CHARLOTTE — With less than one month to go before their regular season opener against Atlanta on Oct. 25, the Charlotte Hornets will begin training camp next Tuesday and play their preseason opener a week later against Miami on Oct. 10.
The team is hoping to improve on a 2022-23 season during which it had the NBA’s fourth-worst record (27-55) and second-worst record in the Eastern Conference.
The Hornets recently added four more players thanks to a new collective bargaining agreement between the players association and the league that allows teams to carry 21 players into training camp.
Charlotte has 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts: LaMelo Ball, James Bouknight, Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward, Kai Jones, Cody Martin, Bryce McGowens, Brandon Miller, Nick Richards, Terry Rozier, Nick Smith Jr., P.J. Washington and Mark Williams.
That list is missing one notable Hornets player.
On Sept. 18, the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to a one-year, $2 million minimum-salary contract with free agent Kelly Oubre Jr., who averaged a career-high 20.3 points per game last season with Charlotte.
While the Hornets were unable to retain Oubre, they were able to re-sign Washington to a three-year, $46.5 million contract Sept. 5.
“He wants to play, and he’ll fit in wherever the coach puts him on the court,” Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said of Washington. “He’s not a player that says, ‘Well, I have to play this position and I have to play so many minutes.’ He’s versatile enough where you could put him at several positions. He just knows how to play. It’s a natural ability.”
Washington took a step forward last year as Charlotte’s top post player, producing career-highs with 15.7 points and two 3-pointers a game with 4.9 rebounds. The former Kentucky Wildcats star told the media he was “never worried” a deal with the Hornets wouldn’t get done.
“For me, I was just trying to control the things I could control, and that’s being in the gym, being a good person and being a good dad, and just focusing on the things I could focus on,” Washington said. “I knew it was going to take a little bit of time. I just stuck with it and stuck to being in the gym.”
Frank Ntilikina and JT Thor are currently the two Hornets with nonguaranteed deals in position to land the 15-man regular-season roster, while Amari Bailey and Leaky Black remain on two-way contracts. R.J. Hunter and the team have reportedly reached a contract agreement for training camp.
James Nnaji — Charlotte’s No. 31 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft — appears to be staying with FC Barcelona for the 2023-24 season instead of joining the Hornets. The 6-foot-11 center has a contract with FC Barcelona until 2027 that would require Nnaji and Charlotte to pay his release clause for him to come to the NBA.
Earlier this month, Charlotte agreed to terms on Exhibit 10 contracts with Tre Scott, Jaylen Sims, Nathan Mensah and Angelo Allegri. Kupchak told reporters just two days before the signings that multiple players would be added and evaluated in training camp for possible roles in Greensboro with the G League’s Swarm.
Meanwhile, Theo Maledon has a qualifying offer for a two-way contract but remains a potential trade candidate for the Hornets as one of the final restricted free agents left on the market.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported earlier this week that the Hornets could be one of several teams interested in trading for Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro. The Jazz, Bulls and Nets are also reportedly interested.
Last season, Herro averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 44% from the field and 37.8% from 3-point range. The 23-year-old also averaged three makes per game from deep last season (11th in the NBA).
With Charlotte being one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league during the 2022-23 campaign, the potential addition of Herro would lower the amount of pressure on Rozier to be a constant deep threat. Rozier, like Hayward, could also be moved given the addition of Miller, the second overall pick in this year’s draft.
The possibility of Herro coming to the Queen City is largely dependent on the Portland Trail Blazers dealing Damian Lillard to Miami.
