Tag: Charlotte Hornets

Former MSU basketball F Malik Hall to reportedly play for Charlotte Hornets’ NBA summer league team

Malik Hall to play for Charlotte Hornets’ NBA summer league team

Earlier on Sunday, it was reported by Jon Chepkevich that former Michigan State basketball guard Tyson Walker will play for the Phoenix Suns’ NBA summer league team. Shortly after, Chepkevich also reported that another MSU player has found his next home.

Chepkevich reported that MSU forward Malik Hall will play for the Charlotte Hornets’ summer league team.

Summer league will take place from July 8 through 10 in Las Vegas.

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Duke commit Cooper Flagg named to USA Basketball select team ahead of Paris Olympics

Duke commit Cooper Flagg is among the 15 players named to the USA Basketball select team ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Duke Blue Devils commit Cooper Flagg is among the 15 players named to the USA Basketball select team that will train with the senior national team ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Flagg, the consensus No. 1 recruit in the class of 2024, is the lone collegiate player on the roster, which will be led by Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley. He is the first collegian to participate with the select team since Doug McDermott and Marcus Smart in 2013.

The select team will practice and scrimmage daily against the senior roster July 6-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team boasts 12 current players in the NBA or G League and 10 players with USA Basketball experience at the junior and senior levels.

USA Basketball previously announced the 12-man roster for the 2024 Olympic Games with NBA All-Stars LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker headlining the group.

The U.S. qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games by finishing as one of the top two teams in the Americas region of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, despite failing to medal. The group, led by Anthony Edwards, Austin Reaves and Mikal Bridges, finished fourth.

They were selected to compete in Group C. The Americans, who will be coached by Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, Tyronn Lue and Mark Few, will open on July 28 against Serbia and face South Sudan on July 31 and a team still to earn a berth on Aug. 3.

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Hypothetical NBA trade has former Alabama stars joining forces

Collin Sexton and Brandon Miller on the same team? See why some believe it’s a possibility.

The NBA has a handful of talented stars who were once standouts for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Whether it be lottery picks or second-round selections that worked their way onto the court, the league is starting to feel the Tide’s presence.

Collin Sexton, of the Utah Jazz, and Brandon Miller, of the Charlotte Hornets, were two fan favorites in Tuscaloosa during their collegiate days. Both being one-and-done players, they had an immense impact on the program in their respective single seasons.

Sexton played under former head coach Avery Johnson, while Miller was one of the biggest recruiting victories for current head coach Nate Oats. The two NBA standouts have never been teammates, but they are one trade away from changing that.

Jack Simone of Swarm and Sting recently put together a few trades the Hornets should explore as the 2024 NBA draft approaches.

With the No. 6 overall pick, Charlotte may look to leverage that as a trade piece to land a player with experience to guide the young, but talented, franchise to success.

Simone proposes the Hornets send the No. 6 pick, a protected future first-round pick and Davis Bertans in exchange for Sexton and the No. 10 overall pick from the Jazz.

“Throughout the course of his career, Sexton has made a name for himself as a hard-nosed player who always gives his all when he’s on the court. The Hornets could use a guy like that.

“He’s a bit undersized, but with the constant energy he brings to the court, he could help Charles Lee transform how the Hornets play on that end of the floor.”

There’s no indication that this trade is impending, but it is interesting to consider it as a possibility, especially as experts believe that numerous trades are inevitable as the draft approaches.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow former Alabama basketball players in the NBA as the 2024 offseason begins.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Report: Nets had talks with Hornets about Ben Simmons-Miles Bridges trade

Per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, the Brooklyn Nets talked with the Charlotte Hornets about a trade swapping Ben Simmons for Miles Bridges.

The Brooklyn Nets are one of the teams in the NBA that have been looking for as much talent as they can get after the end of the Big 3 era. As a matter of fact, it looks like Brooklyn was reportedly having conversations about a trade regarding the most expensive player on its roster.

“Charlotte (Hornets), sources said, held conversations with Brooklyn about swapping (Miles) Bridges in a package that would have brought Ben Simmons to the Hornets in February,” Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports wrote in his latest column regarding the current state of the free-agency market. Fischer was speaking to sources telling him that Bridges could be looking for a big contract this summer, but the Hornets could be willing to let him go elsewhere.

“And while Bridges could command upward of $30 million, sources said, the Hornets are also believed to be open to parting with Bridges by way of sign-and-trade, should a productive opportunity present itself,” Fischer wrote. Brooklyn does not have much cap space this summer, but they appear to be focused on using what they have left to re-sign Nic Claxton and fill out the rest of the roster with minimum contracts from there.

That isn’t to say that the Nets wouldn’t be interested in Bridges at the moment as they were reportedly in conversations for his services in the first place. There is no reporting on this, but there is a possibility that Brooklyn could be willing to do a sign-and-trade with Charlotte assuming that they are still willing to take on the last year of Simmons’ deal that is worth $40.3 million.

While Bridges, 26, is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 21.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 46.2% from the field and 34.9% from three-point land, acquiring him has more implications to at hand than just his ability on the court.

Bridges served a 30-game suspension without pay as a result of a domestic violence incident involving the mother of his children last season and missed the first 10 games of the season. Social media was rife with people who did not approve of the NBA giving Bridges just a 30-game suspension and plenty of fans made their feelings known.

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Report: Grizzlies, Hornets seeking trade with Rockets for No. 3 pick; Marcus Smart of interest

Memphis and Charlotte are interested in trading for the No. 3 draft pick, Kelly Iko reports, with veteran Marcus Smart of some interest to Houston.

Memphis and Charlotte are the teams most aggressively calling the Houston Rockets in pursuit of a trade for the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NBA draft, The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reports.

The Grizzlies and Hornets are currently slotted at No. 9 and No. 6 in the first-round order, so a trade could potentially include that pick and some form of further sweetener in exchange for the No. 3.

Iko writes:

The Grizzlies and Hornets, in particular, have been rather aggressive in their hopes of acquiring the No. 3 pick, sources said.

Both general manager Rafael Stone and head coach Ime Udoka are fans of veteran guard Marcus Smart, league sources said. Is there a possibility Memphis could entice Houston by offering Smart in addition to the No. 9 pick and future assets, to move up and grab [Donovan] Clingan if he isn’t already gone? Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, who has fans within the Rockets organization, could be available if Houston were to move back.

Smart was a starter for Udoka’s 2021-22 Celtics, when they reached the 2022 NBA Finals and won the Eastern Conference. He won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award for that season.

Now 30 years old, Smart should have at least a few prime playing years left. Because of that, Memphis isn’t likely to treat him as a throw-in to a potential deal. Thus, whether such a trade is possible could come down to what names are on the board at the No. 3 slot.

For example, Iko writes that Clingan — a strong, rim-protecting center out of Connecticut — could make sense for the Grizzlies. However, if Clingan is off the board, it’s unclear whether a proposal from Memphis would include an asset as desirable as Smart.

The first round takes place next Wednesday night, June 26.

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Dalton Knecht projected top 10 in latest USA TODAY NBA mock draft

Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht is projected as a top 10 pick in the latest USA TODAY NBA mock draft.

Former Tennessee basketball player Dalton Knecht is going through the NBA draft process after completing his only season with the Vols.

USA TODAY released an updated NBA mock draft on Tuesday. The former Vol is projected as the No. 6 overall pick by Charlotte.

Knecht transferred to Tennessee from Northern Colorado ahead of the 2023-24 basketball campaign. In his only season with eligibility at Tennessee, he averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.

The NBA draft will be held June 26-27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

USA TODAY’s entire first-round NBA mock draft can be viewed here.

PHOTOS: A look at Dalton Knecht through the years

Junfu Han/USA TODAY Network

Hornets draftee James Nnaji to miss 4 months after back surgery

Hornets draftee James Nnaji underwent successful lumbar spine surgery after playing this past season with Barcelona.

Charlotte Hornets draftee James Nnaji underwent successful lumbar spine surgery this week after playing with Barcelona in the Liga ACB and EuroLeague.

Nnaji, the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA draft, is expected to miss at least four months, Barcelona announced. He averaged 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds on 68.7% shooting from the field in 46 appearances this past season across all league competitions.

The 19-year-old missed time this season due to various injuries, including his lower back. He also played a reduced role with Barcelona with established players ahead of him in the frontcourt, like Jan Veslý and Willy Hernangómez.

Nnaji, born in Nigeria, got a late start in basketball and only began playing in 2017. He joined Ratgeber Basketball Academy in Hungary and played one season with Pecsi in the top league in the country before signing with Barcelona in August 2020.

The 7-footer played three seasons with Barcelona at the junior and senior levels before the Hornets drafted him last year. He joined the team for summer league, averaging 3.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and two blocks in six appearances between Las Vegas and Sacramento.

Nnaji was likely a candidate to join the Hornets again this summer before his latest setback. He may elect to stay with Barcelona for another year and complete his rehabilitation with the team.

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LaMelo Ball buys Cam Newton’s Charlotte condo, rides go-kart on roof

When you buy Cam Newton’s condo for $2.47 million, you better be able to take a go-kart to the roof.

Big ballers do big baller things, and LaMelo Ball is a big baller.

The Charlotte Hornets star just closed in on a pretty high-profile piece of property, purchasing a 3,300-square-foot condo in Uptown’s exclusive Trust building for $2.47 million. But it’s not only the space, the apartment and the price that makes this an interesting purchase—it’s also the previous owner.

Mecklenburg County property records show that Ball’s MB1 Enterprise completed the transaction with Agape Property Management Group LLC, headed by Cecil Newton. And yes, that’s the very Cecil Newton you probably think it is.

Ball’s new(ish) digs were previously inhabited by Carolina Panthers great Cam Newton. Newton purchased the property for $2.1 million back in 2015, the same year he signed a five-year, $103.8 million extension and dabbed his way to a near-unanimous Most Valuable Player award.

According to the Charlotte Business Journal, Ball began leasing the apartment in 2020 with a “handshake agreement” that he’d eventually buy it. Well, he did, and it seems like he’s getting his money’s worth already . . .

Oh, and that’s not the last fun tidbit about the property—as some guy named Michael Jordan also lived in that same building.

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Vasilije Micic: ‘Every game was like a final to prove myself’

After attempting to make the leap to the NBA for several seasons, Vasilije Micic finally achieved his dream at the ripe age of 30, recently completing his rookie campaign in the league. Micic started his year with the Oklahoma City Thunder and was …

After attempting to make the leap to the NBA for several seasons, Vasilije Micic finally achieved his dream at the ripe age of 30, recently completing his rookie campaign in the league. Micic started his year with the Oklahoma City Thunder and was traded midseason to the Charlotte Hornets.

The two-time Euroleague champion and former MVP sat down with HoopsHype, on behalf of adidas Eurocamp, to give insight into his transition from playing overseas, to being traded, his expectations for the future, and more.

Brandon Miller shares hilarious story of Michael Jordan talking trash then air balling a free throw

Brandon Miller recalls Michael Jordan hilariously air balling a free throw the first time they met

Despite only spending one season with the Alabama Crimson Tide before heading off to the NBA, [autotag]Brandon Miller[/autotag] will be in the conversation of the all-time greats in Tuscaloosa. Miller was the best college basketball player in the country during the 2022-23 season as he guided the Crimson Tide to a 31-6 record with an SEC regular season and tournament title and earned the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness.

Miller averaged 18.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 2.1 apg with Alabama before being selected No. 2 overall by Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets. If it was any other year, Miller would almost certainly have been the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, but unfortunately, all-time prospect Victor Wembanyama was also in the 2023 draft class.

The Hornets were never going to be able to pass on Miller’s talent, but Jordan was a huge advocate of brining in the 6’7 small forward. Miller appeared on the Knuckleheads podcast this week and shared a hilarious story of the first time het got to meet Jordan in person. Miller laughs at the memory saying, “He was talking cash money to me, then I seen him airball the free throw, and it was just up from there. You know, Jordan missing a free throw is crazy.”

Miller was sensational in his rookie season with the Hornets as he was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month three separate times. He was also named a First-team All-Rookie earlier in the week.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama basketball news as the 2024 offseason progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.