Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets announce preseason game, Kemba plans to stay
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
San Antonio Spurs‘ head coach Gregg Popovich said that it was tough to lose Tony Parker this summer. (Twitter/ @TimBontemps) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ preseason plan, Kemba Walker wanting to stay in the Queen City, and Treveon Graham signing with the Brooklyn Nets.
Hornets announce preseason game vs Boston (NBA.com)
"The Charlotte Hornets announced today that the team will hold training camp and host the Boston Celtics in a preseason home game at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina."
Charlotte is planning to conduct their training camp from September 25th to September 27th. They will then face off against the Boston Celtics on September 28th in a preseason affair. This is the first time that the Hornets will play in the Smith Center since 2006. This is a great way to get more fans involved and bring games to an audience that may not be able to travel to Charlotte to see regular season games. With Charlotte’s connection to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Michael Jordan, Buzz Peterson, Mitch Kupchak, and Marvin Williams) it’s easy to see why they would want to play a preseason game there.
Kemba Walker plans to stay in Charlotte (TheAthletic.com)
"“As far as seeing me in New York, I doubt it,” Walker replied. “I’m a Hornet, and I’m planning on being a Hornet for a long time, so, yeah, I’m not sure about that (New York).”"
Kemba continues to voice his loyalty towards the Hornets. Even though trade rumors have been surrounding him for the better part of the last two seasons, Walker always states that he wants to remain with Charlotte. It doesn’t sound like he will demand a trade anytime soon so it will be up to Mitch Kupchak and Michael Jordan to decide if Kemba will be a Hornet for his entire career.
Walker is set to be an unrestricted free agent after the 2018-19 season and most expect him to command a max contract on the open market. Charlotte can offer more money than any other team but it remains to be seen if the Hornets will commit long term. Despite all of the rumors and uncertainty about his future, Kemba seems committed.
Treveon Graham signs with Brooklyn (Sports.Yahoo.com)
"Free agent forward Treveon Graham has agreed to a two-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Graham’s agent, Ron Shade, finalized an agreement on Tuesday and the deal is fully guaranteed in the first season, league sources said."
Former Hornet Treveon Graham has found a new home and it will be in Brooklyn with the Nets. The 24-year old spent the past two season with Charlotte after going undrafted in 2016. He made a name for himself under Steve Clifford with his hustle play and intense on-ball defense. Treveon has been working on his outside shot and has developed nicely into a three-and-D player.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves were also in pursuit of Graham but he most likely decided on Brooklyn because there is an opportunity for him to get consistent minutes. Treveon was the consummate professional while with the Hornets and we wish him the best of luck going forward.