Hornets haven’t made moves to improve during NBA free agency. Here’s the holdup
The inactivity these past few days shouldn’t be much of a surprise given the words of the Charlotte Hornets general manager leading into the frenzied period headlining the NBA’s offseason calendar.
Mitch Kupchak never sounded like someone who was prepared to make a flurry of moves and lining up deals with some of the top talent on the open market was a long shot at best.
“It depends on how signing back our own free agents goes,” Kupchak said the day after the draft. “I think it’s possible. But I don’t see us going into free agency and making a big splash, OK?”
That was Kupchak’s thinking before Miles Bridges’ arrest for felony domestic violence in Los Angeles last week in the hours preceding the official start of free agency. Bridges’ murky status complicates matters, but nothing has been finalized regarding his future. Still, based on the lack of any significant movement since free agency tipped off last Thursday, it appears Kupchak’s mantra of sitting out the frenzy hasn’t changed.
While activity furiously hopped around them, including each of their Southeast Division foes, the Hornets sat out the festivities. They were the last team to make a move when they agreed to terms with Cody Martin on Saturday, a deal that became official Wednesday when the league’s moratorium on player signings was lifted.
The Hornets’ main roster stands at 13, leaving room for two more spots to be filled over the coming days or weeks. They also have one more two-way contract available and possess the ability to ink free agents despite being over the salary cap, but there’s only so much they can do.
What are their options? Here’s a breakdown of where things stand with their salary cap management and what they have at their disposal should they choose to add another player or two from the market.
HORNETS DON’T HAVE SALARY CAP ROOM
Salary cap space is not available for the Hornets as the roster is currently constructed.
Last week, the league set the salary cap at $123.6 million, and the Hornets are already over that figure with the 13 contracts they have on their books along with their cap holds. A cap hold represents a place reserved in a team’s salary structure for their current free agents, draft picks and any offer sheets for the new league year.
The Hornets also have 6 percent of their cap tied up in “dead” money, which is a direct result of the $8.8 million owed to Nic Batum after the team waived him in 2020 and stretched the remaining portion of the five-year, $120 million deal the team inked him to in 2016 over three years.
Since the Hornets are over the cap, renouncing the rights of any of their free agents (such as Bridges or Montrezl Harrell) will not open up more space. To take on more salary in a trade, they would have to unload contracts to match what’s coming back to absorb it.
A major deal would be nearly impossible without including Gordon Hayward’s contract. He’s scheduled to earn $30 million this season and $31.5 in 2023-24.
An aside: Nick Richards’ $1.7 million salary for next season becomes fully guaranteed if he is not waived by Thursday.
THE HORNETS’ FREE-AGENT OPTIONS
MID-LEVEL EXCEPTION
There are two versions of the mid-level exception: One for teams that are above the tax threshold ($150.6 million in 2022-23) and another for those below it. The Hornets are the latter, which gives them access to a potential pool of money to entice a good veteran to join them on a pact with a maximum of two years.
A team can use the mid-level exception to sign either a free agent from or its own free agents provided it does not top the maximum aggregate amount allowed. Contracts can’t exceed four years in length and the mid-level can’t be used to acquire a player in a trade (Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton, as an example).
Theoretically, this salary slot is saved for a player deciding which team to play for if both situations are similar. The team that can pay more has that much better of an opportunity to secure the player’s services by dangling that financial carrot to seal the deal.
BI-ANNUAL EXCEPTION
This salary slot, which comes with a value of $4.1 million, has various ways a team can take advantage of it. Similar to the mid-level exception, it can also be used to re-sign a team’s own free agent.
For example, if they wanted to bring back unrestricted free agent Isaiah Thomas on a veteran’s minimum salary beginning at roughly $1.8 million, they could use some of the exception to do so.
This exception carries a maximum contract of two years and can be used on more than one player provided the combined salaries don’t exceed more than $4.1 million.
This story was originally published July 7, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
