Kevin Burge established his business, Kevin Burge Sports Cards on the growing popularity of sports fans’ card collecting, and all things professional sports related. One of the roles of Kevin Burge Sports Cards is a dedicated forum to team news, highlights, and the goings on in the sports community. In the article below, the upcoming season for the Charlotte Hornets is discussed, the controversy over a few key players, roster movements, season outlook, and predictions.
From signing Ty-Shon Alexander to their best and worst-case scenarios for the upcoming season to players’ thoughts on the Miles Bridges tumult, a lot is going on for the Charlotte Hornets as they prepare to play their hearts out.
Kevin Burge Sports Cards explores where this much-loved team is set to go from here, how they plan to leave the unrest behind them, and their most likely outcomes for the new basketball season.
Hornets Set Sights Firmly on Upcoming Season
In the not-so-distant past (July 20, 2022), Hornets forward, Miles Bridges, announced his not-guilty plea to three felony charges.
With such serious charges, the team simply couldn’t ignore it, publishing the following statement about the matter the day before Bridges pled not guilty:
“We are aware of the charges that were filed today against Miles Bridges. They are severe changes that we will continue to monitor…We won’t provide further comment at this time.”
Kevin Burge Sports Cards says that as the number 12 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Bridges signed a four-year contract with the Charlotte Hornets. However, it was noted that the player and the team have let the qualifying offer expire.
So, as of October 3, Bridges will not be returning to the team this season.
While his preliminary hearing occurred, his former teammates started training camp, not knowing whether Bridges would be joining them in the short or long term.
Due to the high-profile nature of the case and the severity of the charges against the former Hornets player, Ian Black interviewed a few team members (namely, Steve Clifford, Lamelo Ball, PJ Washington, and Terry Rozier) to see what they had to say.
According to Kevin Burge Sports Cards, each player seemed to have similar views — none truly opened up about the situation, many saying they’re all just focused on the Charlotte Hornets and ensuring they’re ready to give the upcoming season their all.
As a whole, it appears they’re pushing negativity out and only inviting positivity in as they keep their games and nothing else at the forefront of their minds.
Hornets Sign Ty-Shon Alexander Amid Other Roster Movements
Moving on from the less-than-pleasant Bridges situation to more positive news — the team has recently signed guard Ty-Shon Alexander to a non-guaranteed contract, according to The Observer.
Kevin Burge Sports Cards says that while Alexander played in 15 NBA games with Phoenix two seasons ago, he spent a portion of last season in Italy. Averaging eight points, 1.6 steals, two assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game with the Hornets during the Las Vegas Summer League this year, the team has decided to bring him back for the 2022-23 season.
But considering the deal is non-guaranteed, he may well be waived and routed toward the Greensboro Swarm utilizing affiliate player rights. This team has experienced a rapid guard-depth shore-up thanks to the Theo Maledon and Alexander signings.
It was also mentioned that the team waived Jaylen Sims and Anthony Duruji on Friday, October 14, bringing the roster to 18 players. But NBA teams need to be within the 15-man regular season restrictions by Monday, October 17, so there’s still time for Mitch Kupchak, the Hornets’ general manager, to make changes.
And make changes he did!
Since this report, Kupchak announced that they waived LiAngelo Ball, Xavier Sneed, Crutcher, and Alexander, cutting their roster to 16 players — one non-guaranteed deal (Dennis Smith Jr.), two two-way players (Bryce McGowens and Maledon), and 13 guaranteed contracts.
The Hornets’ Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios for the 2022-23 Season
Kevin Burge Sports Cards says that there’s no better way to end a team wrap-up than a brief overview of the best-case and worst-case scenarios for the upcoming season.
Should the worst happen, the team will see a repeat of their last few seasons. Hayward suffers an injury, missing the latter part of the season, while the rest fall apart due to his absence, limiting their playoff chances. But since Steve Clifford keeps them just good enough, the Hornets will try for the postseason, ultimately falling short.
However, their best-case scenario is glorious explains Kevin Burge Sports Cards — they’ll get into the playoffs for a seven-game series, Clifford will improve their defense without negatively impacting the offense, Hayward will stay healthy, Rozier will keep being one of the best shooters in the league, and the young players will show significant growth.
Fans — and the team — are hoping to see the Charlotte Hornets finally get the best (or very close to) season they’ve been training for.
