Do Hornets have any say in why many cord-cutters can’t watch their games this season?
One of the most-asked Charlotte Hornets questions I get has nothing to do with who plays.
It’s why many of the team’s fans can’t watch games this season, due to a TV carriage dispute that includes Fox Sports Southeast.
My colleague, Alex Andrejev, wrote a story last month about the impasse between Sinclair, the parent company of Fox Sports South Southeast, and some streaming services. That impasse continues and means some Hornets fans can’t watch Hornets games via their choice for television providers.
I get frequent questions about this, some implying the team should be able to solve the problem.
That topic leads this Hornets mailbag:
Are the Hornets frustrated with the lack of accessibility locally to their games on streaming services? -- Mike
I asked the Hornets about that. In a prepared statement, the team replied, “While this is a matter between the Sinclair RSNs (regional sports networks) and their distribution partners, the Charlotte Hornets fully support FOX Sports Southeast.”
Additionally, the statement read, “Fox Sports Southeast is widely available across North Carolina and South Carolina through major distribution platforms, including Spectrum, AT&T TV, AT&T U-verse, DirecTV and Xfinity.”
It’s obvious this is a sensitive issue for the Hornets and the other NBA, MLB and NHL teams that sold their TV rights to the Fox RSN’s. Sinclair Broadcast Group bought those 21 RSNS in the summer of 2019 for a reported $9.6 billion and have been at an impasse with various streaming services over carrying the networks.
Fans don’t care about high finance. They care that they can’t watch Hornets games at a time when the team has created some buzz with the additions of LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward.
What the Hornets’ statement didn’t address (probably out of concern of offending Sinclair): The Hornets sold their TV rights and have little say in how those rights are distributed. That’s not uncommon for major league teams.
This is a national issue, not a regional one. I don’t think the Hornets have the power to change this, at least in the short run.
Is there any chance Miles Bridges takes P.J. Washington’s starting spot at power forward? -- LaMelo ROTY
Short of another injury forcing the Hornets to start Washington at center, I don’t see why they’d move Bridges into the starting lineup. He is thriving in this role off the bench.
You don’t automatically want your five best players all starting. Bridges understands and embraces this role. Leave it be.
Can the Hornets send Malik Monk and something else to Sacramento for Marvin Bagley? -- Lonnie
It would have to be a very appealing something else for the Kings to be interested. Bagley was the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft and has another season after this one before he would reach restricted free agency. Monk is in the final season of his rookie-scale contract before he reaches restricted free agency.
Just because Bagley’s father wants his son traded doesn’t make that something the Kings must do. As far as the Hornets, general manager Mitch Kupchak doesn’t seem quick to give up future draft picks. Never say never, but I bet it’s hard to figure out a deal both teams would want.
Are you surprised the Hornets used the 32nd pick on Vernon Carey and traded to get Nick Richards, and neither guy is getting important minutes with Cody Zeller out? -- Colby
I’m not, considering the normal off-season between the draft and the start of training camp didn’t happen. The pandemic canceled summer league and pushed back the draft to three weeks before the start of camp. That’s a major blow to getting rookies up to speed.
These are second-round players. I don’t know why they’d be ready to contribute, particularly after losing the normal three months of summer preparation and hardly playing at all in the preseason.
Is James Borrego’s job safe? -- Snaggletooth
I have no reason to think Kupchak or owner Michael Jordan is unhappy with the job Borrego has done. He has developed young talent. He probably squeezed more victories out of last season’s group than the talent and experience suggested. He has strong people skills and seems to be up-front and accountable with the players.
Is Gordon Hayward meeting the expectations the Hornets had for him? -- SportsFan
Hayward is averaging 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists. If those are his averages for the entire season, I’d say he’s very much doing what they wanted of him as a scorer/playmaker/decision-maker.
If those end up his averages over four seasons -- and that is an unrealistically high bar -- he will have more than earned $120 million in the current NBA marketplace.
Why is Monk still not playing? Is it a conditioning issue? -- Malachi
After not playing in the first six games, Monk got 10 minutes in the fourth quarter Monday night in Philadelphia. He missed his only shot, but had three assists.
Borrego has talked about this team struggling offensively. Monk seems such a logical way to address that. We’ll just have to see if he now works his way back into the lineup.
I spoke with Monk last week, and he said he feels he’s fully back conditioning-wise from his time out with COVID-19. Monk understands this season has major stakes for him, with free-agency coming next summer.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 2:15 PM.
