AppHeel

Need a big and could probably also use an additional wing defender

This is so extreme lol I completely get and share a lot of the Rhule frustration, but he inherited a team that needed an obvious rebuild and we aren't halfway through his second season. All of Rhule's best years in previous jobs he's had have come in year 3. Ron was also average/bad until year 3. Let this play out a little more.

I love this trade! We just replaced a top 10 pick with another in less than a week - how often does that happen?? I'll be interested to see how this affects Horn's outlook for the rest of this season. I do think Fitterer was going to try and add a corner regardless to continue to capitalize on the 3-0 start. So I don't think this necessarily means Horn is done for year. If Horn has let the team know that he thinks his best course of action to get healthy is to end his season and heal then perhaps that expedited this move. I hope Horn does try and come back for the stretch run to hopefully help get this team over the hump and into the playoffs. Either way, stoked to add a talent like CJ Henderson to this defense. Panthers have 4 of the top 64 draft prospects from 2020 on this defense.

Here you go: https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/9/20/22683777/nfl-week-2-undefeated-teams-cardinals-buccaneers-broncos-raiders Listed front and center of the pretender 2-0 teams

To be fair, PJ was also at summer league with those guys and in the team workouts. As was Jalen McDaniels.

Terry definitely earned this extension. Has been an awesome player for Charlotte since arriving and seems to have built a good bond with the young core of players that have come in since Mitch got here. As long as this deal doesn't limit our ability to extend guys like Miles and maybe PJ next summer and in 2023 then I don't see much wrong with the contract. Part of changing the perception and building a strong culture is rewarding guys that have done it for you. This deal does that.

He was the best post defender on the roster last year and it wasn't close. Those small ball lineups with him at the five had among the best +/- stats on the team last year. Team was much better with PJ at center last year than Cody and certainly Biz. I'd prefer Charlotte play someone at C who's natural position is that, but PJ wasn't a slouch there by any means. He was also learning it on the fly so I imagine he'd be better this year in that same spot with a year of experience. I don't believe Kai Jones will log heavy Center minutes this season. And I think Carey/Richards will be played on a matchup by matchup basis. PJ is gonna get a lot of reps at Center this season. Just warning you.

Carey isn't going anywhere. His contract is fully guaranteed the next two seasons with an affordable team option the year after that. Cody Martin's contract isn't guaranteed until 8/15 so if you cut someone, he's a good candidate for it. Richards and Iwundu both are guaranteed for this upcoming season, but nothing past that. If you decide to release one of those guys it'll cost, but not too much. Overall Gelo and Carton are probably long shots for the actual roster. Both two way contracts are already filled as well. My guess is both will feature on the swarm this season.

I think Caleb Martin is gone

Maybe. I can't imagine Monk didn't get at least 1 call offering more money than the Lakers. Think he's just trying to bet on himself.

We definitely could've matched the offer sheet for Devonte. That being said - it's highly possible Devonte wanted to go somewhere and start. NOLA is offering him that option and with LaMelo, it's not an option here. So Charlotte could very well be giving Devonte what he wants and, at the same time, leveraging NOLA for the asset. If that's how it went down, that's good business. Getting a first round pick back for a 2nd round draft pick proves we have a really good player development program. I'm concerned about the guard depth now though.

The first is more valuable I think - especially since we have one outgoing for Kai. Jaxson Hayes just got arrested for assault anyways. Not sure he's gonna be in the league much longer.

Don't forget that Charlotte is projected to have over $20M coming off the books next off season. Terry, the Martins and McDaniels all expire. They'll have the money to pay for Miles. The year after that, Plumlee and Batum's stretch will roll off freeing up $16M. PJW is the extension candidate there. After that would be Devonte's hypothetical extension and Hayward's contracts rolling off just in time for the LaMelo max. The money is spaced out enough to where they can keep key guys even if they extend Graham for $13M this offseason.

Want is one thing. I think teams will absolutely be willing to GIVE it to him. I agree a little bit on where you're coming from with Devonte, but that type of player is extremely valuable in a 7 game playoff series. I guarantee that Phoenix would have much rather had Devonte over Cameron Payne and Milwaukee would have definitely rather had him than Jeff Teague. I put value on the off court benefit Devonte provides too. Big culture boost for the team. I think $13-14M is fair for 3 years.

John Hollinger is projecting 3 years for Graham at close to $19M!! I don't think he will command that much. Absurd lol. I do think he will be every bit of $13-14M per year for his next contract though. That would fill up the roster and eat up the rest of the cap space.

Yes. It's lottery protected for the next 4 years I think. If it doesn't convey, it becomes two 2nd rounders. So basically we are protected from not giving up a lotto pick throughout the entire duration of Kai's rookie deal. Nice business there.

We do - you probably can't bring Graham back. I think he's going to command every bit of that cap space. I could be wrong, but that's my guess. We also have 5 centers on the roster currently. Don't have space for another Center body on the roster without moving one.

My perspective the morning after: I cannot believe James Bouknight fell to 11. I mean holy hell. @Shocker it sounds like you're low on him. Don't be. He has star potential. His 3 point shooting percentages at UConn were low last year, but he had elbow surgery in January that took him out for a month or so. His shooting was hampered for that reason. As a freshman, he shot 35% from 3. Not only that, he can score at all 3 levels, his handle is NASTY and he's a very underrated defender with his long reach. I love the fit long term next to LaMelo. Bouknight can be the CJ McCollum that Charlotte fans have wanted for years. At best, he can be the Donovan Mitchell that the Hornets passed on for Malik Monk. He's special. The Kai Jones trade up was cool. I like the upside he has as a big man and he's gonna be electric running in transition with LaMelo. The shooting upside is there and he can be an amazing perimeter defender for a big. Keep expectations low this year. I'm going to guess that Kai Jones will play more games for Greensboro than Charlotte this next season. He needs to develop. JT Thor is another fun upside pick. Will also get a lot of run in Greensboro. I do think Charlotte will sign him to a contract. Scottie Lewis at pick 56 will probably be one of the 2-way contract guys this year. Going into Free Agency: Charlotte Fans - please temper expectations for free agency after tonight. With Plumlee, Bouknight, Kai and Thor being added last night, Charlotte has ONE open roster spot left and about $13M to spend. My guess is that cap space will be used to re-sign Devonte Graham. I think that there is a very low chance Richaun Holmes comes to Charlotte now. They can't sign him AND bring Graham back. Plus with Kai, Thor and Plumlee PLUS Carey and Richards - Charlotte has a ton of centers on the roster. If they add a center it'll be via trade (ie Myles Turner) and Terry will be the return with Carey/Richards thrown in (my guess). Charlotte could let go of Caleb Martin for free (contract isn't guaranteed until like Sept/Oct), but that only gives Charlotte an additional $1.5M in space. Not a lot of room. Overall I loved what Charlotte did. Bring Devonte back and let's ride. Talent is vastly improved even if there is some added development time. Plumlee is better than Zeller and Bouknight is a monk upgrade. We'll see if they make a trade or two.

Really underrated move. Perhaps Charlotte could've found a better opportunity to take on salary for a better asset BUT Plumlee is a useful rotational big. Moving up to pick 37 from 57 was sweet. JT Thor is a nice young upside play too. If Plumlee is the starting center...this deal is less fun. Based on our draft, cap and roster spots, it's highly possible Charlotte is done adding bigs.

My guess is that Zeller will sign elsewhere pretty early in free agency for a team friendly deal. He just wants to be valued from a basketball stance. Money isn't the highest thing on his priority list and I imagine several teams view him as a good reserve center and one will scoop him up while Charlotte deals with Graham/Monk and whoever they want to be their starting center next year. Everyone will hate me for this, but if Charlotte doesn't draft a big at 11 and can only land one of their main center targets in free agency, Biz is going to be sitting there still. I can easily see Charlotte grabbing him in early to mid September and letting him be the Vet guy again for close to the minimum. Just stating for the record that I do NOT want Biz back. Biz won't be a priority for anyone else and he's likely going to be the 10th option for Charlotte, but if they miss on some of their bigger targets and Zeller signs somewhere else early on, then I can see this happening again.

Yea - no thanks on Garza for any of our picks. Want him on the summer league team as an undrafted? Cool, but that's it.

YIKES -- lol Turner is the only mildly reasonable name on the list. Contract isn't the best but it's probably palatable since you'd only have it for two more seasons. You'd have to trade Terry most likely to match the salary and I'm guessing that Indiana will want an additional asset (PJ or a pick). Not sure that's worth it. John Collins is awesome, but he's going to want the bag and he just adds to our logjam at PF. Would need to trade out some other pieces for this to make sense. Porzingis shouldn't be on your list. Dude is making $30+ for the next 3 years and isn't worth half of that.

RealGM

Not a big fan of trading down in the NBA draft especially if it means leaving the lottery. The long term benefit is worse if you trade back. Let's say we traded pick 11 to OKC for picks 16 & 18. Statistically speaking, based on Historical data: You have a 51% chance of a guy you pick between 6-14 becoming a productive starter for you You have a 49% chance of a guy you pick between 15-30 becoming a productive rotation player (not starter) for you Conversely the odds of the guy you pick between 6-14 becoming a productive rotation player is 85%. Much higher chance of hitting. If you take two guys between 15-30, the odds of both guys becoming productive rotation players is 25% So basically - don't trade pick 11 to move back in the draft unless a proven player is part of the return package. With the NBA, it makes way more sense to take the best chance at a sure thing. It's just different from the NFL that way. I'd stay put at 11 if I were Mitch.

I wouldn't take Jalen Johnson at pick 60. Out on him.