Not a lot happens in the NBA in September. We did get a resolution to the Kawhi Leonard drama, which ended in a massive penalty for the Clippers, a slap on the wrist for Kawhi, and a hilarious apology from the latter. And now Kawhi is a Raptor. While all of that was going on, the Charlotte Hornets did a few things that are probably worth knowing if you’re invested in the team, but none of them on their own got me motivated to write something about it. Now that we have like four things, we can dish ’em all out here.
The Hornets made a series of roster transactions
If you follow HornetsPR on Twitter, you would have seen of daily posts announcing that the Hornets had signed a player, and then the following day announcing that the Hornets had waived that player and signed another player. They never specified, but it’s almost certain that all of those contracts were Exhibit 10 deals. Essentially they’re non-guaranteed contracts that pay the players a bonus if they sign and stay with the team’s G League affiliate for an allotted period. So for all intents and purposes, these were just moves to get players to eventually join the Swarm. The players that passed through:
- Josiah Allick
- Trey Townsend
- Kyle Manga
- Jarkel Joiner
- Kobe Stewart
- Bez Mbeng
As far as I can tell Bez Mbeng is actually still on the roster, though he’ll end up getting waived by the end of the preseason and likely head to the Swarm.
The Hornets have announced a new streaming partner
FanDuel Sports Network formerly known as Bally Sports Southeast formerly known as Fox Sports Southeast has finally and mercifully met its fate. The Hornets already did the really cool thing and announced that all of their non-nationally televised games are going to be on local TV in Charlotte area markets. Those of you who don’t have TV in the Charlotte area were probably like “what about me? How will I watch?” Well now we have an answer. The Hornets will be partnering with DAZN to stream the non-nationally televised games. So if you don’t have access to local cable, this is your alternative to watch the Hornets. It comes in at $119 for the season or $20 per month for the basic access. It’s a bit pricey, but this is definitely the easiest its ever been for people in the Charlotte area to watch Hornets games, and that can only be a good thing.
The Hornets announced their promo schedule for home games this season
We’ve got 18 games with 19 promos/giveaways, meaning nearly half the home games have some sort of non-basketball reason to come out.
- October 23 vs Hawks: opening night T-shirt giveaway for all fans
- October 26 vs Wizards: Breast Cancer Awareness Night with winter hat giveaway for the first 7,500 fans
- Also October 26 vs Wizards: Iron Flame Night, a crossover between the Rebecca Yarros fantasy novel and the Hornets. They did this last year with another one of her books, The Fourth Wing, but I’m not super sure of the details.
- November 6 vs Celtics: Cup Night with rally towel given to first 7,500 fans
- November 9 vs Cavaliers: Grateful Dead Night
- November 23 vs Grizzlies: Peanuts Night (like the Charlie Brown cartoon, not the snack)
- November 25 vs Bulls: Cup Night
- November 28 vs Nets: Buzz City Kids Day with a Hugo squish pillow for the first 7,500 fans
- November 30 vs Wizards: Throwback Night
- December 16 vs Clippers: Holiday Hoopla
- January 2 vs Cavaliers (1:00 tip): Buzz City Kids Day
- January 5 vs Hawks: Community Heroes Night
- January 25 vs Magic: Star Wars Night
- January 31 vs Lakers: HBCU Night
- March 13 vs Suns: Los Hornets
- March 24 vs Pistons: Women’s Impact Night
- March 28 vs Jazz: Buzz City Kids Day
- April 6 vs Pacers: AAPI Heritage Night
- April 9 vs Nets (home finale): Buzz City Appreciation Night with cowboy hat giveaway for first 7,500 fans
Mark your calendars. I’ve got my eye on a couple of those. And I find it interesting that they really front load the schedule with these things. Like they’re trying to get people to come out and then hopefully show them a good enough time that they come back without the need for a promo.
Hornets announce new general manager and head coach for Greensboro Swarm
The defending G League champion Greensboro Swarm will have some new leadership this season. The head coach that led them to the title last season, DJ Bakker, took a job as an assistant coach on new Magic head coach Sean Sweeney’s staff. He will be replaced by Zach Peterson (no relation to Jeff as far as I know). The team will be generally managed by Mike Pires, who has been an assistant coach and director of player development with the Hornets for the last couple of years.
