Willie Cauley-Stein turned down deal with Charlotte Hornets in offseason
If you thought the offseason wasn’t bad enough, the Charlotte Hornets ended up getting turned down by a former Kentucky Wildcat during free agency.
Fans thought they knew everything about the Charlotte Hornets offseason, but little did they know that one player turned the team down. On Wednesday, Bleacher Report reported from another source that Willie Cauley-Stein turned down a deal with the Hornets.
According to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, Cauley-Stein was offered a $9 million dollar contract by the Hornets, but he would then decline that offer to sign with the Golden State Warriors. Cauley-Stein signed with the Warriors on a 2-year $4.6 million deal.
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One of the main reasons behind Cauley-Stein’s decision was because he wanted to play on a winning team. During the offseason, many people wrote the Hornets off after they lost Kemba Walker.
Before signing with the Warriors, Cauley-Stein was initially on the Sacramento Kings, the team that drafted him. On the Kings, Cauley-Stein averaged 10.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Signing with the Warriors is interesting because Cauley-Stein told the media last September that he was “ready to get paid.” By being on the Warriors, Cauley-Stein is set to make a lot less then what he was making with the Kings.
So far this season, Cauley-Stein has averaged 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Warriors. In the Warriors’ recent game against the Hornets, Cauley-Stein picked up eight points and eight rebounds.
Cauley-Stein is not having the best season he could’ve hoped for so far, but current Hornets’ center Cody Zeller is having a career year for Charlotte. Zeller is averaging 12.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
Signing Cauley-Stein could’ve effected Zeller’s production this season, as both centers would’ve surely fought for the starting job.
Even though Cauley-Stein turned the Hornets down, did it have that much of a negative effect on the team? The Hornets currently sit at 4-3 and are 6th in the Eastern Conference; this record is a lot better than the Warriors’ 2-6 start to the season.
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The Hornets will not see the Warriors again until December 4th at the Spectrum Center. This will potentially be the last time that the Hornets see Cauley-Stein this season.