Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets still behind Wizards in Southeast, Sulaimon to France
Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the latest and greatest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
Dwayne Bacon is the latest Jordan Brand Athlete as he signed with the company. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at how the Charlotte Hornets are still behind the Washington Wizards in the Southeast Division, Rasheed Sulaimon choosing to play professionally in France and no draft and stash players for the team.
Hornets still behind Wizards in Southeast Division (CharlotteObserver.com)
"I think a Wizards roster with John Wall, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat and Otto Porter is still better than what the Hornets will field. Maybe not dramatically better, but better. Also, the Miami Heat is still talented, and Erik Spoelstra is a terrific coach. They are coming off a red-hot second half of last season."
If I had to rank the Southeast Division heading into the 2017-18 season, I would put the Wizards as the clear favorite followed by the Hornets, the Heat, the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic. Despite still being behind Washington, Charlotte has made the most improvement of any team in the division this offseason.
Entering their 14th year in the Southeast Division, the Hornets have still not won a division title and that probably won’t change this season. Although, there is a good chance that they could finish second and possibly keep pace with the Wizards.
Rasheed Sulaimon to France (Greensboro.com)
"Sulaimon, a 6-foot-4 guard who starred at Duke and Maryland, will continue his pro career overseas, signing a deal to play for JDA Dijon in France."
Sulaimon was one of the Hornets’ first G-League projects. The team signed him after he went undrafted in 2016. After playing in four preseason games for Charlotte, he was waived and then the Greensboro Swarm acquired him as an affiliate player. He had one solid year with the G-League affiliate and was likely headed for another stint in Greensboro this season.
Instead of sticking with the Hornets’ organization, Rasheed chose to leave the team during their summer league and accept a professional contract to play overseas. He will now join JDA Dijon of Pro A which is the top basketball league in France. Former Charlotte Bobcats’ swingman Reggie Williams also played with Dijon back in 2008-09.
Charlotte doesn’t have any unsigned draft picks (Twitter/ @KeithSmithNBA)
"As it stands right now, the Hornets and Pistons are the only teams that do not hold the draft rights to an unsigned draft pick."
Next: Hornets interested in J. Hill, T. Jones and W. Reed
I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing for the Hornets. On one hand, all of their draft picks have been signed or renounced which means they’ve all likely had their chance in the NBA so none of their selections were wasted. On the other hand, it also means that Charlotte isn’t following a league trend of drafting and stashing players.