ROSTER CRUNCH Coming? | Hornets SIGN Dinwiddie, Rookies | Summer League HYPE GROWS

ROSTER CRUNCH Coming? | Hornets SIGN Dinwiddie, Rookies | Summer League HYPE GROWS

We’re back. After the holiday weekend, the Hornets probably signed a few more guards. They did sign all their rookies, which means there’s not a lot of roster spots left. They have to do more work. What do we expect them to do? That’s all today on a busy Locked on Hornets. You are Locked on Hornets, your daily Charlotte Hornets podcast, part of the Locked On. your team every day. In a minute, cuz we live. It’s Locked on Hornets, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Thanks for making us your first listen. We’re free and available anywhere you get your podcast. And that does include YouTube, where if you’re watching us, we got the Mean Girls Memo. On Mondays, we wear pink. Doug Branson, every hornetsboxcore.com. You can uh check him out on Blue Sky as well. Doug Branson, but really go to every hornetsboxcore.com and also go to locked onn with Matt Moore and Hayes. I’m Walker Male. Listen to me on WFNZ every weekday from 12 to 300 p.m. You know, I felt bad taking a couple of days off, even if it was only one show off. But the reason I felt bad was because after the Hornets signed Spencer Denwitty, people were asking for an emergency podcast. Emergency pod. You know, I I came Well, here’s the thing. I I was so excited after we dropped the uh it was the Colin Ston emergency pod and then what was the other emergency podcast that we did? There was there was one more. Yes, that’s right. It was the Trey Man one. And so when I said, you know, we probably won’t do a Trey Man emergency. Psych, we’re on in five. Get in you sickos. Then Spencer Denwitty comes across the timeline and Senor Fantastico, who’s been a huge supporter for a while, shout out to him. They’re all asking emergency pod and I felt bad because I’m on a plane at that time. I’m literally on an airplane when I see that Spencer Denwitty news come across the timeline. Guys, I can’t do it. But we’re back. We’re here to recap all of it and we got quite a bit to discuss. Yeah, with all due respect to Spencer Denwitty. It’s And and honestly, people are so excited. It would have done numbers. Uh but I had hamburgers and hot dogs to grill, folks. Sorry. 100%. Get on the dad life. Yes, Doug needed to be a dad and that included grilling. I I we we kind of capped it at the Treyman line. If it’s above Trey Man, it’s emergency podworthy. If it’s below Trey Man, it’s probably not. It’s probably not. It serves as the Mendoza line for us here. I’m Walker Male. Listen to me. WFNZ every weekday from 12 to 3 p.m. That’s a good one. Uh guard Spencer Denwitty, he signs he signs on, I believe, July 2nd. I believe it was Wednesday um of last week when he signs that one-year deal with the Hornets, averaging over 14 points per game, over six assists as a starter for the Mavs just a year ago. So, another veteran guard and it was crazy because we just signed Trey Man, which we thought, okay, now that’s dicey with all the guards. They still technically have Josh Kogi on the roster. They just traded for Colin Ston. They drafted three wing/guards in this last selection process and they only drafted one center. So now that’s still a real position of need. The roster spots are a big issue because Doug, they they signed all of their rookies and I love it. I’m glad that none of them got a two-way contract. I’m thrilled about that. I wanted Seion James. It looked like he might have been the favorite to get one of those two-way contracts, but he doesn’t and I’m very happy about that. I just think he can contribute. I at least want to give him that opportunity right away. But he signed the second round max. So, the Hornets signed him for a 4-year 9.97 almost 10 million four-year 9.97 million deal according to Michael Scott who had it first. The first two years are 4.7 million guaranteed. The max allowed under the second round exception and then there’s a third-year trigger date and a fourthyear team option. So, he signs it and then Caulk Briner, it’s the same exact deal. Same one. Okay, max for the second round exception. We got 19 people on the roster, Doug. 21 if you include KJ Simpson and Damen Ba who are both on two-way deals. Pat Conetan trade that just became official. So, we’re more than maxed out. To say we’re bursting at the seams isn’t right. There is an opening. Okay. The the seam is burst if you will with how many guys we have on the roster. Boy, busy week for the Hornets. Exciting week, but they have more work to do. If I were Seon or Ryan, I would definitely walk around and say I signed a max contract with the Charlotte Hornets. Have to don’t no need for clarification. Just know there was a maximum amount that they could sign me to and they did it, folks. I signed a max contract. Go ahead and get that out of the way. Congrats to all of those rookies and congrats to Jeff Peterson and the Schlotkin for trusting one another because these picks in Seion and Ryan were high enough in the second round where typically those players get get guaranteed money. So, this is not a shock that both of them were signed to these deals. Uh it wasn’t necessarily a given. We’ve seen u you know particular instances where guys were drafted in the you know top five of the second round and not given guaranteed deals and and ended up on two ways but they obviously felt Jeff Peterson felt confident enough to draft these two players and give them contracts and then the Schlotkin felt good enough about Jeff Peterson and what he’s done so far to say hey we’re going to cut checks for these two players over the next three or four seasons we’re committing millions of dollars to these guys that now if you’re going to do that you might as well do that on players that have played you know multiple years of college basketball or where you have a little bit more certainty about what you’re going to get but right now the Hornets have the 14th highest payroll in the NBA. I mean that’s not nothing when you compare it to some of the payrolls that they’ve had in the past. Are they paying top dollar? Are they paying the tax? No. I don’t think they’re going to pay the tax until they get into the playoffs and prove that this core can do that. Uh but also it’s clear that the Schlotkin is willing to invest in in what this uh what this organization wants to do, which is obviously make the playoffs to collect all the guards is what they want to do. And that’s fine, too. By the way, have you been paying attention? like big men are important and double big lineups, they were a conversation I feel like going into the playoffs, but then as the playoffs evolved, sanity reigned again and and bigs were again deemphasized in favor of bigger guards and bigger wings. You know, it’s not like the Hornets went out and signed a bunch of six six foot 6’1 6’2 guards. I mean, a lot of these guys can play multiple positions. You can classify them them as a guard. you can kind of classify them as smaller wings. So, like, you know, I I think a lot of this is in line with what we’re seeing around the league. Oh, well, and it’s totally fine, by the way. Like, it’s it’s weird. Certainly, I they they’ve signed all of them. It’s crazy how many guards that they’ve signed that that’s their primary position, but I I told you I like leaning into a strength. And, you know, perhaps they’re going even further than I thought they would bringing in a Spencer Denwy after all of it. And that that was the real Okay. Wow. We’re just we’re going all the way all in. But we expect them to make some maneuvers here where Ryan Caulk Brener, Musadate, Mason Plumbley, they’re your only centers on the team. They got to get another one for you to feel real good. If they don’t, then you can construct your roster that way. You can’t feel great about the five rotation, but there still is that opportunity. And either way, they got to cut down the roster. They got to cut it down. I haven’t felt great about the five rotation uh since my baby was born. Like I just like it’s been it’s been many many years since I felt super confident about that position. So that that hasn’t changed. Well, fair enough. It’s gotten worse though, right? Like it’s so as much as I love Musa. I mean, so it I’m ready to let the moose loose. I think it’s gotten more physical. I I think it’s gotten more physical than it’s that it’s been in previous years. Especially if you’re Yeah. if you’re starting him and then what what Kbrinter he’s the real wild card in this if he just comes in and is an immediately an an impactful center because he was defensive player of the year four times not three times in in his conference but four times is just ridiculous I think Patrick Ewing is the only other guy to do that if I’m not mistaken so good company and 23 years old so he’s the real wild card in all of it um final thoughts on some centers before we do some roster breakdown stuff what you’ve lost at the center position is like upside hope. This idea that that position could be part of your core four or whatever. That’s what you lost. But what you’ve what I think you’ve gained is are players that are going to fight a little bit harder down in the paint. And Mason, you know, for for all of his faults is a physical player. Like he’s not afraid to go and, you know, hit somebody occasionally and and and dust it up. So, you know, I think you’re you lost a little bit of that when you shipped Yousef Nerkach out. he had a little bit of that edge. I think Mason does too. So, yeah, I mean, you’re obviously losing some upside in terms of skill, but also I think if you look at how the contracts of the guards that they brought in are structured, Pat Coneton expiring deal, Spencer Denwitty only on a one-year deal. on and on down the line. You look at this team and you go, “Look, even if they release a few players, but but generally stay constructed how they’re constructed and they start to win. You get to the trade deadline, there are going to be plenty of opportunities to say, “Okay, now is Brooklyn a little bit more willing to let go of Nick Claxton? Now, is has Jared Allen fallen out of favor in Cleveland or or needing more minutes?” And maybe they’re willing to to do a little bit more on that deal. when you get to the trade deadline. I I just I want to prepare because I think people are are they’ve seen all of these moves and they’re excited. They’re going, “What’s next for the center position?” And I just think the Hornets can take they they have the luxury of being able to take their time a little bit, see what what happens in the regular season, and then make those deals later. Okay, let’s talk about the roster construction coming up next on the Locked On Hornets podcast. Beast everywhere. They got to cut it down. They have to. So, who are the guys that could be on the outside looking in? How would they get rid of some of those guys that would be on the outside looking in? We’re we’re going to try to figure out the puzzle piece that Jeff Peterson has laid in front of us coming up next. Loo, this episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Summer sports are in full swing. And whether you’re all about baseball under the lights, golf on the green, or high stakes soccer action, FanDuel is the best way to make every game even more exciting. You’re already following the action. Why not make it a little more thrilling? With FanDuel, you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach. You can use FanDuel to track your favorite matchups. The app keeps it fresh with new daily promotions and fun ways to bet. It’s easy to use, fast to pay out, and makes even regular season games feel like mustwatch events. Whether you’re placing a same game parlay or watching a bet ride into the ninth inning, FanDuel makes it feel like you’re part of the action. If you’re new to FanDuel, new customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started. More Lockdown Hornets ahead. All right, Ross for construction. I I don’t think we need to go to the rotation station. We we need to go to the what vehicle are we riding for the roster blank. I don’t even know what we’re writing. Maybe we can think about it, but we need to figure out who’s going to get cut. How are we going to do this? I think if you look at all of the 19 players under contract, not including the two-way guys with Damen B and KJ Simpson who do have that two-way coming into this year. So, the other 19 players, the names you immediately go to, Dcoin Jeff, the easiest cut of them all in my opinion. So, as much as I salute him for for being just a massive innings eater last year when we desperately needed guys to just put on shoes and play basketball, huge shout out to Jeff who made it despite the odds, I think, at the beginning of the year. But Jeff is probably the easiest one to cut. So, now you’re down to 18. The the most interesting one is a Kogi here, Doug, because what happened with a Kogi just last week, the Hornets and Aki agreed to push back that decision date that was July 1st all the way back to July 15th on when that would trigger a guaranteed salary for the 7 and 3/4 million. So if you don’t do something with him, wave, trade him, if you don’t do something with a Kogi by July 15th, then you’re on the hook for 7 and4 million. It feels like they pushed back that deal where it was beneficial for both parties. One, it’s beneficial to the Hornets because they got a whole bunch of people that they’re trying to sign. The other thing is they don’t want to lose a Koki for nothing. Aki doesn’t want to lose his salary because if he were to be waved or whatever and then that money he then he’s he’s not going to sign that, right? Like he’s he’s not going to go out in the open market and get $7.75 million. So, it’s beneficial to a Kogi for for anybody to trade for a Kogi and keep that salary as locked in as much as possible. A Kogi seems like the other one out. If it’s Jeff if Jeff is the easiest, it feels like the move the Hornets made last week with Josh Aogi. That that’s the second one you go to. Yeah, I’m not a Bobby Marks or a Keith Smith in terms of my expertise on these things, but I wonder if they traded a Kogi if it would be a Vasameich situation where the Suns had to had to essentially like well that was a player option that they or a team option they had to opt into to make the trade happen. So, I’m not sure if the Hornets would have to guarantee the 7.7 in order to use it in a trade because then that would benefit Josh Shakogi. it wouldn’t really benefit him necessarily for him to get traded for 7.75 and then for that team that then to then then go ahead and wave him. But it would be beneficial to the Hornets to have that if that were an option for a team because you know a lot of teams are looking um at an apron situation that they don’t want to be involved in or a tax situation that they don’t want to be involved in. And so trading for a player that you could immediately wave and get rid of all of that money would seem to be an attractive piece for the Charlotte Hornets. I hope that they work out some kind of deal to retain a kogi because I think a kogi was a super valuable two-way piece for the Charlotte Hornets in the brief time that we saw him play last season and I would like to see that out and you know when you look at some of the additions even some of the rookie additions I’m not seeing I’m seeing a little bit of two-way upside but I’m not seeing a lot of players that can immediately come and be an impact player on both ends in the way that Josh Kogi was like Colin Sex’s going to be a plus offensively Pat Coneton uh and Spencer Denwy if they play they’ll be pluses offensively. I’m not seeing a lot of plus defensive players. I’m a little bit concerned about that. And so Joshi could be that. But yes, you have to restructure that deal. You have to get it um into something that’s more reasonable. He cannot be making more money than than Trey Mann. And if you’re a Kogi too, look, obviously you would want 7.75 million now versus less. But if I could say, hey, what if we do like nine 10 million over the next two or three seasons, you know, okay, well then that there is a little bit more clarity there for a Kogi. Get a little bit more guaranteed money spread out over a few years that could be attractive, too. So hopefully they can work something out because I really like a Kogi and I want to see where it goes. I I like him, too. But the and the money, I’m with you. You would restructure it. We just don’t have enough We don’t have many rooms in this house. All right. Now, now people, we got to get some bunk beds in here so people have a safe spot to sleep because we just So, so, okay, let’s let’s keep a Kogi and let’s go from there. Nick Smith Jr. is the next one out. Okay, so NSJ feels like that would be over. Now you’re at So, a Kogi’s on. So, now you’re you’re still at 17 if NSJ and Dcoin Jeff are gone. So, now you go down to 16. Are you looking at trading Josh Green for picks? or are you looking at I know that would be interesting to some people. Pat Conetan after you traded him for the second round picks. What’s going on with Pat Conetan? Um I maybe you move on from him. So those would be the other answers here. The big question for Aki because I’m with you. If I had to choose some of the more likely candidates to be dropped, Aki would be the guy just based off of what he was able to do for us last year. But he’s not a good shooter and that’s a real issue. Do you believe Seion James can come in, who’s already a better shooter each of the last couple of seasons? Do you believe Seion James can come in, be a bigger threat from deep and just play up a level defensively while also not having the injury that Aki suffered last year and said that’s a good point. That’s our guy. If you believe if you believe it. Yeah. I mean that that’s that’s a really good point. And then because I’m not Look, if you do a Kogi, Conetan, Nick Smith Jr. I think you only need like a couple more million dollars and you’ve got a Nick Claxton. You know, it doesn’t take You don’t have to math too. Talk to me, Douggee. You don’t Well, I’m just saying like you don’t have to math too much. Now, the question with Nick Claxton, because someone brought him up to me um in the Siko satchel, jointex.comhornets if you want to join up and become a an official member of the Siko brigade. Someone brought up Nick Claxton in in there and I said, “Look, you just better be sure. you better be sure he’s going to be an impact player for you for the next couple of seasons because it is over now the the his contract uh descends. So that’s good. But I think it’s 25 million next season, 23 and then 20. So you’re you’re invested now in LaMelo Ball for 40 plus Miles Bridges for 22 next season, then 20 more. U you know Colin Ston, if he plays really well this season, well you got to figure out what you want to do with him next season. So on and on down the line. Now all of a sudden they would be flirting with a tax bill. So you better be sure as an organization that that’s that’s the route you want to go. But you can get there. I mean you can you can do the math and and get four or five players out and bring one in. So talking about the guys that matter on the roster. Last week I think it was on Tuesday, Wednesday, whatever. There was a lot of speculation that Colin Ston would be moved after acquiring Ston. Then you just flip him for something else. Everybody, it was the classic. You and I love this bit, right? We we’ve been on this bit for quite a long time. They’re not done. They’re not done. They’re not done. Oh, something’s cooking. Which again, we acknowledge they have to do something to cut down the roster. But was it going to be a big something like acquiring Colin Ston, all of us getting really excited because it’s such a clearly a beneficial deal for the Hornets and then moving off of the guy that makes this team better, only getting rid of Nerkage really. So after everybody started to speculate that on Twitter, they released the video of all the rookies signing their contracts, Doug. And in that video of everybody, all the rookies, all of them, all four of them signing their contracts, you have who the players who have been with this organization for a while and Miles Bridges, they had LaMelo Ball, Grant Williams was there, I believe, and Colin Ston was there. Colin Ston has been doing some team media stuff. He’s wearing the Hornets penny. He’s ready to go for practice. So Ston, on top of all the other guys that have been with the team for a while, Sexton was there. And now that they’re embracing him as a member of the Hornets, it would be weird to then flip him. That’s not going to happen. They’re not going to they’re not going to trade him unless it’s something crazy that blows him out of the water. But as of now, I think they traded for him with the intent to use him next year. So, that was kind of interesting to to see everybody start to say, “Look, man, it looks like he might be on his way out. They’re probably making a bigger move for a a five or some kind of front court player.” N man, Colin Ston’s here. And they’re embracing him on team media, social media, all of it. Well, that’s a function of the the Hornets, the previous regime, not making any moves to back to, you know, to buttress the guard position. And so, you see all of these moves, you go, “No, wait. That’s weird. That can’t be happening. You can’t be getting real depth at a position that has been historically injured for the past couple of seasons. You can’t poss you can’t possibly be trying to win, right? And and the fact is they are and they see Colin Ston as someone that can get downhill. He does something that I think LaMelo Ball wants to do but struggles with that. We haven’t seen Brandon Miller have a real desire to get downhill and and maybe some questions about whether he could do that effectively. maybe he’s more effective from mid-range from outside and so you get Colin Ston who perfectly complements that. Also a player that has not made the playoffs and so you’re bringing in someone that is not going to provide you that experience but is going to have that hunger that probably just like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller are desperate to see some postseason action. So, I think a lot of that energy uh together can be very nice. And then you you know, if you keep Conetan, you you you will have some playoff and and championship level experience there. And and something with Conetan real quickly that we didn’t mention was his connection with Charles Lee. And that’s something that I just kind of slipped my mind, but Charles Lee was on that Buck staff for a little while under Benhoer and Conetton was there. Yeah, that that’s what I’m saying. So, but my if you’re just asking for my gut level feeling, they obviously they have to they have to both a combination of cut one or two players and then put some guys on on uh two-ways. Although, look, they’ll be working out some guys in summer league and training camp. And so, like to say, well, Damen Ba for sure, two-way. KJ Simpson for sure, two-way. I would say hold your horses there, buddy. like we we there’s a lot of players that they’re going to be looking at this summer that could supplant KJ Simpson and Damen Ba for two-way opportunities. Um so yes, they’ve got to do some work here, but to think that they’re going to ship out like four or five players in a trade and and solve everything, I just think hold on. I mean, I could very well see. Although we haven’t seen Conetan and Denwitty in any kind of media, they haven’t I don’t think they’ve welcomed them to the team in any kind of tweet. We haven’t seen them in the pennies. They haven’t come to do any workouts. So, if you’re talking about two players that could very well be targets of that, yes, you would immediately go to those two players, right? They did sign Denwitty, so I don’t even know like if Yeah, the the Denwitty stuff that they signed him. Yeah, I think they just I think they just want an an experienced guard that is cheap. So, which is fine, by the way. I’d be fine with that. Last thing here before we move on and talk about the summer league roster because the summer league roster is as interesting summer league roster that we’ve had. Um, what does it mean all of the guys that are there for all the rookies signing their contracts, right? Because you brought in again LaMelo, we’ve talked about them embracing Miles Bridges on social media for a long time now. Grant Williams is there. It’s, for lack of a better word, it’s the core of the team. It’s the team that has been here, right? It’s the guys that you’re familiar with. I go back to the groundbreaking ceremony slp press conference for the new Novant Health Performance Center, Doug, and I was trying to remember some of the players that they had there and I took some pictures. So, does it mean when you put them out there on your social media page that they’re part of the family for a while? So, I looked at all the players that had the shovels and the hard hats and are helping all the construction workers in this grand ceremonious opening of the performance center. Right. Miles Bridges, Grant Williams is there, Brandon Miller, and by the way, these are important like members of the community. Mayor Vi Li is there, the Schlotkin, right? Of course, front and center. The these big wigs in Charlotte, LaMelo Ball, and then there’s Mark Williams at the very end. Mark Williams is also a part of it. So, okay, clearly it doesn’t mean that they are invincible now, that they would never ever move anybody that they’ve embraced the way that they have on Twitter or Instagram. You know, Mark Williams put on the hard hat, got the shovel, and they traded him twice. That that that was after the first time they traded him, and then they traded him again. But even still, it it, you know, ju just just just to not fall too much into the trap. And I’m kind of talking to myself here just as much as anybody else listening. Like I I I need to pinch myself and say, “Okay, don’t fall too much into the trap.” But it it clearly means something more than they’re they’re not just extending these invites to everybody, you know? And it wasn’t every single member of the team that was in that uh you know, rookie signing video they put out. No, I get I get all of that. I do think the amount of players that were there for those signings, the enthusiasm that they showed, I think is look, I since Jeff Peterson and the Schlotkin have taken over, they have put an emphasis on making sure that team members were around for big events. Charles Lee’s hiring, there were players there. You mentioned the opening. So, that’s just that’s good. That’s good PR. Um, it means that you you have a you have a way to get these players invested into these, you know, things that are big for your team. But I would say like to me it’s diff it it feels different. I just don’t recall this kind of thing happening and maybe I wasn’t paying good enough attention. I just don’t recall this kinds of this kind of thing happening uh during the previous regime. I think they put an onus about putting these players front and center and saying like we are building something here. It feels culturally different. Um and and I’m excited about it. Yes, it doesn’t mean that any of those players uh that the Hornets wouldn’t move on from any of them at the deadline. I don’t think it doesn’t make sense to look at it like that. I think it makes sense to look at it like, hey, these players look enthusiastic about these rookies and that’s that’s a good thing for everyone. And they were also a lot of these players were at Khan Canipple’s workout. They were at all of these players workouts in Charlotte. And so that’s again it’s all about just building that culture and everybody being in this thing together because look man, they haven’t made the playoffs in a long time and a lot of these players have never made the playoffs. They’re going to be doing something. LaMelo Paul is going to be doing something with Khan Canipple that both of them have never done which is make an NBA playoff series. And so I think it’s important that everyone’s on the same page and that they feel together and that it’s not like, oh, this is my house, it’s not your house kind of thing. I I just love to see it. And I don’t want to get too lost in the sauce. The other thing is it’s just cool that all these players are embracing a huge moment, the moment that all these players dreamed of, signing an NBA contract, and then you have members of the team. So perhaps it’s just cool regardless of whether you trade him. Musa Dabbate was the only only other player that we did not mention that was also in that video. So there you go with the the video. But very cool thing regardless what the Hornets did after signing all four of the rookies that they drafted. Coming up next on the Locked On Hornets podcast everywhere. I don’t know how excited we’ve been for summer leagues in years past, but they showed up well last year. They finally had a point guard. This year they just downright have an awesome roster, like a really exciting roster that they are bringing to summer league. We’re going to talk about that roster coming up next. LOH, are you are you more excited this go around? Like this is going to be the week where we don’t have as much content cuz they don’t play their first game until July 11th. Summer league’s already started, but we have not seen the Hornets. We’re not going to see them play a game till July 11th. But the starting five, all the rookies that you have, the the potential starters that you could see, I this one seems like there’s a little more nay a lot more anticipation going into this session. Yeah, I wish they started earlier because I am feeling a little bit of, oh, look at BJ Edgecomb. He scored 28 points. Oh, Ace Bailey. Is there some of that? Yeah, I feel I feel it, you know. I mean, I’ll be honest. So, I wish they started earlier because then I would be seeing Khan Canipple doing things and so we just have to wait until July 11th. They’re not involved in California Classics or or Salt Lake City summer leagues as they have been for a couple of seasons and you have so many rookies that you know it to me I’m it’s weird. I don’t know what you have to do to get involved in these early ones, but you feel like when you have four rookies, you need to get everybody a little bit of time and you’ve got two sophomores involved as well. And so just having a few extra games to do that where you could sit some guys sometimes and play some guys other times would have benefited them, but I don’t know what all is involved with being selected for that kind of thing. Uh but so yeah, but I am excited because I the only thing that made me more excited last year is that it was the first time that we saw them put together a roster that you went okay this roster a and there was a big question mark with Tan Salon like you had a raw prospect and you’re like what is he going to be? I think a lot of us understand what Khan Canipple is. We understand what Ryan Kelkinter is. We know what Liam McNeely is. Um although you know we’ve talked a lot about Liam and the and the ankle injury and all these things and was he exactly what we thought he could be in college and could he be more. So that’s a little bit of a question mark but so all that to say I think they do have a stronger team this year. I was a little bit more excited last year because of all those factors but I can’t wait for them to get started on July 11th. Well and the point guard thing was was no small feat for the Hornets. The fact okay Xavier Simpson we actually had somebody awesome. Well, and this year now you have KJ Simpson as your starter who has a year under his belt which is nice. And if you look at some of the starters that you expect. So just thinking about this, you go KJ Simpson probably starting at point guard. Khan Canipple absolutely starting as your two. Uh James there at the three. Maybe that’s what you could expect. Tan Salon at the four. K Brener at the five. Liam McNeely could be in on the uh and maybe even uh starting over Seion. I think that Liam McNeel lead James thing is going to be interesting. That’ll be interesting. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Um but yeah, like already I love that roster. Yeah. Part of it is because you just drafted four guys within the top 34 selections. That’s that’s no small thing. So you have four guys in the first 34 spots. You have your sixth overall pick from last year who’s absolute absolutely going to get a starting spot. KJ Simpson, who we got to see a little bit. Maybe we didn’t want to because of the injuries, but we did get to see KJ play some NBA games. Yeah, man. That’s a real summer league roster. And the best part about it is we can joke about the winning. We can joke about the California Classic and being denied that trophy despite finishing undefeated. But the real thing here is that all of these guys can come in to a summer league session where everybody else around them allows them to show their best stuff. And that’s not always the case. if you have a point guard that can’t set everybody up. We’ve seen these guys limited by the construction of the summer league roster and that’s not going to be the case here. No, I don’t think so. This is a this is a deep summer league roster and honestly like winning is awesome. Okay, I’m not breaking any news here, but I I will I will not you know I will not extrapolate here. I I feel like we need to make our promises now about Look, Summer is for feelings. We can I I love to get into my feelings back. Yes. Okay. July 7th, it’s for Yep. Absolutely. Preseason is for reason. Summer is for feelings. Let’s feel our feelings. It’s okay. We shouldn’t but we we still have to, you know, keep our feet on the ground. We cannot extrapolate summer league championship equals NBA championship, right? But we can get excited about them winning something because particularly when you’re talking about sophomores in a sophomore in Tan Salon that needs to fight his way into this rotation like feeling feeling that winning is going to be important for him. All of these rookies that they just signed a deals like yes like you would like them if they’re all going to play and they’re all going to play a significant amount. It would make you feel better if they if they at least got to the postseason of this summer league deal. Like if if this team plays your four rookies significant amount of time and Tan Salon a lot and they get blanked, you know, I don’t think you and I are going to come on here and be like, well, it was only summer league. It’s going to be like, no, like they they just they just signed all these guys to contracts and and they didn’t know they didn’t know they didn’t look like they knew what they were doing. like we’re gonna say that. And so, yes, winning does at least showing that that you can that these guys know what they’re doing. I mean, I think that’s important. And and when you have so many of those guys, if you do that, I think it’s going to translate to winning this summer. Okay. So, some of the other guys that are on the roster that I I find somewhat intriguing, PJ Hall played 19 games with the Nuggets last year, um out of Clemson. So, for those ACC fans, you probably know PJ Hall quite well. He was awesome with the Tigers was shooting close to 50% overall from the field. Uh has the threat to be able to shoot from distance. The college percentages weren’t great except for his junior campaign where it was 39% but every other year was about 30, but a shooting type of big that has good feel. I I loved PJ Hall in college. So, we’ll see what happens there. They brought in James Banks. Who did James Banks play for the Hornets already in some G-League guy? Yeah, that’s right. So, G Okay. G-League guy. Yeah. all defensive team member in the ACC for Georgia Tech the last couple of years um before getting to the NBA but that was all the way back in 2019 2020. So you’re talking about uh somewhat of a vet here if you will. The other guys DJ Rodman a wing out of USC yes he is the son of Dennis Rodman. So we got Worm Jr. on the squad. MJ Walker, another ACC player, which man, the Schlotkin, they love ACC players because they just keep collecting them. Whether it’s with Seion James and Khan Canipple where they love Duke, whether it’s going after some of these other guys in free agency like Pat Coneton who went to Notre Dame, summer league guys. Yeah, man. ACC players all over the board. Well, and Jeff Peterson played at Florida State, right? Right. Yeah, that’s right. I got that right. I don’t Maybe. I don’t know. I have to look that up. I I know I know Rick Schnull loves Duke though. We do know that that has been prevalent here. Um MJ Walker also played for the Greensboro Storm. He averaged like 24 minutes. Like he was one of their main Look that up. I’m pretty sure Jeff Peterson played for Florida State. He did his last year. 2011 2012 he played at Florida State. But this is the funny part. He played at Iowa and then he transferred to Arkansas and then he transferred to Florida State. So he was he was a welltraveled guy pre-portal. Yeah, that’s yeah, that’s a lot of movement pre-portal. And I the reason I know that is because we use this um we use this service to get images for players for our thumbnails and such. And so occasionally I will type Jeff Peterson. There not a lot of pictures on there of Jeff Peterson as an executive for the Charlotte Hornets, but it but so and there not a lot of pictures of him in general. And so like even on the first page, there’s a picture of Jeff Peterson um when he was playing for Florida State. And so I had that drilled into my mind. So, if that if that wasn’t the case, I was maybe going to have to check myself into some kind of mental hospital because I would have been uh really delusional at that point. Yeah, man. It’s a good roster. I’m excited. Um and they have some pretty fun matchups depending on who plays. They open against the Jazz, so you’re going to get to see Ace Bailey right away. They play the Sixers next. So, there’s a VJ Edgecomb sighting most likely. And then Maverick’s third. That’s when you get sort of the question mark. Is Cooper Flag still going to be playing? They So, I don’t think the Mavericks did any kind of I don’t I don’t think they’re doing any opening round. I don’t think they’re in the California Classic or Salt Lake. So, I think he might play because you want to get him at least two or three games, I think, but they could just play him one or two and then sit him and then Spurs at Hornets. So, we might might see Dylan Harper, might not. He didn’t play. They are playing early and he didn’t play. So, we could see some Dylan Harper there late. Uh so, yeah, it could it’s going to get interesting. I’m I am excited. Not as excited as last season if I’m being honest, but I still am excited. Really interesting. I’m I’m much more excited about this year. So, um we’ll balance each other out. It’ll be good. We got a lot a long time to talk about it, unfortunately, because we have to wait a few days. I I you know, this is the hard part where the content isn’t just a plenty with most of the moves having already been made. But are you saying what I think you’re saying? 2026 mock drafts. You got it, buddy. That’s what I’m asking. Yes. I’m asking for 2026. We got to finish it. Oh my god. Oh my god. I can’t I I uh We have additions. We have to We have to add Seon. We got to do we know their numbers yet? We have to figure out their numbers. Well, remember Marcus Garrett is already on the list. We have to go back because Marcus Garrett appeared in one game for the Hornets wore a number nobody else has worn before. So, he automatically is a winner. Congratulations, Marcus. You wore it best. Marcus Garrett too. We got to induct Taj. Oh yeah, that’s right. So, so if that’s not a tease, I don’t know what is, you know. Stick around for Marcus Garrett wearing it best content. Stick around for that. Doug Branson, every hornetsboxcore.com. Also, Locked on NBA hosting with Matt Moore and Hayes. I’m Walker Mail. Listen to me. WFNZ every weekday from 12 to 3 p.m. Have a great rest of your day. We’ll be back with you tomorrow.

The Hornets had a BUSY post-holiday stretch, signing veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie and locking in all four of their 2024 NBA Draft picks—putting the roster well over the legal limit. Doug and Walker look at the impact of Dinwiddie’s one-year deal, praise the front office for handing out guaranteed contracts to second-round picks Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner, and try to predict who’s on the chopping block as the team prepares to cut down. Is Josh Okogie a salary dump candidate? Does Pat Connaughton’s connection to Charles Lee keep him safe? And what’s the plan for Nick Smith Jr.?

With 19 players under contract and only 15 standard spots allowed, roster moves are inevitable—and the guys sort through the likeliest paths forward. Plus, we get into why this Summer League roster might be the most talented Charlotte’s ever assembled. From top-35 picks galore to returning prospects like Tidjane Salaun and K.J. Simpson, the squad is built to compete—and potentially dominate—in Vegas.

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