Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets potential TV deal in 2018, Best and worst case scenario
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
In their second preseason game, Charlotte completed a 20-point comeback to defeat the Detroit Pistons. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ potential TV deal in 2018, best/worst case scenario for the team and Jeremy Lamb‘s continued success during the preseason.
Hornets could score larger TV deal in 2018 (BizJournals.com)
"The NBA team’s contract with Fox Sports Southeast ends after the upcoming season and, based on industry trends, Michael Jordan‘s franchise is likely to increases its rights fees as part of a new agreement. Executives at Fox and the team say they hope to extend their partnership."
The Hornets’ TV contract is up at the right time for the franchise. Their stock is rising with the addition of exciting players and the team looks to be heading in the right direction. A playoff appearance this season could go a long way in their negotiations with FOX Sports southeast for a new deal.
While this new deal won’t make or break the Hornets’ bank, it could definitely help change things for the team. The added revenue could mean that they would be more willing to spend more money on players and possibly go into the luxury tax. With all TV deals going up around the NBA, expect Charlotte’s to be the same even though they are a small market team.
Best case, Worst case scenario for Charlotte (TheRinger.com)
"Best-Case Scenario: Top-four seed, baby! Charlotte has carved out a place as the 40-degree day of the NBA. Worst-Case Scenario: Another lottery pick! Coaching up a team without top-end talent has indeed bore results for Clifford, but it’s a much tougher job with players trying to keep hold on talent rather than tap into it."
It’s hard to imagine Charlotte grabbing a top-four seed with the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Washington Wizards and the Toronto Raptors all in the same conference. Even the Milwaukee Bucks and possibly the Miami Heat could even finish above the Hornets. The more likely outcome would be for Steve Clifford’s side to sneak their way into a fifth or sixth seed.
A lottery pick for Charlotte would be the worst case scenario for two reasons. One because it would no doubt be outside the top-10 and two because this is expected to be a weaker draft class than in 2017 and the Hornets haven’t hit on a lot of their first round picks in the past decade.
Jeremy Lamb continues to impress in preseason (FantasyPros.com)
"Jeremy Lamb played 27 minutes scoring 18 points grabbing three rebounds while notching four assists. The Hornets squeaked out a 108-106 victory over the Pistons."
Next: Five Hornets players to watch during the preseason
The former UCONN star has arguably been the Hornets’ best player through two exhibition games and shows no signs of slowing down. He’s done a great job of commanding the second unit and could be in for a career year. Sam Perley pointed out that Lamb has scored 17+ points in consecutive games only twice ever in the regular season. It’s also worth noting that Jeremy has the second highest PER in the NBA so far this preseason. (RealGM)