The ‘major disadvantage’ Hornets coach fears if NBA doesn’t tweak its offseason
The Charlotte Hornets accept the NBA’s decision not to include them in the league’s restart.
They won’t be so gracious if the league doesn’t tweak off-season rules.
Facing nine months without games, coach James Borrego and general manager Mitch Kupchak publicly lobbied Monday for variances from the normal NBA offseason.
“It could be a major disadvantage,” Borrego said on a conference call with Charlotte media. “For me and our group, I can’t allow that to happen. We’ve got to move forward and find creative ways to push this thing forward.”
The NBA plans to resume regular-season games with 22 of the 30 teams, all at Disney’s resort in suburban Orlando, Fla. Those teams will travel to Florida in mid-July and begin games at the end of the month. The playoffs will run through early October, meaning the next regular season won’t begin until December.
The Hornets’ final game was March 11, a road victory against the Miami Heat. That night, the league shut down in response to Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for coronavirus.
Typically, true group practices with coaches involved aren’t allowed in the NBA off-season beyond some limited gearing up for summer league. Borrego believes the Hornets and the seven other teams not going to Orlando should at least be allowed to practice in their home cities during the first month of the season restart.
“The amount of time they’re spending with their teams and their players as a unit, we believe we should have the same. That would level the playing field a little bit more,” Borrego said.
“For me it’s more about the time that we have (to work with players and to scrimmage) — that it syncs with what (other teams are) getting in Orlando — and also the live play, which we don’t get a lot in the summer.”
Changing offseason rules would have to be negotiated between the NBA and the players association. But these are extraordinary times: The players voted to approve the league’s plan to restart the season, which involves at least eight more regular-season games for each of the 22 teams heading to Florida.
The Hornets made a hard pivot this season to youth: Six players in their first or second NBA seasons accounted for 47 percent of the Hornets’ total minutes. This team was playing its best in the eight games right before the season was put on pause, beating playoff teams Toronto, Houston and Miami.
Kupchak said he’s been networking with the other seven general managers of teams not going to Orlando. He said the Hornets, who finished 23-42, lobbied to be included in the restart, and were “very disappointed” not to be included. However, Kupchak said he understands the reasoning (the cutoff was teams within six games of the 8th-and-final playoff spot in each conference).
Like Borrego, Kupchak is asking for something outside the typical NBA off-season to help preserve some continuity.
“Most of the (seven not in Florida) are young, developing teams and we all feel the same way: It would have been great to keep on playing with your staff, your coaches and your teammates,” Kupchak said.
Ready to draft
Kupchak said the cancellation of the NCAA tournament and teams not being able to work out players hasn’t been a big hindrance in preparing for the draft, rescheduled for Oct. 15: “We feel if the draft was done on June 25, we would have been as ready as we’ve ever been.”
Other topics addressed by Kupchak and Borrego ...
Monk’s return: The NBA reinstated shooting guard Malik Monk during the season hiatus, after Monk was suspended for an indefinite period Feb. 26 under the anti-drug policy.
Social justice: Borrego said he has talked with players as a group and individually about the social-justice initiatives around the country. Hornets Terry Rozier and Nic Batum attended a recent protest in uptown Charlotte.
“This is an opportunity for them to use their voice, their platform. They have my full support. I stand there with them as we fight racism,” Borrego said. “I’m thankful I work for an ownership group, an organization and a league that is taking a stand.”
Salary-cap room: Before the season was suspended, the NBA projected a $115 million salary cap for each team next season. That would have put the Hornets roughly $28 million under the cap when free-agency begins. The plummet in NBA revenues, caused by the pandemic, will reduce that cap space, but Kupchak doesn’t know by how much.
Kupchak said it was never part of the plan for the Hornets to try to make a big free-agent signing this offseason.
“We always felt our draft selections, and being able to make a trade here or there, would be the best way to put ourselves in (a better) position,” Kupchak said.
Kupchak anticipates the Hornets will talk to teams about trades where Charlotte might absorb a veteran contract in return for compensation, such as a draft pick.
Fit: Kupchak said the Hornets are still in the talent-acquisition stage of development; that it’s too early to pass judgment on whether the combination of Devonte Graham and Terry Rozier is a long-term fit in the backcourt, or if P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges are the solutions starting in the forward positions.
“At some point, we’ll hopefully be that advanced, to sit down and talk about, ‘Hey, we’ve got five or six guys with great talent, now how do they fit together?’” Kupchak said. “I don’t think we’re there right now.”
Player reviews: Borrego said he feels Washington should be first-team all-rookie. Washington started from opening night on, and was top-10 among rookies in nearly every statistical category.
Kupchak said Devonte Graham’s second season (he was inserted into the starting lineup 10 games in, and finished with a team-best 18.2 ppg.) was a revelation: “Nobody expected anything out of him.” Kupchak added that Graham became opponents’ “complete focus” defensively.
Kupchak said the second half of Bridges’ season was a big improvement. He also said he wasn’t surprised how free-agent signee Terry Rozier played, other than shooting a career-best 41 percent from 3-point range.
Signings: Kupchak said he hasn’t yet spoken with team owner Michael Jordan about any possible off-season business, such as possibly offering Graham an extension beyond his current rookie contract.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 4:36 PM with the headline "The ‘major disadvantage’ Hornets coach fears if NBA doesn’t tweak its offseason."
