Hornets Notes: Hayward, Williams, Richards, Miller, Bridges
With his time in Charlotte possibly ending soon, Gordon Hayward talked to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype about his three-plus years with the Hornets, which he admits have been “up and down.” Hayward has an expiring $31.5MM contract that makes him an attractive trade chip, and Scotto reported last week that several contenders have already called about his availability.
“There have been moments where it’s been really fun with big-time wins,” said Hayward, who came to Charlotte in a sign-and-trade deal in 2020. “There have been a lot of moments where I was injured my first two years at the beginning of the year. They were unfortunate injuries. Those suck. There’s nothing you can do about that. It’s sports, and it happens.”
Hayward has been healthy this season and has helped the Hornets remain competitive, averaging 14.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists through 17 games. He’s enjoying his role as a veteran leader and discussed several of his young teammates with Scotto. He said Brandon Miller is exhibiting unusual poise as a passer for a rookie, LaMelo Ball has developed a more complete game and Mark Williams has the potential to become an elite defender.
“He’s got a great feel for the game,” Hayward said of Willians. “In Utah, you could see the same thing with Rudy Gobert. Initially, he’s young and kind of like Bambi out there, but you can’t teach that defensive feel where they have good timing and know when to help or when to play cat and mouse. Offensively, he’s got great hands and catches just about everything. He’s still going to get better and has a ways to go, but I think he’s definitely taken a step, and he’s certainly got a bright future.”
There’s more from Charlotte:
- The Hornets plan to bring Nick Richards along slowly in his return from a concussion, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Richards missed six games while he was in the league’s concussion protocol and played just nine minutes in his first game back Saturday night. “(Have to watch) more so just his minutes because most injuries when guys are hurt, they can still do cardio and not lose a great deal of conditioning over a couple weeks,” coach Steve Clifford said. “With him and a concussion, he wasn’t able to do anything. … He’s going to need a few games to just get his conditioning level back.”
- Clifford was impressed by Miller’s determination to keep playing after turning his ankle in Tuesday’s game, Boone adds. “You don’t get a lot of younger players who are like that anymore,” Clifford said. “He went out there in the second half and actually played pretty well. He was limping around a little, but he has more of an old-school type outlook on this game.”
- In a separate story, Boone looks at how Miles Bridges was able to return to an elite level so quickly after his 10-game suspension.
LaMelo Ball Likely Sidelined For Extended Period
NOVEMBER 30: Ball will be reevaluated in one week after an MRI confirmed he suffered a right ankle sprain, according to a release from the team.
NOVEMBER 28: Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball has a severely sprained right ankle and will likely miss extended time, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
Southeast Notes: Ball, Bridges, Avdija, Magic
The Hornets haven’t provided an update on LaMelo Ball‘s ankle injury or given any indication of a timetable for his return, but it sounds like his teammates are preparing to be without him for an extended stretch, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
Ball had to be assisted to the locker room after hurting the ankle Sunday in Orlando. He has been ruled out for Thursday’s game at Brooklyn, but no official details have been given beyond that. Ball wore a walking boot and used a crutch during Wednesday’s practice, according to Boone.
“Yeah it’s tough, no matter how you cut it, it’s tough,” Mark Williams said. “But at the same time that’s what the league is. You’ve got to be able to adjust. You’ve got to be able to cooperate well with different lineups and you’ve just got to find a way. But of course it’s tough. It’s tough not having your guys out there. But guys know they’ve got to step up and you’ve got to figure it out.”
A report Tuesday indicated that Ball avoided an ankle fracture, but he’s still expected to miss significant time. Hornets coach Steve Clifford plans to handle the absence the same way he did when Ball had surgery on the ankle in March, keeping the talented guard close to the team and including him in discussions of game strategy.
“He’ll be at shootaround and he’s just got to continue,” Clifford said. “He’ll do the same stuff that he did last year, the same stuff that he did with his rehab before.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Despite his legal issues, there’s a good chance Miles Bridges will have a long-term future with the Hornets, Boone adds in a mailbag column. Bridges, who’s averaging 19.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists since returning from his 10-game suspension, accepted the team’s $7.9MM qualifying offer and will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
- Wizards forward Deni Avdija has become more consistent after being a hot-and-cold shooter through his first three NBA seasons, notes Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports. Avdija is third on the team in scoring at 12.1 PPG while shooting a career-high 51.9% from the floor and 39.6% from three-point range. The 22-year-old is solidified as part of the future in Washington after signing a four-year extension prior to the season.
- The Magic had several chances to advance to the final eight in the in-season tournament, but nothing went their way Tuesday night, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando could have won East Group C with a Toronto victory over Brooklyn or a Boston win over Chicago by fewer than 22 points. The Magic also had a chance at a wild card if Miami had won at Milwaukee or New York had beaten Charlotte by fewer than four points. Orlando wound up getting eliminated despite a 3-1 record and a +22 point differential.
Injury Notes: Ball, Bouknight, Butler, Murphy, Reddish, Oubre
There’s some good news and bad news on the injury front for the Hornets. The team confirmed (via Twitter) that star guard LaMelo Ball will be unavailable on Tuesday in New York for Charlotte’s final round robin game in the in-season tournament, as he’s been ruled out due to a right ankle strain.
However, guard James Bouknight, who has spent the entire season recovering from knee surgery that he underwent last month, has been cleared to return and will be active for the first time on Tuesday. According to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), Bouknight described himself as “excited (and) anxious,” noting that it has been quite some time since he played.
Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- The Heat still have a chance to claim a spot in the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament with a win over Milwaukee tonight, but if they’re going to do it, they’ll need to do it without Jimmy Butler. He has been ruled out for Tuesday’s contest due to a sprained right ankle, per the team (Twitter link).
- With CJ McCollum reportedly nearing a return for the Pelicans, will Trey Murphy be right behind him? Christian Clark of NOLA.com hears from multiple sources that there’s optimism Murphy could make his season debut next week. Murphy underwent surgery in September to repair a torn meniscus in his knee.
- Cam Reddish, who has missed the Lakers‘ past three games with a groin strain, is “extremely close” to returning, head coach Darvin Ham said on Monday, according to Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group (Twitter link).
- Sixers forward Kelly Oubre won’t play on Wednesday, but head coach Nick Nurse isn’t ruling out the possibility that Oubre could be back in action on Friday, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. Oubre, who hasn’t played since November 10 after being struck by a vehicle, took part in contact drills in practice on Tuesday.
LaMelo Ball’s Status Uncertain After Ankle Injury
Hornets star LaMelo Ball had to be helped off the court after injuring his right ankle in Sunday’s loss at Orlando. The team announced (via Twitter) that Ball strained the ankle and wouldn’t return, but didn’t provide any further update after the game.
As Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer describes, Ball attempted a left-handed layup shortly before halftime and got tangled up with Paolo Banchero. Ball landed awkwardly and fell to the court in pain before hopping toward the locker room with assistance, unable to put much weight on his right foot.
Boone points out that it’s the same ankle that Ball had surgery on in March, which led to a long recovery that prevented him from being cleared for full basketball activities until a few weeks before training camp. Ball has been wearing ankle braces since then for extra support, Boone adds.
Injuries have plagued the talented point guard since Charlotte drafted him in 2020. Boone notes that he hasn’t made it through a full season in any of his four years in the league, and he was limited to 36 games last season because of four ankle injuries.
The injury comes at an especially bad time because Ball has been putting up some of the best numbers of his career, averaging 33.8 PPG over his last five games. According to Boone, he’s posted at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in seven straight contests and he’s one of seven players throughout the NBA who are averaging at least 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal per night.
Already off to a disappointing start at 5-10, the Hornets are in danger of sliding further out of the Eastern Conference play-in race if the injury causes Ball to miss significant time. Ball was hurt on the same night that Terry Rozier returned after missing nine games with a groin strain, and coach Steve Clifford talked about the impact of injuries on the team.
“You can’t worry about who is not there, because at the end of the day, it’s a long season,” he said. “We are just starting. The other part is you better know, though, why you are winning and why you are losing. For us, we’ve done some good things. Our lack of depth has been a major, major problem. People talk about bad starts — it’s actually not our starters. Because of so many injuries, we break the lineup quicker than most teams do and it hasn’t been good for us. … I think our record is not where we hoped it would be, but again you have to know why that happens. If you overreact, you are never going to make the best of situations going forward.”
14 Players Affected By Poison Pill Provision In 2023/24
The term “poison pill” doesn’t actually show up in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, but it’s used colloquially to refer to a provision in the CBA that affects players who recently signed rookie scale contract extensions.
As we explain in our glossary entry, the so-called poison pill provision applies when a player who signed a rookie scale extension is traded before the extension takes effect.
In that scenario, the player’s incoming value for the receiving team for matching purposes is determined by averaging his current-year salary and the salaries in each year of his new extension. His current team, on the other hand, simply treats his current-year salary as the outgoing figure for matching purposes.
For instance, Spurs wing Devin Vassell is earning a $5,887,899 salary in 2023/24, but signed a five-year, $135MM extension that will begin in ’24/25.
Therefore, if San Antonio wanted to trade Vassell this season, his outgoing value for salary-matching purposes would be $5,887,899 (this year’s salary), while his incoming value for the team acquiring him would be $23,481,317 (this year’s salary, plus the $135MM extension, divided by six years).
[RELATED: 2023 NBA Rookie Scale Extension Recap]
Most of the players who signed rookie scale extensions aren’t realistic candidates to be traded anytime soon. But even in the event that a team does want to look into trading one of these recently extended players, the gap between the player’s incoming trade value and outgoing trade value could make it a real challenge to find a deal that works for both sides.
The “poison pill” provision applies to 14 players who signed rookie scale extensions in 2023. Here are those players, along with their outgoing salaries and incoming salaries for trade purposes:
| Player | Team | Outgoing trade value | Incoming trade value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Edwards | MIN | $13,534,817 | $36,573,920 |
| LaMelo Ball | CHA | $10,900,635 | $36,134,889 |
| Tyrese Haliburton | IND | $5,808,435 | $35,286,189 |
| Desmond Bane | MEM | $3,845,083 | $33,512,589 |
| Devin Vassell | SAS | $5,887,899 | $23,481,317 |
| Jaden McDaniels | MIN | $3,901,399 | $22,483,567 |
| Onyeka Okongwu | ATL | $8,109,063 | $14,021,813 |
| Isaiah Stewart | DET | $5,266,713 | $13,053,343 |
| Deni Avdija | WSH | $6,263,188 | $12,252,638 |
| Josh Green | DAL | $4,765,339 | $11,441,335 |
| Cole Anthony | ORL | $5,539,771 | $11,159,943 |
| Aaron Nesmith | IND | $5,634,257 | $9,658,564 |
| Zeke Nnaji | DEN | $4,306,281 | $7,261,256 |
| Payton Pritchard | BOS | $4,037,278 | $6,807,456 |
Once the 2024/25 league year begins next July, the poison pill provision will no longer apply to these players. At that time, the player’s ’24/25 salary would represent both his outgoing and incoming value.
Until then though, the gap between those outgoing and incoming figures will make it tricky for several of these players to be moved, though it affects some more significantly than others.
The small difference between Pritchard’s incoming and outgoing trade figures, for instance, likely wouldn’t be very problematic if the Celtics decide to trade him. But the much larger divide between Bane’s incoming and outgoing numbers means there’s virtually no chance he could be dealt to an over-the-cap team in 2023/24 — given that the Grizzlies have no desire to move Bane, that’ll be a moot point, but it’s still worth noting.
Southeast Notes: Wizards Arena, Kispert, Miller, Ball
The Wizards are looking to make major renovations to their arena and want public funding to pay for the majority of the bill.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Wizards as well as the NHL’s Capitals and WNBA’s Mystics, has asked D.C. for $600MM of public funding to renovate Capital One Arena, Sam Fortier of The Washington Post reports. That’s about 75% of the funds needed to carry out Monumental’s renovation plan. The remaining $200MM would be covered by Monumental, which is owned by chief executive Ted Leonsis.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Wizards wing Corey Kispert has an ankle sprain but it’s not severe, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. While Kispert didn’t play on Friday, he’s not in a walking boot and the goal now is to reduce the swelling and let the ankle heal.
- In his latest mailbag, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer says he doesn’t expect No. 2 pick and Hornets forward Brandon Miller to start in the near future. He notes that Gordon Hayward is an unlikely candidate to come off the bench, given his salary, and he’s the player Miller would have to replace in the lineup. The rookie’s versatility off the bench is also a factor, Boone adds.
- Given how much time he missed last season, LaMelo Ball isn’t surprised he’s off to a slow start offensively. The Hornets point man is shooting 30.5% from the field in four games. “I ain’t hoop in a minute, so it’s just conditioning and getting all that back and everything,” Ball told Boone. “But I feel all right. I feel like stuff is going to come back. I’m just keeping positive.” Ball signed a five-year max extension this summer.
Hornets Notes: Miller, Oubre, Williams, Ball
The Hornets don’t want to ask too much of No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller at the start of his rookie season, and the roster depth at the forward spots puts the club in a good position to avoid putting pressure on him in the early going, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. As Miller notes, with plenty of reliable veterans, he can focus on getting comfortable in his role.
“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence just to come in here and take an open shot on a passed ball from LaMelo Ball or one of our vets out here,” Miller said. “It’s just a confidence thing.”
While Miller may not immediately be a focal point on offense or the player who’s taking on the toughest defensive assignments, he has been a quick study so far in training camp, impressing his Hornets teammates.
“Yeah, I think it’s definitely rare, but his game speaks volumes,” P.J. Washington said. “I’ve been saying this a long time, but he doesn’t do anything (wrong) on the court. I’m very happy the way he’s been working. He’s getting extra shots, he’s doing everything to be successful in this league. And I just can’t wait to see him play.”
Here’s more on the Hornets:
- In his initial comments to reporters as a 76er this week, former Hornets wing Kelly Oubre appeared to take a shot at his old team, as Boone relays. “Honestly, this team wins every year, right?” Oubre said of the Sixers. “The fan base wants them to win more, but I’ve come from teams where they have no hope. Like, zero hope within the whole city. And this is not that at all. … The organization gives its players the platform to do so with everything around us. So, it’s night and day from what I’ve been to, and I’m going to just take advantage of it, soak it all in, and take it day by day.” Oubre spent the past two seasons with the Hornets.
- Second-year big man Mark Williams wasn’t able to play in Summer League or complete his usual offseason workout routine since he spent part of the summer recovering from thumb surgery. Instead, he focused on spending extra time in the weight room, adding roughly 12 pounds without sacrificing speed and lateral movement, Boone writes for The Observer.
- Within the same story, Williams said he’s looking forward to picking the brain of Patrick Ewing, the former star center who has rejoined the Hornets as a coaching consultant. “Obviously, what he can do, what he’s done, and then now to have a legend like that here will be great for me,” Williams said. “He obviously played the five, played against a lot of greats. So, to have him here will be really cool.”
- LaMelo Ball, who signed a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension with the Hornets in July, is embracing his role as a team leader, according to Boone. “(We) see the difference in him from last year and the last couple of years,” veteran guard Terry Rozier said of his teammate.
Southeast Notes: Preview, Kuzma, Poole, Avdija, Magic
David Alridge, Eric Nehm and Josh Robbins of The Athletic recently previewed the Southeast Division. Both Aldridge and Robbins think the Wizards overhauling their front office was the most impactful move a Southeast team made this offseason, while Nehm thought the Hornets showing confidence in LaMelo Ball by giving him a max extension was arguably the biggest move.
As for decisions that might backfire, Aldridge questions the Magic selecting Anthony Black sixth overall in June’s draft. He wonders where another point guard will fit into Orlando’s rotation, especially one with a shaky jump shot on a team in need of floor spacing.
Nehm believes the Hawks might regret trading John Collins, as he’s a firm believer in the power forward’s talent and wonders if he was the right player to move. As for Robbins, he thinks the Heat got worse by not making a major trade while losing Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in free agency.
The three writers also chose breakout candidates for the division, with Aldridge selecting Hornets forward Miles Bridges, Nehm picking Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Robbins going for Magic point guard Markelle Fultz.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- How can Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole become All-Stars in 2023/24? Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network explores that topic, writing that the two Wizards will have to increase their scoring averages to 25-plus points per game, lead the team to a winning record at the All-Star break, and improve their statistics in non-scoring categories.
- There were rumors during the summer that Wizards forward Deni Avdija was dealing with a hip injury. However, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Avdija will be a full participant in training camp. “He looks strong,” Unseld said, according to Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I think he had a tremendous summer.”
- Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel lists five Magic storylines ahead of training camp. Can reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero improve his scoring efficiency and defense? Will the team attempt more shots and become more accurate from three-point range? Those are two of the questions posed by Beede.
Hornets Notes: Jones, Ball, McGowens, Camp Questions
Hornets big man Kai Jones is away from the team indefinitely with no timetable for a return following a series of strange social media posts. Charlotte said he’s away for personal reasons.
However, one of his former teammates doesn’t think there’s anything amiss with Jones, according to Noah Weber of The Smoking Cuban (Twitter video link).
“Kai has always been like that…People just have never seen the real Kai,” said forward Greg Brown, who played college ball with Jones at Texas. “Kai is really just showing the real Kai right now.”
Brown is currently on an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with the Mavericks. He said he reached out to Jones, who says “he’s doing great.”
Here’s more on the Hornets:
- Point guard LaMelo Ball missed 46 games last season due to three left ankle sprains and a broken right ankle, which required surgery. At Monday’s Media Day, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer asked the 22-year-old if he planned to wear ankle braces in 2023/24, and Ball said yes. An All-Star in ’21/22, Ball signed a rookie scale max extension with the Hornets this offseason which will begin in ’24/25.
- According to Boone (Twitter link), second-year wing Bryce McGowens will be a limited participant in training camp, which starts Tuesday, after rolling his ankle last week during a workout. McGowens will earn a guaranteed $1.72MM this season after being promoted to a standard contract from a two-way deal in February. His salaries for ’24/25 and ’25/26 are non-guaranteed.
- In an article for The Charlotte Observer, Boone poses five questions the Hornets need to answer entering training camp, including if Ball can stay healthy, how No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller fits into the equation, and the health status of wing Cody Martin, who only played seven games last season due to a knee injury.