MillionDollarCam

He’s locked it at $6.1 for 21/22. However, the Canes could have an agreement in place with his reps that because we gave him a great QO that he’ll sign a bridge for one or two years or so 22/23 and 23/24 at maybe 2x$2.5M. Once the bridge is up he’s a UFA either he panned out and we keep him or he didn’t and we don’t. So essentially it’s like a 3yr/11M or a 2/8M deal with the $6.1M coming in the first year on the QO. After the bridge is up KK becomes a UFA and we can evaluate his value appropriately. I think the QO had to be as high as it is to price him out of Montreal as he doesn’t seem to be keen to play there so an extension was never really in the cards. Say Montreal does match and KK doesn’t agree to an extension before the following year, Montreal has to qualify him at or above the $6.1M mark. If they did that they’d really mess up their cap space for Suzuki and Caulfield. No sources or anything just a hunch. If KK and his agent don’t agree to a bridge (off the record) for the following seasons before you submit the QO then you don’t do it because he could turn around and play in Carolina on the $6.1M and choose not to sign an extension before the year is over meaning that we’d have to qualify him at $6.1M or higher. If it works out, it’s quite a shrewd move.

He very well could. He’s played mostly center with Portland but he can also play right wing. Stick him on Staal’s wing so that he’s got a good defensive centerman to play with. KK - Aho - Turbo Svech - Trocheck - Necas Nino - Staal - Jarvis Marty - Stepan - Fast Leivo - Lorentz - Noesen

Covid kicked his ass then the concussion, he had a rough go of it but should bounce back.

Fabulous move. The $6M offer sheet prices KK out of Montreal unless they move someone as it takes them 10% over the cap. Sure he’s overpaid this year but we can afford it and we may already have a gentleman’s agreement with him for an extension (which can be less than the $6m offer sheet). The only risk for the Canes would be if KK plays out the season and his QO was $6M next year. I doubt Waddell does the offer sheet if there isn’t an agreement already in place. As for why Montreal wouldn’t match and do the same thing… for one they would have to move someone out, secondly KK doesn’t seem to enjoy Montreal so it’s highly unlikely he’d play there for less than his QO. If anyone can get KK’s best out of him, it’s RBA. Start him on the wing with his buddies Aho and Turbo and go from there. KK - Aho - Turbo Svech - Trocheck- Necas Nino - Staal - Fast Marty - Stepan - Lorentz Leivo - Noesen Slavin - Pesce Skjei - TDA Cole - Bear Smith Andersen Raanta Not to mention, we can afford the loss of a first and a third as they will likely be late picks and we have a ton of talent waiting in the wings… Honka, Koivunen, Morrow, Tieksola, Rees, Bokk, Suzuki, Drury, Jarvis, etc.

Last summer league game tonight at 10 on ESPN2.

Not sure who was responsible for creating the roster but not adding a legit point guard that can create has made this team unwatchable. D.J. Carton averaged the most assists per game in college / pro ball out of the entire roster at a whopping 3.2 assists per game. Unfortunately, he also averaged 2.9 turnovers per game.

Agree 100%, I just don’t think Rhule wants that out there. He’d have much rather preferred that Grier addressed that in private rather than bring it up to the media. When you aren’t a superstar you could see your self on the unemployment line pretty quickly for saying negative things about your boss.

All he had to say was “it’s something we’ll get right in practice”… He didn’t have to bring up the fact that the team didn’t prepare for the noise.

Grier is out here throwing his coaches under the bus. Right or wrong, that won’t get you many opportunities.

Bridges definitely deserves another contract and it’s going to be a big one. He was nearly an elite member of the 40-50-90 club last year and didn’t lose it until the last month or so of the season (FT% dropped below 90%).

Considering Kup stated that we are done with the “heavy lifting”, you have to wonder if the Hornets leaked the Markkanen info to Shams. Oubre signed shortly after the leak.

Real solid idea to rely on Ish Smith knowing that both Rozier and Ball missed time with injuries last year. If you’re going to give Ish 4.5M then you might as well pony up 7M for Patty Mills, at least he can get you a bucket.

Payton is one of the worst three point shooting guards in the league, so there’s a reason for that. If you can’t stretch the floor in today’s NBA you have no value.

You act like 12M is an absurd amount of money in the soft-cap NBA where the cap is going to rise significantly every year with new TV deals. I mean have you seen Lonzo Ball’s contract (assuming it holds up)? More or less Graham was an insurance policy for when Rozier leaves next year. If everything goes smoothly Bouknight becomes the long term starter at the two and now you have Graham who slides into Bouknight’s role (this year). However, with Graham no longer in the fold and having lost Rozier (whose money will go to Bridges) you now no longer have a bench outside of Oubre…. your thinking is too short term.

I believe so, as long as it’s a sign and trade and his new contract doesn’t go into the tax apron. We’d be hardcapped for the year but he’d fit well in our offense. Melo loves those little dump offs back to the top of the three point arc. Markkanen hits them at a way higher clip than PJ.

Not every player has to be an elite defender to be successful as long as they play within the system, Graham did that. And combo guards are the new stretch four, everyone wants one because they have shown to be successful, the best one in the NBA played a big role in the Bucks winning a championship (Jrue Holiday). Additionally, Graham’s minutes would obviously come with the second unit. The same minutes he got last year with Bouknight taking Monk’s minutes. If you are comfortable with Bouknight getting all of the minutes Graham had last year (especially after what you saw today) then there’s not a whole lot more to discuss. Keeping Graham simply would have allowed the Hornets to replace Rozier next year. Instead, we’ll be looking for a new backup PG and a starting/backup SG depending on how Bouknight plays this year.

Since when is Graham a backup PG? He was a combo guard averaging 16PPG over the past two seasons. If Bouknight isn’t able to fill that gap this year then the second unit will struggle and it will be the same old story.

The point is we could have both if we decided to go to into the tax.

I’m obviously not since I didn’t say that. Oubre wasn’t a bad signing, Devonte at 12M wouldn’t have been either. And to call Devonte a PG is a disservice to him. You are paying 12M for a combo guard. A player who can play multiple positions and a player who would inherit Rozier’s starting spot after he is sure to walk next year. Not to mention if LaMelo goes down again at any point then we are now effectively fuged, I can’t be the only one that notices him still messing with his wrist. We put a lot of eggs in the Bouknight basket and if he can’t handle it as soon as we though he could then our second unit will struggle.

You do realize we are paying a back up SF (Oubre) 12M/12.6M per year, right? If you are going to pay a back up 12M per year you might as well make it a player at the most important position on the basketball court. Not to mention, having Graham help the young second unit along that is sure to consist of Bouknight and Jones would be very beneficial. As Kupchak stated, we aren’t good enough to reach for needs, right now this team needs basketball players. The only reason Devonte is gone is because he wants to start.

Averages through 2 games: 13 PPG (50% FG, 50% 3P, 100% FT) 3.5 RPG (2 ORPG) 1 APG 2 SPG 1 TOPG Only Bouknight (15) is averaging more PPG than Gelo.

Just be our Duncan Robinson. That’s all we need from him.

He’s already signed a contract with the Hornets so at the very worst I think he’ll be with the swarm. Going to be some interesting decisions as I suspect LiAngelo, Carton, Carey, Richards, Iwundu, and Martin will be fighting for the last few spots. Three of those guys will probably make it, three probably won’t.

Back at it again tomorrow. Hornets vs. Kings at 6:00PM on NBA TV (ESPN App)

All in all not a bad effort against a lot of former NBA players and G-Leaguers. PG - We struggled here… Riller doesn’t look to be much more than a G-League player and overall his ability to control the game is poor. Bouknight can definitely fill in at at the PG spot when needed and honestly it would be fun to see him play with LiAngelo. Carton is an intriguing player and though he may not make the final roster I think he’ll definitely be with the Swarm. It would have been nice to see if Joel Berry fared better than Riller and Carton. SG - Bouknight can do it all, if he knocks down the three ball consistently then he’ll be a star in the NBA. LiAngelo Ball deserves a spot on the final roster, guys like Redick and Crawford have made a living out of being a sharpshooter, going 5 for 8 from three in your first organized basketball competition in years is impressive. Scottie Lewis is athletic and brings a lot of energy but he’ll need to show that he can shoot the ball, right now he reminds me a lot of the Martin brothers. I suspect Kenny Williams will get a shot later to see if he can make the Swarm. SF - Xavier Sneed is the only true SF on the roster and he is simply put, not a good basketball player. PF - Kai Jones is going to be a force, his athleticism will allow him to play right away. Kulboka showed some talent but he’ll need to mature in the G League to get used to the American game, one impressive note is that he was somehow a +18. I believe JT Thor was added to the roster but he may not have played since he just started practicing a day ago. C - Nick Richards and Vernon Carey settled in okay but neither showed the footwork that is needed to be a back to the basket type center in the NBA. DNP - Joel Berry, Kenny Williams, Denzel Mahoney, Cam McGriff, JT Thor Injured: Nate Darling Bouknight - 19 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks Ball - 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals Jones - 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block Carey - 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist Richards - 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist Carton - 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal Riller - 7 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists Kulboka - 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals Lewis - 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block Sneed - 0 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block