Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
The Charlotte Hornets have announced a radio flagship partnership with WFNZ. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Hornets’ training camp roster, if it’s postseason or bust for Charlotte and where the team’s “statement” uniform ranks among NBA teams.
Hornets announce training camp roster (NBA.com)
"Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today the signings of free agents Terry Henderson and Luke Petrasek, finalizing the team’s 2017 training camp roster at 20 players. Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not released. The training camp roster now stands at 20."
Charlotte rounded out their training camp roster with the addition of two undrafted free agents in SG Terry Henderson out of NC State and PF Luke Petrasek out of Columbia University. The roster breaks down to five PG’s, four SG’s, three SF’s, five PF’s and three C’s. The Hornets also have eight rookies under contract.
The team has the maximum 20 players for their training camp roster. The addition of two-way contracts means that NBA teams can now carry 17 players with 15 being on their regular season roster and two being on two-way deals. This means that Charlotte will need to cut three players.
Playoffs or bust for Charlotte and Steve Clifford? (HashtagBasketball.com)
"Between a decimated Eastern conference and an improved roster, the stars have aligned. The path to a playoff spot hasn’t been this clear for Charlotte in a long time, and failure to even stumble into the eighth seed would be a disaster and a fireable offense for Steve Clifford."
If the Hornets somehow miss the playoffs, expect big changes to the team’s front office, coaching staff and roster. Rich Cho and Steve Clifford will probably be let go while multiple players could be traded. The weakening of the Eastern Conference will make it hard for Charlotte to miss out on the postseason but injuries are always unexpected.
If they can remain relatively healthy, there is no reason why the Hornets shouldn’t be a top-six seed in the East. There’s a lot of pressure on Charlotte to make some real noise this year but the high expectations are warranted. If the team flops this season, everyone will be on the hot seat and no one’s job will be safe.
Ranking the NBA’s “statement” jerseys (NBA.NBCsports.com)
"The Patently Dope – Look, the Hornets have had a new purple uniform for a few years but just how dope this rebrand has been from top to bottom is enough to put it in this category. Plus, how do you not love a jersey with the Jumpman logo on it?"
Next: Top-five things to look forward to this season
The Hornets might not have the best “statement” uniforms in the league but they are far from the worst. While the purple jerseys for Charlotte aren’t anything new, they still have the same pop to them that they have for the past couple years. At least they aren’t boring.