Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets sign three players to training camp roster, Arnoldas Kulboka returns to Brose Bamberg
Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the latest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.
The Queen City team unveiled their throwback white uniforms which feature pinstripes and pay homage to the teams of the past. (CBSsports.com) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets signing three players to training camp deals, Arnoldas Kulboka re-joining Brose Bamberg in Germany, and Devonte’ Graham avoiding knee surgery.
Hornets sign three players to training camp roster (NBA.com)
"Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations & General Manager Mitch Kupchak announced today that the team has signed guard Jaylen Barford and forwards Zach Smith and Isaiah Wilkins to the team’s training camp roster. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed."
Jaylen Barford is a 6’3 guard from the University of Arkansas where he averaged 17.9 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals in 35 games for the Razorbacks. As for Zach Smith, he is a 6’8 forward out of Texas Tech. He only put up 6.8 PPG and 3.8 RPG during his Senior Year but did average 12.1 PPG and 7.2 RPG when he was Junior.
Last but not least, Isaiah Wilkins is a former University of Virginia forward. (Our story on his signing) These players were most likely signed to partially guaranteed deals and will most likely be waived prior to the start of the regular season. Although, we’ll see if they can challenge for a roster spot during training camp and preseason play.
If they are cut, they can be added to the Greensboro Swarm (Charlotte’s G-League affiliate) as affiliate players for the upcoming season.
Arnoldas Kulboka returns to Brose Bamberg (Sportando.basketball)
"Arnoldas Kulboka returns to Brose Bamberg. After a year on loan to Orlandina, the Lithuanian shooter is back in Germany. Kulboka, selected by the Hornets with the 55th overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, averaged 8.3 points per game in Serie A."
The Charlotte Hornets’ second-round pick spent last season on loan with Orlandina in Italy. Now that he has returned to his parent club, Kulboka will look to earn minutes with Brose Bamberg for the upcoming campaign. It’s unclear what the German club’s plans are for Arnoldas as they may loan him out again.
Kulboka impressed during the Las Vegas Summer League with Charlotte. Mitch Kupchak has already made it clear that Arnoldas will continue to play overseas for at least this year and that the Hornets won’t bring him stateside until he’s ready. They are taking the patient approach and that is the right thing to do so that he can continue his development.
Devonte’ Graham avoids surgery (CharlotteObserver.com)
"It appears Charlotte Hornets rookie Devonte Graham will avoid knee surgery. Graham consulted with specialists after a cartilage injury was detected in his right knee earlier this month. The plan, for now, is for Graham to resume basketball activity on a conservative schedule, rather than have a procedure, a team spokesman said Tuesday."
This is great news for both Graham and the Hornets. The rookie showed a lot of promise during the Las Vegas Summer League before going down with the injury. It was originally feared that he would need surgery and could miss the entire 2018-19 season. Now it appears that Devonte’ may be back by the start of training camp.
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The second-round pick is set to be Charlotte’s third-string point guard and play behind Kemba Walker and Tony Parker. He will be used in emergency situations but there is a small chance that Graham could challenge for rotation minutes this season. Whatever the case is, this is the best possible outcome for Devonte’.