Tag: Vernon Carey

Hornets acquire Montrezl Harrell for Ish Smith and Vernon Carey

The former Sixth Man of the Year is headed to Charlotte.

The NBA trade deadline was alive and well on Thursday as teams around the league looked to add, or subtract, their chances at a long run in the postseason.

For the Charlotte Hornets, they bolstered their front court depth by adding Montreal Harrell from the Washington Wizards in return for Ish Smith and Vernon Carey Jr.

The Hornets were known to be in the market for an upgrade at the center position but landed Harrell to add depth to their bench unit. Harrell now reunites with Terry Rozier, who were college teammates at Louisville.

In 46 games with the Wizards this season, Harrell averaged 14.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

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‘This is why we drafted him’: Vernon Carey Jr. dazzles in first start

Carey totaled just eight points all season long before Friday, but easily surpassed that mark in his first career start.

Entering play on Friday night, Charlotte Hornets rookie Vernon Carey Jr. totaled just eight points all season long. By the 7:12 mark of the first quarter, Carey surpassed that total as the second-round pick showed out in his first career start.

Carey finished with a career-high 21 points and six rebounds during a 130-115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on the road. He converted on 9-of-14 shot attempts from the field, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range, in 35 minutes of work.

Hornets head coach James Borrego informed Carey at shootaround on Friday morning that he’d be starting after totaling just 33 minutes in 10 appearances all season long.

Carey stayed ready for the opportunity and took advantage of it.

“This is why we drafted him,” Borrego said. “There is a knack, a feel that you can’t teach and this kid has got it. We have been eager to see it out there, we just haven’t had the opportunity. Tonight, we had that opportunity and he used it. I thought he was great. His feel around the rim, his hands and his feet. His ability to ability to rebound and block a few shots. I thought he was fantastic tonight.”

Charlotte entered the contest battling several injuries with six players missing action. The Hornets turned to Carey and his performance was likely a silver lining in the loss to the Nets. The team battled throughout the contest with Carey helping lead the way.

“I feel like I did pretty well,” Carey said. “I just took what the offense gave me and stayed aggressive and shot the ball with confidence. That was the biggest thing the coaching staff told me. For my first (start), I feel like I really did that.”

The effort by Carey will certainly force the Hornets to take a longer look at his role moving forward. His performance likely ensured he will continue to log heavy minutes in the short term and that could open the door for future opportunities over the rest of the season.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Hornets’ Vernon Carey Jr. drops 28 points on NBA G League assignment

The Hornets rookie produced his fourth double-double performance of the season with the Greensboro Swarm.

Charlotte Hornets rookie Vernon Carey Jr. on Friday continued his strong run on assignment in the NBA G League with another 20-point outing for the Greensboro Swarm.

Carey produced a team-high 28 points and 10 rebounds during the 118-98 loss to the Memphis Hustle at AdventHealth Arena. He shot 11-of-22 from the field, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, in 34 minutes of work for his fourth double-double of the season.

While the 32nd overall pick hit two 3-pointers in the contest, he did the majority of his work in the paint versus the Hustle. He stepped out on a couple of occasions and knocked down a couple of mid-range shots, an indication his game is expanding a bit this season.

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Carey entered the contest seventh in the G League in scoring average and has been among the top rookies to this point. He trails only Paul Reed of the Philadelphia 76ers in scoring this season, while he is tied for sixth in rebounding among first-year players.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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LaMelo Ball reacts to Vernon Carey’s recent play in G League

Among all first-year players, Carey is tied for first in scoring on assignment with the Greensboro Swarm.

Charlotte Hornets center Vernon Carey Jr. has been among the top rookies on assignment in the NBA G League this season and he recently earned some praise from one of his teammates.

Carey, through four games with the Greensboro Swarm, is averaging 23.3 points and 9.5 rebounds on 58.7% shooting from the field. Among all first-year players on assignment, Carey is tied for first in scoring and is seventh in rebounding.

The 32nd overall pick turned in his best game on Feb. 12 when he scored 32 points and 13 rebounds, becoming one of 11 players in the G League this season with a 30-point game.

His play recently earned the approval of fellow rookie, LaMelo Ball.

Charlotte assigned Carey to the G League in order to get additional playing time and have the opportunity to develop this season. With minutes scarce with the Hornets, Carey has taken advantage and has played like one of the best players through the first week of the season.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Vernon Carey Jr. headlines Hornets rookies to play in G League bubble

Hornets second-round pick Vernon Carey Jr. headlines the players set to participate with the Greensboro Swarm in the NBA G League bubble.

Charlotte Hornets second-round pick Vernon Carey Jr. headlines the group of players expected to participate in the 2021 NBA G League season with the Greensboro Swarm at the Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida.

The Swarm are one of 18 teams set to play a 12-to-15 game schedule in a single-site location beginning next month. The league will announce the complete game schedule at a later date but the top eight teams will advance to a single-elimination playoff, set to run in March.

In addition to Carey, Nick Richards, Grant Riller and Nate Darling are among the rookie players set to join the Swarm in the bubble. Richards and Riller were both second-round picks while Darling went undrafted, but, like Riller, is signed to a two-way contract.

Name Pos. Prior/Country Classification
Vernon Carey Jr. C Duke/USA Assignment
Keandre Cook G Missouri State/USA Affiliate
Nate Darling G Delaware/Canada Two-Way
Javin DeLaurier F Duke/USA Affiliate
Ahmed Hill G Virginia Tech/USA Returning Rights
Ray McCallum G Detroit-Mercy/USA Returning Rights
Jalen McDaniels F/C San Diego State/USA Assignment
KJ McDaniels F Clemson/USA Returning Rights
Nick Richards C Kentucky/Jamaica Assignment
Grant Riller G Charleston/USA Two-Way
Jeff Roberson F Vanderbilt/USA Returning Rights
Admiral Schofield F Tennessee/USA Draft
Kobi Simmons G Arizona/USA Returning Rights
Xavier Sneed F Kansas State/USA Affiliate
Kahlil Whitney F Kentucky/USA Affiliate

Players, coaches, team and league staff living on the campus at Disney will be guided by comprehensive league-wide health and safety protocols, which are based on the core principles of social distancing, mask-wearing, hand hygiene and COVID-19 testing.

Teams were expected to arrive in Orlando this week to begin a mandatory quarantine period. Players will be tested daily for the coronavirus and must register three negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart before receiving clearance to play.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Vernon Carey’s massive weight loss yielding results in Hornets’ camp

Carey lost 30 pounds ahead of the NBA draft and is in perhaps the best shape of his career prior to his rookie season.

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Charlotte Hornets second-round pick Vernon Carey Jr. revealed on draft night that he dropped 30 pounds over the extended offseason period. That weight loss is now beginning to pay dividends for the former Duke Blue Devils center in training camp.

Carey, who was the 32nd pick, was listed at 270 pounds while playing at Duke but dropped down to 240 pounds ahead of the draft. He hired a chef once his season ended and made it a focus to learn portion control while staying disciplined on which foods he ate.

With training camp officially underway, Carey said he has noticed a difference in his conditioning so far and believes that has helped him in the early going.

“I’ve seen changes just with the fast pace with this team and me being able to go for longer periods of time without getting as tired as I did at the college level,” Carey said. “That’s something that I’ve definitely seen that’s changed.”

The Hornets have prioritized getting out and running this season on offense. The recent weight loss has helped Carey stay on the floor longer to run each time down the court and he also believes slimming down will help him guard smaller players on defense in pick-and-roll situations.

Carey made a living at Duke in the post given his size and strength but he still believes he will be effective down low despite the weight loss. The Hornets may not need Carey in the post as often this season but he can certainly still play there in different situations.

Teams are continuing preparations ahead of the preseason, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, leaving players with less than a week now to get ready. Carey certainly appears to be accepting that challenge before his first year in the NBA.

Charlotte begins preseason play on Dec. 12 vs. the Toronto Raptors.

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New Charlotte Hornets teammate Cody Zeller roasts LaMelo Ball on Twitter

Even if LaMelo Ball and Cody Zeller have been teammates for barely a week, Zeller has already begun roasting his rookie on Twitter.

Despite being teammates for barely more than a week, Hornets center Cody Zeller has already begun roasting his new teammates on Twitter. Zeller, known to be a jokester at least on social media, was blown away by the age of his incoming rookie teammates and, more specifically, the year they were born.

The team’s first two draftees – LaMelo Ball and Vernon Carey – are each 19 years old heading into their rookie seasons. However, it’s the fact that both were born in 2001 that blew Zeller away. After finding out that information, Zeller took to Twitter to share his amazement (h/t Larry Brown Sports).

Zeller will actually be one of the older players on the team after the Hornets officially parted ways with Nicolas Batum on Sunday. In fact, based on the current roster, Zeller is the second-most experienced player behind fellow Indiana-born teammate Gordon Hayward. If this is any indication, the rookies might be in for some good-natured ribbing.

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Hornets draftee Vernon Carey calls LaMelo Ball ‘top playmaker’ in 2020 NBA Draft

Fellow Hornets draftee Vernon Carey had high praise for LaMelo Ball, calling him one of the top playmakers in the 2020 NBA Draft.

On top of landing LaMelo Ball with the No. 3 pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets also selected Duke center Vernon Carey with the 32nd pick. The big man has a fascinating story, having lost 30 pounds since the end of the college basketball season after hiring a personal chef in the lead-up to the draft.

While speaking with media following his selection on Wednesday, Carey had high praise for his new teammate in Ball.

“I feel like he’s one of, if not the top, playmaker in this draft,” he said. “With his IQ level and the way he sees the floor and everything, it’ll make it a lot easier on my game, for sure.”

Carey has plenty of experience playing alongside a top point guard as Tre Jones anchored the point guard spot in the Duke starting lineup. Jones was named ACC Player of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a Third Team All-American last year.

All of that is to say Carey’s praise of Ball comes from a place of experience with a top point guard, experience he intends on leaning upon when sharing the court with Ball next season.

“I feel like it’s kind of similar to what I had with Tre (Jones) this past year just being able to run certain situations like pick and pops and pick and rolls, just playing basketball, really,” Carey said. “I feel like he’s the type of player that you can just play basketball with. I’m just excited to get out there, really.”

With a hole at the center position long-term, Carey could help shore up the Pelicans’ young core moving forward. Whatever the role may be, Carey is ready to do it with open ears.

“I can’t speak for anybody else that got drafted tonight but just for me personally,” Carey said, “I know I’m going to follow Miles and PJ and those type of guys and soak up all the knowledge I can because they already went through it. For me, personally, I’m definitely going to be all ears.

“Whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do it. For myself personally, playing defense, being a big energy guy, getting rebounds, doing whatever the team needs me to do. That’s what I’m here for.”

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2020 NBA Draft Big Board 5.0: Final update ranking Top 100 prospects

After numerous delays and postponements, front offices and draftniks have had more time to analyze the 2020 NBA draft than any previous year.

After numerous delays and postponements, front offices and draftniks have had more time to analyze the 2020 NBA draft than any previous year.

Originally scheduled for June, the ongoing pandemic pushed the big night back by five months. While this may cause some teams to overthink their decisions, it gave analysts plenty of time to study all of the top prospects eligible in this class.

This year, players had to participate in a mostly virtual pre-draft process. On the bright side, this meant that teams had the opportunity to interview more candidates than ever before.

However, the number of in-person visits were incredibly limited due to the restrictive parameters set by the league. Similarly, the NBA draft combine was conducted without the typical scrimmages where players can separate themselves from the others with impressive on-court performances.

Overall, the players that stood out in this pre-draft process had a different path to recognition than any other year. College basketball players did not have the opportunity to showcase themselves during March Madness. The nation’s top seniors did not get to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

As such, executives will rely mostly on the existing game footage as well as the intel they gathered during their conversations with the prospects. We also depended on similar strategies, getting access to one-on-one interviews with more than three dozen prospects and exchanging our thoughts with various scouts across the league.

This helped us put together our final big board, looking at the Top 100 players ranked on their potential to make a difference for teams in the NBA.

Relevant statistics were pulled from Synergy Sports Tech, Bart-Torvik, KenPom, Open Look Analytics and RealGM. Note that the age listed for each player references how old they will be on the night of the draft.

Heat conducted private workout with Vernon Carey Jr. ahead of draft

The projected second-round pick averaged 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game last season.

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Ahead of the NBA draft, the Miami Heat reportedly conducted a private workout with former Duke Blue Devils center Vernon Carey Jr. last week, according to Barry Jackson the Miami Herald.

The Heat have prioritized working out big men during the pre-draft process and have used a few of their allotted 10 workouts on power forwards and centers. The organization also interviewed Carey the day before their workout with him.

Miami has been quiet, at least publicly, in terms of which prospects they have worked out but they certainly have a need for a big man behind Bam Adebayo. The team only has one draft pick, No. 20, but they could look to acquire an additional selection to target Carey if they like him.

The projected second-round pick averaged 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game last season, earning National Freshman of the Year honors. He was mostly a post-up threat but he also showed decent touch from beyond the arc, shooting 8-for-21 (38.1%) from 3-point range.

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