Hornets Rumors & News

Hoops Rumors "The NBA is expected to tweak the start date and time of its annual July moratorium, sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Bontemps, rather than starting at 12:00 am eastern time on July 1, the moratorium will likely begin six hours earlier, on June 30 at 6:00..." May 15

Pounding The Rock "Spurs legend and current Charlotte Hornet Tony Parker is considering retiring from the NBA this summer. Per Eurohoops’ Antonis Stroggylakis, Parker recently said in an interview on French TV show “C’a Vous” that he’s currently split 50-50 on that..." May 15

USA Today "At some point Tuesday night, we’re going to expect a comment from assumed No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson about whichever team lands the opportunity to select him during the NBA draft lottery in Chicago.  Of course, we more or less already know what Williamson is..." May 14

Clutch Points "The Los Angeles Lakers are entering one of the most pivotal offseasons in the history of their franchise. At this time last year, the Lakers were gearing up for a summer run at LeBron James, and pretty much everyone already knew that Los Angeles already had James in the bag and that free..." May 13

Hoops Rumors "After telling reporters a month ago during his end-of-season media session that he was “50-50” on continuing his career, Hornets guard Tony Parker reiterated that point during an appearance on French TV, as relayed by Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops (via..." May 10

Newark Star-Ledger "It sounds like the Knicks plan is simple this summer: Let Kevin Durantdictate what a potential roster will look like. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, some within the Knicks may actually prefer N.Y.-born Kemba Walker over N.J. native Kyrie..." May 10

Real GM Basketball "The New York Knicks have interest in Kemba Walker in free agency. Kyrie Irving has been linked with the Knicks, but there are some within the organization who are also high on Walker. Walker has spent his entire career with the Charlotte Hornets, but he's from the New York..." May 09

Bleacher Report "Whichever team wins the NBA draft lottery on May 14 will focus its attention on Zion Williamson. That organization can also expect phone calls from franchises across the league looking to pry away the No. 1 pick. Regardless of how highly the lottery winner thinks of..." May 08

Inquisitr "Since the 2018 NBA offseason, the Charlotte Hornets have already revealed their plan to re-sign All-Star point guard Kemba Walker when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019. However, Walker is currently undecided if he still wants to be a Hornet or not. Walker may have..." May 08

Bleacher Report "The approaching 2019 NBA offseason means attention will soon pivot from reality to fantasy. When the games end, roster reconstruction begins. That means the draft, free agency and, most of all, fanciful trade speculation. Every team has a shot to do something spectacular..." May 07

Bleacher Report "After finding a new franchise cornerstone in Luka Doncic this past season, the Dallas Mavericks have big hopes for free agency this summer to boost their surrounding talent.  According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Mavs are looking for "shooters,..." April 30

Bleacher Report "Before every 2019 NBA free agent ventures into the open market, they'll inevitably be advised of how the grass isn't always greener on the other side. But as that adage concedes, sometimes the grass is greener—maybe dramatically so. A change of..." April 30

Clutch Points "A rival front office executive says the Charlotte Hornets should have traded All-Star point guard Kemba Walker last season when his value was at its highest, according to Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report. Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were trying to acquire Walker to appease..." April 29

Bleacher Report "LeBron James hasn't played any games in April, but that didn't stop him from having the top-selling jersey in the NBA during the month. Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo rounded out..." April 25

Real GM Basketball "Television ratings for the 2019 NBA Playoffs have been down significantly during the first window.  Going into Wednesday's doubleheader of Game 5s, ratings and/or viewership have declined for 30 of the 33 playoff windows compared to last season. Twenty-six games have declined..." April 25

Clutch Points "Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego addressed the elephant in the room during his end-of-the-season press conference with reporters. Everyone in Charlotte, from fans to the media, wants to know what the franchise is going to do with veteran small forward Nicolas Batum, who arguably has..." April 19

Pro Basketball Talk "Kemba Walker has never had an All-Star teammate. For someone as established as Walker, that’s unprecedented. The Hornets nearly paired Walker with a former All-Star, though. Shortly before the trade deadline, they reportedly nearly dealt for Marc Gasol. But talks stalled, and..." April 19

SB Nation "The NBA playoffs define the legacies of great players, yet they’re also when those players often aren’t at their best because of injuries. Many times, we don’t find out about these injuries until months or years after the fact. At that point, those..." April 18

12 Up "The 2019 NBA free agency class is absolutely loaded as it boasts the likes Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson.  An often overlooked figure in the pool, however, is Hornets All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, whose current contract is laughable..." April 17

Hoops Rumors "Hornets center Bismack Biyombo has exercised his 2019/20 player option, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). By opting in, Biyombo will assure himself of a $17MM salary for next season. Biymobo, who signed a four-year, $68MM contract with the Magic in..." April 16

Bleacher Report "Winning is among the main criteria for NBA stardom. If you aren't leading your team to success, typically in the form of playoff trips, you're going to face questions about whether you're really all that good. That way of thinking is reductive, though...." April 16

At The Hive "Well, this is the end. No matter what the Hornets did against the Orlando Magic in the last game of the season, it wouldn’t be enough. The Hornets needed to either win out and hope the Pistonslose one game or go 1-1 and hope the Pistons go 0-2 in their last two..." April 15

Pro Basketball Talk "Kent Bazemore signed with the Hawks in 2016, when the salary jumped more than $24 million – more than triple the next-largest increase in NBA history. That same year, with Charlotte coming off its best season since reemerging as the Bobcats, Marvin Williams re-signed with the Hornets. In..." April 15

Fadeaway World "According to The Charlotte Observer, the Dallas Mavericks are seen as the team that’s the biggest threat to lure Kemba Walker away from the Hornets. Two sources with knowledge of the Mavericks’ thinking expect Walker, the Hornets’ three-time All-Star point..." April 15

Newark Star-Ledger "So you’re saying there’s a chance. For Kemba Walker, the dream of playing in Madison Square Garden isn’t over—yet. One year ago, the idea of Walker, a Bronx, N.Y. native, coming home to help save the Knicks in the summer of 2019 seemed..." April 15

Bleacher Report "The NBA has seen a few sizable changes in commissioner Adam Silver's era, including a revamp of the All-Star game and draft lottery formats.  However, Silver told reporters that the Association is exploring more seismic changes, including reducing games from 48..." April 12

Larry Brown Sports "The biggest story facing the Charlotte Hornets this offseason will be Kemba Walker’s free agency and whether he’ll still be with the team going forward. Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday that the team is all-in on trying to retain Walker, and will do..." April 12

Charlotte Observer "Tony Parker says it’s “50-50” whether he’s back with the Charlotte Hornets next season, and his decision will come down to whether the team goes into rebuild mode. “I don’t want to play on a rebuilding team. I want to play on a team that fights for..." April 11

Pro Basketball Talk "When the Spurs drafted him out of France in 2001, Tony Parker was still a novelty. Gregg Popovich summarized the concern: “Everybody knows you don’t get point guards from Europe, because they’re generally not quick enough and they don’t have a grasp..." April 11

Hoops Rumors "One of three Hornets veterans with player options for 2019/20, forward Marvin Williams said today that he doesn’t intend to opt out of his deal this summer, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). “I’ll be..." April 11

Charlotte Observer "Kemba Walker couldn’t have been more clear in September that his intent was to re-sign with the Charlotte Hornets. Seven months later, his intent sounded far less resolute regarding his upcoming free agency. “I’m not sure yet,” Walker said Wednesday..." April 11

Fadeaway World "As far as being a team stuck in the middle, the Jazz are a team all too familiar with it. Their defensive prowess and the leadership of Donovan Mitchell has landed them a playoff spot again in the Western Conference, but their ceiling is not exactly high. As the 5th seed, they will..." April 09

Clutch Points "After scoring 29 points on Friday against the Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets star point guard Kemba Walker became just the second player in franchise history to score at least 2,000 points in a season. Hornets legend Glen Rice scored 2,115 points in..." April 06

Clutch Points "The NBA’s salary cap has been steadily rising over the course of the past few years thanks to an extremely lucrative television deal, as well as the league being extraordinarily popular all over the world. Other than Michael Jordan’s heyday, it seems that the NBA right now..." April 05

Clutch Points "Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker has reached the top of the charts in a rather unlikely way, as his 47-point, three-assist performance against the Utah Jazz on Monday accounted for an NBA-record 88.7 percent of the starters’ scoring, according..." April 02

Fadeaway World "With their options dwindling, could the Lakers pursue Kemba Walker this summer? Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer thinks so and said he could be the guy to take them to the next level. “LeBron James and the Lakers could also chase Walker, as their options this summer..." March 31

Providence Journal "In a game that mattered to Charlotte, the Hornets went up against a shorthanded Lakers team Friday night and lost handily, 129-115. Charlotte is now two games out of the eight seed in the East with seven left to play, they couldn’t afford to lose to the lottery-bound Lakers. But..." March 30

Clutch Points "The Charlotte Hornets could likely finish this season by missing the playoffs once again, a trend that could spark seconds thoughts for Kemba Walker once the free-agency period rolls around. The Dallas Mavericks remain as the greatest threat to sign Walker in the..." March 28

Bleacher Report "The NBA announced Thursday its first regular-season game in Paris will take place January 24, 2020, when the Charlotte Hornets will take on the Milwaukee Bucks at AccorHotels Arena. Hornets chairman Michael Jordan said the organization was "proud" to..." March 28

ESPN "Kyrie Irving appeared to question Brad Stevens' coaching strategy after Kemba Walker scored 18 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter to rally Charlotte to a 124-117 victory over the Celtics. The Hornets closed Saturday night's home game on a 30-5 run that included..." March 24

Bleacher Report "The Lakers will go star-hunting once again this offseason. Last July produced LeBron James, but injuries and a failed attempt to trade for Anthony Davis ahead of February's deadline doomed the Lakers back into the draft lottery. L.A. will have the spending power to..." March 20

SB Nation "Back in November, when the Charlotte Hornets were simply off to another sloppy start, I wrote that the team had failed Kemba Walker, the best player the franchise has ever had. Walker is a free agent in the summer, and after a 60-point game, there was a wave of..." March 18

Pro Basketball Talk "Kemba Walker has never had an All-Star teammate. He has made the playoffs only twice and never won a series. At 30-37, the Hornets are unlikely to reach the postseason this year. If Walker wants to bolt Charlotte, he’ll have a chance in unrestricted free agent this..." March 12

Hoops Rumors "All but two of the NBA’s 30 teams are carrying some sort of “dead money” on their salary cap for 2018/19. This dead money is created as a result of having, at some point, waived a player who had guaranteed money left on his contract (or having 10-day contracts..." March 12

Hoops Rumors "The Mavericks are the biggest threat to the Hornets for unrestricted free agent Kemba Walker, longtime Hornets beat writer Rick Bonnell reports. Bonnell cites two knowledgeable sources who indicate Dallas will make the high-scoring point guard their top free agent target. Dallas could..." March 11

Real GM Basketball "The Charlotte Hornets resisted trade offers at the 2018 deadline and the subsequent offseason on Kemba Walker and he responded by having an All-Star season. Walker will be a free agent and his future with the Hornets is unclear as they struggle to remain in the playoff picture. Sam..." March 08

Larry Brown Sports "The landscape of the NBA changed quite dramatically last offseason when LeBron James decided to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. While it may be a coincidence, that has not resulted in an increased level of interest in the league. In a recent conversation with Bill Simmons of The..." March 08

Dime Magazine "Adam Silver sat down with The Ringer’s Bill Simmons for a wide-ranging chat about the state of the NBA at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and was surprisingly candid about the biggest challenges his league faces in 2019. Right off the bat, Silver made a somewhat..." March 07

USA Today "LeBron James overtook Michael Jordan on Wednesday night on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. But LeBron will never truly overtake Jordan. Ever. LeBron is working on the sequel to Space Jam, with Jordan having starred in the original. How appropriate:..." March 07

NESN "Speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Friday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver gave a sobering answer about the mental health of players in the league. As part of an hour-long panel with The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Silver said that a lot of the players he interacts..." March 05