Hornets sign Chealey; Swarm adds Charlotte’s Trey Phills, son of Bobby Phills
The Charlotte Hornets met a deadline to sign a 14th player. Joe Chealey gets an NBA paycheck.
The Hornets signed guard Chealey, who was on the Greensboro Swarm roster, to a 10-day contract Friday. The Hornets had until Saturday to add a player to reach the NBA roster minimum of 14, after Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchirst were released in buyout moves.
The Swarm hours later filled their open roster spot with Charlottean Trey Phills.
Chealey, who played at the College of Charleston, was on a two-way contract with the Hornets last season. He didn’t get another two-way contract this season, but was with the Swarm, the Hornets’ G-League affiliate. He averaged 11.1 points and 4.3 assists this season with the Swarm, starting 24 of 34 games.
Chealey would make a pro-rated portion of the $1.4 million NBA minimum salary for a player with one season experience.
Phills is the son of former Hornet Bobby Phills. The Hornets retired Phills’ jersey after his death in 2000, and the jersey now hangs in Spectrum Center.
A 6-foot-2 guard, Phills played high school ball at Charlotte Christian and college ball for Yale. He worked out for the Hornets in June, then he went unselected in the NBA draft.
Even with Chealey’s signing, the Hornets have an open roster spot available. General manager Mitch Kupchak said Wednesday he might use 10-day contracts to audition various players the balance of the season.
Moving either of the two-way contract players — Kobi Simmons or Ray Spalding — to Charlotte would not have reached the NBA roster minimum, since those two are already on Hornets contracts.
