Hornets Rumors

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Hornets, Wizards, Coulibaly, Black

May 12th, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting on Friday that the Hawks have shown interest in the possibility of hiring a player agent to run their front office, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link) confirm that Sportsology, the search firm leading the process, has reached out to “various agents” to gauge their interest. A Saturday report indicated that Trae Young‘s agent Austin Brown is among the candidates to be contacted by Atlanta.

While it remains to be seen whether the Hawks will consider a move involving Young this offseason, they’re projected to be active on the trade market, according to Stein and Fischer, who note that Atlanta is expected to have some cap flexibility and owns a pair of sizable trade exceptions. That makes the team a candidate to take on salary and acquire assets as a facilitator in multi-team deals.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Hornets are among the teams with the most at stake in tonight’s draft lottery, states Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte has a 14% chance to land the top pick and add a franchise-changing talent in Cooper Flagg, but there are several prospects who would be useful additions to the team’s young core. “This is a great draft class,” Miles Bridges said. “They have a talented draft class. It would be really big if we could get No. 1 or even No. 2. But it will be big for us.”
Flagg would also be a monumental addition for the Wizards, who also have a 14% shot at the No. 1 pick and are assured of finishing in the top six. David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of the Athletic look at Washington’s likely selections with each of their potential picks, noting that the choices would get much murkier once Flagg and Dylan Harper are off the board.
Speaking to Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype, Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly discussed his goals this offseason (working on his handle and three-point shot), the most difficult NBA player to defend (De’Aaron Fox, due to his speed), and his plans to play for France in EuroBasket 2025, among other topics.
Injuries to his Magic teammates created opportunities for second-year guard Anthony Black, but he often didn’t shoot well enough to take advantage of them, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Black plans to spend the offseason working on his overall offensive game, including shooting, dribbling, scoring through contact and creating his own shots. “I look forward to helping this team win,” Black said. “This summer is going to be all about figuring out how to do that, how they want me to do that and try to maximize that. I know I can contribute a lot to the team next year.”

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Community Shootaround: Best, Worst Draft Lottery Outcomes

May 11th, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Fans of NBA teams who own a pick (or two) in this year’s lottery will obviously be rooting for their favorite club to get lucky on Monday and claim the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, putting them in position to select Duke phenom Cooper Flagg.

But what about the fans who don’t have a personal rooting interest in Monday’s event? What outcome should they be hoping for? Would it be more interesting for Flagg to become the centerpiece of a rebuilding team that badly needs one, like the Jazz or Wizards? Or would it be more fun to see him join a team with some established talent that only ended up high in the lottery due to injuries, like the Pelicans or Sixers?

Here are all the teams that have a shot at the No. 1 pick, as our breakdown of the lottery odds indicates:

Utah Jazz (14%): The Jazz have made five first-round picks in the past two drafts, but none of those players looks like an obvious franchise cornerstone. They bottomed out this season in the hopes of landing one.
Washington Wizards (14%): If the Wizards ended up with the first overall pick, they’d be adding Flagg to a young core that includes Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, and Bub Carrington.
Charlotte Hornets (14%): The Hornets almost certainly would’ve been a lottery team even if they’d been healthy in 2024/25, but injuries to key players like LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Mark Williams are the main reason they’re this high in the lottery standings.
New Orleans Pelicans (12.5%): Perhaps no team was hit harder by the injury bug this past year than the Pelicans, whose decision on Zion Williamson‘s future (keep or trade) would be all the more interesting if they were able to add Flagg.
Philadelphia 76ers (10.5%): While Joel Embiid‘s health remains a major question mark going forward, no Eastern Conference team would want the Sixers to get the chance to add Flagg to a group that features Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey.
Brooklyn Nets (9%): The Nets reacquired control of their first-round pick from Houston last offseason, anticipating that they’d be in this position. That trade would pay off in a massive way if they get lucky on lottery night.
Toronto Raptors (7.5%): The Raptors have a crowded forward depth chart already, with Brandon Ingram joining Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett. Adding Flagg to the mix would create a pretty unbalanced roster, but they’d absolutely welcome that problem.
San Antonio Spurs (6.7%): Besides their own pick (6.0%), the Spurs also control the Hawks’ first-rounder (0.7%), giving them two outside shots at No. 1. Given that the Spurs won the lottery for Victor Wembanyama just two years ago, it would feel a little unfair for them to luck into Flagg too, but that duo would be very fun to watch together.
Houston Rockets (3.8%): The 52-win Rockets, who control Phoenix’s first-round pick, have no shortage of young talent on their roster already. Winning the lottery would be a case of the rich getting richer, especially considering that Houston also has extra future draft assets that could be used as trade chips for additional upgrades.
Portland Trail Blazers (3.7%): Portland’s young core features plenty of intriguing talent, including Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Shaedon Sharpe, and Scoot Henderson, but they’d love to add one more long-term keeper to that group before they start trying to contend. For what it’s worth, the Hawks moved up from this spot in the lottery standings to No. 1 last year.
Dallas Mavericks (1.8%): Jumping up to No. 1 might be karmic justice for fans in Dallas, who were devastated by this year’s Luka Doncic trade. But would it feel right for general manager Nico Harrison to be rewarded with a new franchise player after making that Doncic deal? Either way, adding Flagg to a roster that features Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving would certainly qualify as intriguing.
Chicago Bulls (1.7%): The Bulls have begun leaning into a rebuild this past year, having traded away Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine. They’ll probably need to tear things down further if they want to have a legitimate shot at a top pick, but you never know.
Sacramento Kings (0.8%): The Kings’ top-12 protected pick will likely be sent to Atlanta at No. 13, but there’s a 0.8% chance of them moving up to No. 1. After a tumultuous year that saw Sacramento fire head coach Mike Brown and GM Monte McNair and trade star point guard De’Aaron Fox, new head of basketball operations Scott Perry would love to begin his tenure by seeing this long shot of less than 1-in-100 come through.

We want to know what you think. Outside of your favorite team, which club would you most like to see win the draft lottery on Monday evening? Which outcome would be a worst-case scenario, in your view?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

And-Ones: Award Announcements, Draft Assets, Fournier, NBC Theme Song

May 4th, 2025 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA will announce the Coach of the Year award winner on Monday evening, the league’s PR department tweets.

Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers), J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons) and Ime Udoka (Rockets) are the three finalists. Atkinson, who led Cleveland to the best record in the East, is considered a heavy favorite to win the award.

The Executive of the Year award will be announced on Tuesday and the Social Justice Champion will be revealed on Wednesday.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Not surprisingly, the Thunder are ranked No. 1 in the league in terms of draft assets by ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Jeremy Woo. They could potentially have three first-rounders in this year’s draft. They have six extra first-rounders in future years, plus swap rights to three years. They also own 17 future second-rounders. The Nets, Jazz, Rockets and Hornets round out the top five.
Evan Fournier, who is currently looking to win a EuroLeague championship with Olympiacos in Greece, spoke about a handful of topics, including his disappointing experience with the Knicks, in an interview with Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (subscription required). Fournier played two-and-a-half seasons in New York and finished last season with the Pistons.
“Roundball Rock” is back. NBC will bring back the sports theme song next season when the network begins its 11-year media rights deal to air NBA games. Music composer and radio and TV personality John Tesh wrote “Roundball Rock,” which became popular during NBC’s coverage of the league from 1990-2002, according to Jenna West of The Athletic.

Southeast Notes: Salaun, Mann, Magic, Heat

April 24th, 2025 at 11:02pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun got thrown into the deep end earlier than expected as a rookie due to the team’s extensive injury list. His first NBA season had highs and lows, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, but ultimately Salaun showed glimpses of what he can be at the next level and displayed what president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson values in building a contender.

“I had a lot of experience during this year,” Salaun said. “That was cool, to be around all of these guys, this organization. And yeah, my role was different so I could have more time than I think [was expected] but that was great. All of this experience is going to translate into everything for next season.”

Salaun ended the year averaging 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 60 outings, including 10 starts.

“I would say he had a season that was probably pretty consistent with being the second-youngest player in the NBA,” Peterson said. “There were some good moments and there were some not-so-good moments. None of that came as a surprise to us. We knew there was going to be a learning curve. You come from the French league and then try to assimilate to this level playing against grown men, it’s hard. It’s really, really hard at this level, and we knew it would take some time.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Hornets guard Tre Mann looked to be a big part of Charlotte’s game plan early in the season, averaging 14.1 points across 24.5 minutes per night in his first 13 games. However, he suffered a season-ending back injury in November, and his future with the team seems to be shrouded in mystery, according to Boone. Mann is eligible to be a restricted free agent this summer.
In order to have a chance against the defending champion Celtics, the Magic will need to get more physical, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes. In another piece, the Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede explains why the Magic feel good about avoiding a sweep against Boston and recognize the areas where they match up favorably. “Defensive intensity is always there for us,” forward Paolo Banchero said. “We know we can hold these guys under their [scoring average]. We know we can guard them. It’s just these little runs that we let them go on is what kills us.”
The Heat‘s draft pick situation was in flux all season, but they ended up with the 20th overall pick via the Jimmy Butler-to-the-Warriors trade while sending their own pick to Oklahoma City as a result of making the playoffs, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. “This time is the recalibration,” Heat vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager Adam Simon said. “You find out where you’re picking. If you’re in the lottery, you go from there. But that’s not the case for us right now. And then we’re waiting for the early entry list to come out and that basically fires off the gun to start the race to the draft.”

Southeast Notes: Magic, Mitchell, Rozier, Hornets

April 21st, 2025 at 6:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic‘s role players need to be way better to challenge Boston in their first-round series, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes.

Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner carried the offense in Orlando’s Game 1 loss, while their teammates had a combined 27 points on 10-of-30 shooting.

“They’ve got a lot on their shoulders as the offensive scorers on the team,” big man Jonathan Isaac said. “We’ve got to do a better job as role players.”

Cole Anthony believes a quicker pace would help the cause.

“We did a great job in the first half pushing the pace and crashing that glass,” he said. “The second half, we kind of got away from it as a team. So, I think if we can maintain that pace for 48 (minutes), we’ll have a chance.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Following their Game 1 loss to top seed Cleveland, the Heat realize they’re not going to win the series on talent. Instead, they’ll have to rely on grit and determination. “We got to be the hardest playing team,” Heat guard Davion Mitchell told Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “They’re a really good and talented team. They can score the ball with the best of them, so we got to be the hardest playing team. That’s what we got to do.”
Terry Rozier is out of the Heat‘s rotation but he still wound up on the injury report for Wednesday’s Game 2. Rozier suffered a left ankle sprain during an optional workout, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.
Brandon Miller is the only Hornets player close to untouchable status, Spotrac contributor Keith Smith opines in his offseason preview. Charlotte should try once again to seek a trade for Mark Williams and even consider moving LaMelo Ball if the right offer comes along, Smith suggests, adding that getting assets, even minor ones, for some of their other regulars to free up time for developmental players should also be a part of the team’s offseason approach.

Heat Become First No. 10 Seed To Win Two Play-In Games

April 18th, 2025 at 9:04pm CST by Luke Adams

For a third straight year, the Heat have earned the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot via the play-in tournament.

This time around, Miami made history by becoming the first No. 10 seed to make it through the play-in tournament since the event’s inception in 2021. After defeating the No. 9 Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday, the Heat registered their second consecutive road play-in win in Atlanta on Friday against the No. 8 Hawks.

The Heat led for most of the night until the Hawks made a fourth-quarter comeback and forced overtime. Trade-deadline acquisition and free-agent-to-be Davion Mitchell helped Miami secure the 123-114 win by knocking down a trio of three-pointers in the extra frame.

Tyler Herro (30 points), Bam Adebayo (17 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks), and Andrew Wiggins (20 points, eight rebounds, eight assists) also played key roles in the victory.

As a result of the win, the Heat have a first-round series on tap with the No. 1 Cavaliers. As the NBA announced this week (via Twitter), that series will get underway in Cleveland on Sunday evening. The Hawks’ season is over.

Friday’s game also had major draft-related implications. Because they made the playoffs, the Heat will no longer control their first-round pick, which will land at No. 15 overall and will be sent to the Thunder. Miami will still receive Golden State’s first-round pick, which will end up at No. 18, 19, or 20, depending on the outcome of a random tiebreaker on Monday.

If they’d missed the playoffs, the Heat would’ve hung onto their own 2025 pick and would’ve owed their unprotected 2026 first-rounder to Oklahoma City and their unprotected 2028 first-rounder to Charlotte. Instead, the Heat will keep their 2026 pick and will owe their lottery-protected 2027 first-rounder to the Hornets. That pick would become unprotected in 2028 if it lands in the top 14 in 2027.

The Spurs, meanwhile, control the Hawks’ first-round pick, which will now be No. 12, 13, or 14 in the lottery standings, depending on the outcome of Friday’s Grizzlies/Mavericks game and a Monday tiebreaker between Atlanta and Sacramento, both of whom finished with 40-42 regular season records.

If Dallas beats Memphis on Friday, that Hawks/Kings tiebreaker would be incredibly meaningful, since it would determine the 12th and 13th spots in the lottery — Sacramento owes its first-round pick to Atlanta if it lands outside the top 12, so the odds of the Kings keeping that pick would increase significantly if they move up to No. 12 in the lottery standings.

If the Grizzlies beat Dallas on Friday, that tiebreaker between Atlanta and Sacramento would be for the 13th and 14th spots in the lottery standings, putting the Hawks in position to claim the Kings’ pick regardless of the tiebreaker outcome (unless it jumps into the top four on lottery night).

And-Ones: Porzingis, Windler, Walker, Awards Ballot

April 17th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

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

April 14th, 2025 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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

April 13th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

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

April 13th, 2025 at 9:28am CST by Rory Maher

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.

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