Davis Bertans’ unique contract offers Charlotte Hornets offseason….

How can the Hornets make a big move this offseason? The answer may surprise you.

The Charlotte Hornets are entering the 2024 offseason with a firm plan of action in place. New ownership led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin have put former Brooklyn Nets executive Jeff Peterson in charge of their day-to-day basketball operations as general manager. Now, with an ongoing head coach search to replace Steve Clifford, who is moving into an advisory role in the front office, it would appear the finalists are ESPN analyst JJ Redick and Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee.

One critical junction of the offseason for Charlotte will be continuing to retool their roster. After a flurry of transactions leading into the trade deadline, how will Charlotte continue to properly shuffle the decks around their two primary pieces in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller?

With the second-largest contract projected on Charlotte’s salary cap for 2024-25 behind Ball’s $35.3 million figure, Davis Bertans is a key name to watch on the transaction wire all summer long. What’s interesting about Bertans’ $16 million expiring contract is that it’s not fully guaranteed, plus it includes a team-friendly early termination option that can be exercised. Only $5.3 million of Bertans’ contract is guaranteed, which means he can be one of the Hornets’ most coveted trade chips to explore upgrades with.

Bertans agreed to a contract amendment with the Oklahoma City Thunder back in November, which pushed his guarantee date back all the way to January 2025. Now in Charlotte, the Hornets can take full advantage of this unique situation by shopping around for an impact veteran.

In 28 games for the Hornets, Bertans averaged 8.8 points in 20.8 minutes while shooting 37.5 percent on threes at high volume (6.3 3PA). Surprisingly enough, this was Bertans’ best stretch of basketball played since the 2020-21 season with the Washington Wizards where he originally earned his shocking 5-year, $80 million deal.

The partially-guaranteed contract for Bertans can be very beneficial for the Hornets in trade talks, especially when looking over win-now teams that are clearing the second tax apron. Charlotte can help those teams by taking off a sizable contract in exchange for Bertans at a discounted figure of $5.3 million. For example, what about dialing up the Phoenix Suns and offering Bertans and a few second-round picks for center Jusuf Nurkic? With the ongoing questions surrounding Mark Williams’ back injury, having a capable starter like Nurkic on stand by actually makes sense for a Hornets team in need of more veterans.

This is just one manner in which the Hornets can work their way around the market this offseason, but Bertans’ days in Charlotte certainly feel numbered thanks to his amended contract ready to be utilized for a bigger move.

Now that the Bucks‘ season has come to an end, the Pistons are expected to formally seek permission to interview Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst for their president of basketball operations job soon, Marc Stein reports in his latest story at Substack. According to Stein, it’s not yet known whether the Bucks will grant Detroit permission to meet with Horst, a Michigan native who began his NBA career in the Pistons’ basketball operations department.

Elsewhere in his Substack article, Stein says that Jimmy Butler‘s future has become an “increasingly hot topic” around the NBA following the Heat‘s first-round playoff exit. Multiple rival teams have wondered if the Sixers will make a run at trading for Butler this offseason in an effort to reunite the star swingman with good friend Joel Embiid, per Stein. The Embiid/Butler 76ers took the eventual-champion Raptors down to the wire in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2019, but were broken up less than two months later when Butler was signed-and-traded to Miami.

Several executives around the NBA thought the Hornets would have concluded their head coaching search by now, but the team is taking a “very methodical” approach to the process and there’s no specific timeline to make a hire, Rod Boone writes in a mailbag for The Charlotte Observer. Boone’s mailbag also explores Charlotte’s draft strategy and how to revitalize the team’s brand, among other topics.
How much of a difference could it make for the Nets to have a healthy Ben Simmons and Dariq Whitehead next season? Net Income of Nets Daily explores that subject, citing league insiders who say Brooklyn has no plans to waive Simmons this offseason.
With Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby set to square off in the second round of the playoffs as members of the Pacers and Knicks, respectively, the Raptors will “catch some sass” for trading away both players this season, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

Given how well the two forwards have played alongside backcourt stars – Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana and Jalen Brunson in New York – Koreen wonders if things went wrong in Toronto because the club couldn’t find the right “dynamic” guard to allow Siakam and Anunoby to play their proper roles.
James L. Edwards III of The Athletic previews next week’s draft combine from a Pistons perspective, identifying the players the club will have its eye on in the top five and naming a few prospects who could make sense at No. 53. Edwards views Alexandre Sarr as the player likeliest to be atop Detroit’s board, with Stephon Castle, Cody Williams, Donovan Clingan, and Matas Buzelis in the next tier.