UNC Wilmington in 2022 and has spent the past three seasons suiting up for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s NBA G League affiliate.
Sims made 49 combined appearances for the Swarm in 2024/25, averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 32.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .442/.375/.837. The 26-year-old also played in five games (18.2 MPG) for the Hornets this month, averaging 6.0 PPG and 2.0 APG on .421/.400/.833 shooting.
Southeast Notes: Magic, Hornets, Heat, Wizards
The Magic clinched home court in all potential play-in games by defeating the Celtics on Wednesday. In the process, they also clinched the Southeast Division title, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes.
Orlando still needs to win a play-in game to clinch an official postseason slot, but it’s still an impressive feat for a team that lost its top three players – Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs – to lengthy injury absences over the course of the season.
“[I’m] extremely proud of this group,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Just being able to endure through all the things — the injuries, the bump back, guys in, guys out — and still come away getting the division and giving yourself a chance at a secured seventh [seed] for the opportunity to get into the playoffs. I’m proud of our group for that, for being as tough as they are, resilient as they are to continue to push through no matter the circumstance.”
As the current No. 7 seed, the Magic will host of the Hawks, Bulls or Heat on Tuesday and will see Boston again if they officially secure seventh place with a play-in win.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets have decisions on multiple key players this offseason, cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes on his Substack. Some key points of reflection include whether Mark Williams is part of their future after the Lakers trade fell through, whether Tre Mann should be tendered his $6.96MM qualifying offer, and whether Miles Bridges should be traded, Gozlan writes.
- The Heat had a chance to obtain home-court advantage in a play-in game, but fell to the Bulls on Wednesday. A missed Tyler Herro three that led to a made Matas Buzelis deep ball put the nail in the coffin for Miami, according to ESPN and the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. Herro had an open path to the basket with 43 seconds left and the Heat down five, but chose to stop at the three-point line rather than taking the easy layup. “What I’ll say is Tyler has a fearlessness that you can’t take for granted,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s hit so many big shots. He wants to take on anything to help you win and he’s had a lot of big plays offensively, especially in fourth quarters, in his time with us. And it’s my job now to also coach him in situational basketball.“
- While unlikely, it’s still possible for the Heat to move out of 10th place in the East, Chiang writes in a separate piece. They’ll continue to play their regulars for the final two games of the season.
- The Wizards‘ plan to develop their young players and boost their lottery odds this season is a sound plan, but Candace Buckner of The Washington Post wonders whether it’s negatively impacting those currently on the roster. Even if players individually develop, Buckner opines that losing so often so early may harm their chances of developing winning habits.
Hornets Notes: Simpson, Wells, Salaün, Flagg, G. Williams
Hornets guard KJ Simpson took to social media (Twitter links) to profusely apologize to Jaylen Wells, who was taken off the court on a stretcher and sustained a broken right wrist after being fouled by Simpson while he was in the air going up for a dunk (YouTube link). Simpson was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul upon review.
“My prayers are with @jaylen_wells, I know we already spoke and are good friends bro but again I just wanted to express not only to J but to his family as well how deeply sorry I am,” Simpson wrote. “I would never purposely do that to anyone. I’m just extremely sorry.
“Especially with the talent J is. I know he’s gonna be special and just from the many times our paths have crossed I’m blessed to know he’s an even better person with an amazing story. I just wanted to again say sorry to J and his family I can’t say it enough.”
The Grizzlies wing accepted Simpson’s apologies, replying (via Twitter), “Much love brother. Thank you.”
Here’s more on the Hornets:
- No. 6 overall pick Tidjane Salaün is wrapping up his first season with Charlotte. While the 19-year-old has struggled with efficiency during his rookie campaign, he has looked much more comfortable — and been more productive — since the start of March, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The French forward says he wants to improve in multiple areas in the offseason. “I would like to continue to develop some winning habits,” Salaün said. “Get faster on defense, keep blocking out the player and on offense, play my game, try to develop my ball-handling, some good passes and keep the game simple. And be the most efficient. That’s it.”
- Winning the draft lottery would give the Hornets the opportunity to select consensus top prospect Cooper Flagg, who just finished his freshman season at Duke. In a column for The Charlotte Observer, Scott Fowler explains why he thinks landing with the Hornets could be a good thing for Flagg, whose family lived in North Carolina while he was attending college. Instead of going to a team with a track record of success, Flagg could become an icon in the area if he’s able to help turn the Hornets into a winner, Fowler notes. Charlotte has the NBA’s longest postseason drought, last making the playoffs in 2016.
- 2024/25 has been a disappointing season for the Hornets, with injuries once again being a major issue. Forward Grant Williams, who tore the ACL in his right knee in November, says he’s making good progress in his recovery, according to Boone. “I’m feeling great, positive,” Williams told Boone. “That’s really the one word that I’ve tried to stay consistent with throughout this whole process. … The team, they are not rushing me. They are just focused on making sure I get better every single day and taking it one day at a time. I’m trying my best just to stay focused on the moment, and attacking every single little thing with the right mentality and come back stronger than I was before.”
Grizzlies’ Jaylen Wells Diagnosed With Broken Wrist After Fall
8:42 pm: Wells has a broken right wrist, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. The Grizzlies rookie is able to move his extremities and will continue to receive medical care.
8:19 pm: Grizzlies rookie forward Jaylen Wells was taken off the court on a stretcher on Tuesday after a hard fall while getting fouled on a dunk late in the first half at Charlotte, according to ESPN.
Wells was fouled from behind on Hornets guard KJ Simpson and landed face first on the court. Upon an official review, Simpson was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul, resulting in an automatic ejection.
Fred Wells, Jaylen’s father, posted on Twitter that “Jaylen is awake and alert. Wanted 2 know the score! Swollen wrist. Face, jaw and back pain. About to get X-ray and CT.”
Wells, drafted with the No. 39 pick, has been one of the league’s most accomplished rookies this season. He quickly emerged as a starter, averaging 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in just over 26.1 minutes while appearing in every game. He’s also one of the Grizzlies’ top perimeter defenders.
If Wells has to miss some time, it could seriously hamper Memphis in the postseason. The Grizzlies are currently tied with three other teams with a 46-32 record and are trying to avoid the play-in tournament. It’s been a tumultuous time as of late for the team, which recently fired head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Vince Williams Jr. figures to absorb a majority of Wells’ minutes if he’s sidelined, with John Konchar also getting a bump in playing time.
Hornets Sign Jaylen Sims To 10-Day Contract
The Hornets have officially signed Jaylen Sims to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer first reported that the team would be signing Sims (Twitter link).
As our tracker shows, the Hornets currently have a full 15-man standard roster. However, they were able to sign Sims using a hardship exception, as the team has multiple players dealing with significant injuries.
A Charlotte native who went undrafted out of UNC Wilmington in 2022, Sims has spent each of the past three seasons with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ NBA G League affiliate. The 6’6″ guard has made 49 combined appearances for the Swarm in 2024/25, averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 32.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .442/.375/.837.
Sims will earn $66,503 over the course of his 10-day contract, with the Hornets carrying an identical cap hit on their books. The 26-year-old will be eligible to play in five games for his hometown team.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Spoelstra, LaMelo, Magic
It’s possible the Heat will control two first-round picks in what’s expected to be a stacked 2025 draft.
According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, Miami will earn Golden State’s 2025 first-rounder should it fall outside the top 10. Given that the Warriors have now climbed into the West’s fifth seed, that’s looking highly likely. The Heat would also retain their own first-rounder if they miss out on the playoffs.
Currently the No. 9 seed in the East with a 34-41 record, Miami is locked into at least a play-in tournament berth. The Heat would land in this year’s draft lottery if they’re eliminated in the play-in tournament. With the 11th-worst record in the NBA as of this writing, Miami would have only an outside chance to land the top overall pick or a top-four overall selection, but could end up with two picks in the top 20.
There’s more from around the Southeast:
- Things have hardly gone to plan for the Heat this season on the whole. Just two years removed from their second NBA Finals appearance with Jimmy Butler, the All-Star swingman demanded a trade out of town. When he left, his team sank in the East standings. Now, head coach Erik Spoelstra is grappling with Miami’s new fate: a likely play-in tournament appearance, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes. “Are we where we had planned to be as an organization?” Spoelstra asked. “No, but there is great competition now league-wide. And when you have something to play for as an organization, it’s fun and it matters still.”
- Hornets guard LaMelo Ball has undergone successful arthroscopic surgeries on his right wrist and right ankle, the team announced today (Twitter link). According to the Hornets, the 6’7″ pro is expected to resume full basketball activities within five or six weeks. Charlotte has long since been eliminated from the postseason. In his 47 healthy bouts this season, Ball logged averages of 25.2 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game.
- The Magic enjoyed a spectacular night shooting from distance during a win over San Antonio on Tuesday, nailing 18 triples. But that’s more the exception than the rule for a club that has been struggling to convert from long range overall in 2024/25, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “It changes our game completely when we have shooting like that and guys just can’t sit in the paint,” star forward Franz Wagner said. Orlando’s 31.4% three-point rate this season ranks dead last among all 30 NBA clubs. The Magic’s 35.3 outside attempts per game put them 23rd in terms of frequency.
Checking In On Starter Criteria, Traded Draft Picks, Mavs’ Two-Ways, More
The months on the calendar between the NBA's in-season trade deadline and the start of the offseason represent the only time of year in which teams aren't permitted to make trades.
Still, while the possibility of Shams Charania dropping shocking trade news in the middle of the night is off the table during this final stretch of the regular season, there's plenty going on around the league that will impact future roster decisions and trade talks.
We're checking in on a few of those subplots today. Let's dive right in...
