Charlotte Hornets

If Russell Westbrook is going to be traded this offseason, the Charlotte Hornets reportedly won't be the team that acquires him. 

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the Hornets front office feels the Houston Rockets star isn't a fit after internally discussing him (starts at 25-second mark):

Charania reported last week that the Hornets have "emerged" as a possible suitor for Westbrook.

Per The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, Charlotte chairman Michael Jordan "wants" the nine-time All-Star, but the writer added the team "won't put the No. 3 pick" in the 2020 NBA draft in a trade proposal to the Rockets.

On Tuesday, Charania noted the Rockets and Washington Wizards "have discussed" a trade involving Westbrook and John Wall, but those talks don't have traction because Houston wants "more assets" than Washington will include. 

Houston appears to be in a precarious position with one month to go before the start of the 2020-21 season. 

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, James Harden turned down a two-year extension worth $103 million from the Rockets and "has made it clear to ownership that he's singularly focused" on being traded to the Brooklyn Nets. 

Wojnarowski noted the Rockets and Nets "haven't engaged in meaningful dialogue," despite some recent contact between the sides.

Harden and Westbrook are the two centerpieces of Houston's roster. First-year head coach Stephen Silas is replacing Mike D'Antoni, who led the team to four playoff appearances in the past four seasons. 

Westbrook averaged 27.2 points per game last season, his highest scoring output since leading the NBA with 31.6 points per contest in 2016-17. 

Charlotte finished third in the Southeast Division with a 23-42 record in 2019-20. The franchise hasn't made the postseason since the 2015-16 season. 

With the 2020 NBA draft only hours away, LaMelo Ball could be in play for the Charlotte Hornets with the third overall pick.

The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor reported that chairman Michael Jordan "has given his stamp of approval for the front office to select [Ball]."

Throughout the buildup to the draft, Memphis center James Wiseman has been linked to the Hornets.

Wiseman would address a clear need since Bismack Biyombo and Willy Hernangomez are free agents and Cody Zeller is entering the final year of his contract.

However, Wiseman may not be available when the Hornets are on the clock.

In his final mock draft, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected the Golden State Warriors to select the 7'1" big man.

O'Connor also reported the Warriors have discussed a trade with the Chicago Bulls that would involve swapping the Nos. 2 and 4 picks and sending Wendell Carter Jr. to the Bay Area. Were the Bulls to move up two spots while dealing away a center, it seems reasonable they'd replace him with another center.

Assuming Wiseman is gone, Ball would be a logical alternative for the Hornets.

Charlotte already has Devonte' Graham and Terry Rozier, but neither figures to be the kind of foundational star Kemba Walker was for the organization. They're also 25 and 26, respectively, which has to be considered for a team potentially looking at a lengthy rebuild.

Ball can be the long-term option at point guard, and perhaps just as important, he would bring star power and generate excitement within the fanbase.

With the market for Russell Westbrook relatively quiet ahead of Wednesday's NBA draft, the Charlotte Hornets have emerged as a potential trade partner for the Houston Rockets depending on how the early portion of the draft plays out. 

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, there's a "belief" the Hornets could look to acquire Westbrook if guard LaMelo Ball is taken before Charlotte gets to use the No. 3 overall pick:

"Should the playmaking Ball be drafted before the Hornets’ turn at No. 3, according to the theory, there is a much stronger case to be made for trading for Westbrook in spite of the cost and attendant risk."

On November 12, NBA insider Kevin Smith reported the Hornets have made it known they're willing to take on "bad contracts" as long as younger talent or picks are added as compensation. 

Westbrook would certainly fit that mold. 

The 32-year-old has two years left on his current deal—including a player option for 2022—and is set to earn at least $41 million per season until hitting free agency in 2023. Whichever team takes on that contract is going to be doing the Rockets a massive service. 

Houston currently does not own any picks in 2020 draft. It does, however, have a number of picks over the next few years that could intrigue Charlotte even further. Those assets may be seen as extremely valuable to the Rockets now with the franchise on the brink of a full-scale rebuild. 

The Hornets could use another ball-handler to pair with Devonte Graham in their backcourt, and Westbrook would provide a significant upgrade from Terry Rozier. 

Playing in the Southeast Division, where there's plenty of room for another contender to emerge alongside the Miami Heat, helps Charlotte's case as well. 

According to Stein, the New York Knicks are the only other team with verified interest in Westbrook. As much as a deal for the point guard would help revitalize the franchise, "multiple voices" within the front office have expressed doubts.

That may clear the road for Charlotte to strike a deal should Ball find himself drafted with one of the top two selections. 

Some members of the Charlotte Hornets front office reportedly want the franchise to select point guard LaMelo Ball with the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft Wednesday night.

Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer broke down the Hornets' draft outlook Tuesday:

"No one knows exactly what Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak is thinking or what type of influence team owner Michael Jordan will have over the team's selection. League sources have long said the Hornets' preference is to trade up for [James] Wiseman or pick [Onyeka] Okongwu. Both would be great frontcourt fits next to PJ Washington. However, league sources say there are people within Charlotte's front office—possibly even MJ himself—who want LaMelo. Taking Ball wouldn't necessarily mean keeping him, though; teams like [the] Detroit [Pistons] or New York [Knicks] could trade up to this spot, and Okongwu would likely still be on the board later on."

Charlotte has extreme flexibility heading into the draft. Not only does the team have needs at pretty much every position after a disappointing 23-42 season, but none of its players are under contract for any longer than three more years, per Spotrac.

The lack of long-term, lucrative financial commitments gives the front office a great chance to do a full-scale rebuilding process without having to find takers for bloated contracts.

So perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise the Hornets' pick at No. 3 will likely be the draft's first major turning point. They could target any number of prospects or trade down to accumulate more assets.

Ball is a strong bet to land somewhere in the top five when the dust settles Wednesday night. The 19-year-old California native possesses an intriguing all-around skill set that, when paired with his 6'7" frame, give him ample upside.

He's also already played at the professional level, averaging 17 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 14 games for the Illawarra Hawks in Australia's NBL.

The main concern he faces is the same one that followed his brother, Lonzo Ball, heading into the 2017 draft: can he improve enough as a shooter to become a bona fide superstar?

LaMelo made just 37.5 percent of his shot attempts in Australia, including 25 percent from three-point range. It was a limited sample size, but the question mark existed before he arrived to the Hawks and his performance there didn't answer it.

If the Hornets aren't confident he's a true franchise cornerstone, they can probably move down a few spots and still have a good chance at Okongwu to bolster their frontcourt and add some future picks.

It's one of numerous possibilities for Charlotte and the situation as a whole gives Mitch Kupchak an opportunity to leverage the No. 3 pick into a franchise-altering night for the Hornets.

The Charlotte Hornets are reportedly the "most likely" team to land Russell Westbrook in a trade with the Houston Rockets, according to Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer. 

Owner Michael Jordan reportedly wants Westbrook, and O'Connor noted it's "unsurprising and understandable" as the 32-year-old would help the team on the court as well as improving TV ratings and attendance figures when fans are able to return.

However, O'Connor reported the Hornets aren't willing to trade the No. 3 overall pick in any deal, "so the organization is clearly not overly zealous" to make the trade happen.

The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers also reportedly are interested in the point guard, per O'Connor, but overall interest is "minimal." 

Adrian Wojnarowski, Ramona Shelburne and Zach Lowe of ESPN reported on Sunday the Rockets have been "actively searching" for trade partners but there is a "relatively barren" market for Westbrook.

The guard is owed over $84 million over the next two seasons, plus a $46.7 million player option for 2022-23.

This price tag could hurt his appeal for many teams, although the Hornets have decent financial flexibility with the sixth-most practical cap space in the NBA, per Spotrac.

Adding a nine-time All-Star would certainly help Charlotte improve upon last year's 23-42 record while generating some much-needed excitement for the fanbase. The team has missed the playoffs in each of the last four years and hasn't gotten out of the first round since the last iteration of the franchise in 2002.

Westbrook averaged 27.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season, both of which would have led the Hornets, while his 47.2 field-goal percentage was a career high.

O'Connor projected young players like P.J. Washington, Miles Bridges or Devonte' Graham could headline the Hornets' package in a potential deal, along with future first-round picks and expiring contracts to balance the trade.

The No. 32 overall pick in Wednesday's draft could also be available.

Nicolas Batum has elected to exercise his $27.1 million player option from the Charlotte Hornets for the 2020-21 season, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

That option caps off a five-year, $120 million deal signed with the Hornets in 2016.

The 31-year-old averaged 3.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 2019-20.

He has played his entire 12-year career with the Portland Trail Blazers and Hornets and arrived in Charlotte after a 2015 offseason trade for Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh.

Batum brings a bit of everything to the mix. At his best, he's a stat-sheet stuffer who can score, rebound, dish and play good defense. For his career, he averages 11.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Per Basketball Reference, he never had a negative box plus/minus until 2019-20.

However, his struggles on the offensive end resulted in a career-low 34.6 percent from the field (28.6 percent from three-point range) in 2019-20. Batum also had a career-low 9.2 player efficiency rating.

The news is at least somewhat surprising even though Batum likely wouldn't be getting $27.1 million elsewhere after a rough 2019-20 season that eventually saw him permanently benched.

Batum seemed resigned to leaving Charlotte in an early March interview with Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer.

"I apologize to the people here," he said. "Because they put so much faith in me. And it didn't go well. ... It didn't work out. But what do I have to do? Because I'm still here."

He also added, "This franchise has got a bright future, but I don't think I'll be part of it."

A fresh start elsewhere may be what Batum needs. He doesn't really fit on a young, rebuilding Hornets team looking to start a new era after the departure of franchise star Kemba Walker last offseason. But for now, he's signed with the Hornets for one more year as Charlotte looks to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16.

Amid rumors that the Charlotte Hornets are interested in acquiring Russell Westbrook, general manager Mitch Kupchak is doing his best to play things straight.

Per Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, Kupchak noted he can't specifically comment on an opposing player because of the NBA's tampering rules before saying the Hornets are "active" in the market.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Hornets have "emerged as a potential suitor" for Westbrook and they have "movable veteran contracts" to make a possible trade work financially. 

In the aftermath of Charania's report, Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports noted there's "a bit of a divide" within the Hornets about Westbrook. 

"Some see him, with a few other additions, as enough to get the Hornets into playoff contention again the East," Smith wrote. "Others see the best path forward to keep a clean cap sheet after this season."

Charania reported on Wednesday that Westbrook "wants out of Houston" one year after being acquired in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Per Spotrac, the Hornets currently have $26.3 million in practical cap space and only have $32.9 million in salary commitments for the 2021-22 season. Westbrook is guaranteed $85.6 million over the next two seasons and has a $47.1 million player option in 2022-23.

Westbrook played well in his first season with the Rockets, averaging 27.2 points per game with a career-high 47.2 field-goal percentage. 

Kupchak is entering his third season with the Hornets. They have gone 62-85 in the previous two years and haven't made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season. 

The Charlotte Hornets have reportedly had discussions about trading for Russell Westbrook, who has expressed a desire to leave the Houston Rockets after one season.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the Hornets are among the more serious suitors among the "couple" of teams that could look to trade for the nine-time All-Star.

The Hornets' interest in Westbrook seems curious at best. They are by no stretch of the imagination a playoff team or anything close to resembling one. While the team does have some veteran contracts it could unload in a Westbrook trade, the reasoning behind moving them for Westbrook seems ill-fated.

For instance, the contracts of Nicolas Batum and Cody Zeller come off the books after the 2020-21 season. Adding Westbrook would tie up more than $40 million per season through 2022-23, all for an oft-injured 32-year-old who may lead your franchise to a No. 7 or 8 seed. 

The Hornets would be far better served using their cap space to target young free agents, or to absorb bad contracts from other teams in exchange for draft picks. The 2019-20 season should have been seen as the first year of a long-term rebuild, and trading for Westbrook would fly in the face of those efforts while hamstringing maneuverability.

There is some value to having a star-level player like Westbrook on a roster, but with fan attendance expected to be minimal (or nonexistent) for most of the 2020-21 season, the fan intrigue angle also flies out the window. 

The Charlotte Hornets have the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, so they don't necessarily have to cast a wide net in terms of their potential targets. In fact, they may have already narrowed their choice to three players.

ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported Monday that the Hornets "have not seriously considered picking any prospects outside the top group," which includes LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman.

Charlotte doesn't have one specific need and should look to draft the best player available regardless of position. 

Nine players from the Hornets' 2019-20 roster were 24 or younger, but it's unclear whether the franchise has somebody who can be a Kemba Walker-like cornerstone for the future. That the front office would strongly consider a point guard (Ball), a 2-guard (Edwards) and a traditional center (Wiseman) speaks to the issue.

In his most recent mock draft, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Ball to go No. 1 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Wiseman at No. 2 to the Golden State Warriors. That left Edwards for Charlotte.

Edwards might be the Hornets' best-case scenario.

Devonte' Graham may be better off not having to share the backcourt with a ball-dominant point guard like Ball, and using a top-five pick on a center who can't stretch the floor may not be a sensible investment for a team as far away from contending as Charlotte is.

Think back to the 2018 draft and imagine if the Phoenix Suns had taken any one of Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr. or Trae Young instead of Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 pick.

Edwards averaged 19.1 points while shooting 40.2 percent from the floor in his one season at Georgia. He was only a 29.4 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Wasserman wrote in September "the more we ask around about Edwards, the more we hear concern about his professionalism and ability to impact winning, even if his scoring production carries over."

Selecting Edwards would carry obviously risk, but he might have the highest ceiling in the 2020 class. The presence of Graham would help offset Edwards' lack of playmaking and allow him to focus more on scoring, too.

If Edwards is still available, then the Hornets might as well swing for the fences with the hope he becomes an All-Star talent.

The Charlotte Hornets have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, and they might be zeroing in on USC forward Onyeka Okongwu.

The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor reported the Hornets "are likely targeting a big man and are heavily considering Okongwu."

Okongwu averaged 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in his lone season with the Trojans. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman ranked him as the third-best player in his most recent big board:

"Everyone buys his floor as a finisher and rim protector. The debate is about his upside as a 6'9", non-shooting center.

"But I'm too high on Okongwu's footwork for shot-creation and touch inside the arc. He should be more than just a dunker with his ability to shake in the post and soft touch with both hands.

"He'll also anchor the paint defensively while maintaining switchability and recovery speed in pick-and-roll coverage. He's a can't-lose option with the potential to impact games at both ends."

The overarching problem for the Hornets at the moment is they appear to have little in the way of foundational pieces for their rebuild.

Terry Rozier turns 27 in March, and he fits better as a complementary piece rather than a lead guard. First-round draft picks Malik Monk, Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington haven't fully panned out yet. Devonte' Graham had a breakout 2019-20 season and should be a part of the backcourt going forward; however, he's not a Kemba Walker-like talent who can be a franchise cornerstone.

The one benefit for the Hornets is that leaves them with a lot of flexibility in the first round. They can focus on value rather than drafting for need.

Okongwu would suit both aims.

Cody Zeller is entering the final year of his contract, while Willy Hernangomez and Bismack Biyombo are free agents. Assuming Charlotte makes an effort to re-sign Hernangomez, the team would still have a void at center since Zeller is a prime trade candidate on an expiring deal.

Okongwu could come in and be the long-term solution at the 5.