Who's Coming Back + Who's Hitting Free Agency

Unrestricted Free Agents

G Dennis Smith Jr. (Non-Bird), G Svi Mykhailiuk (Non-Bird), G/F Kelly Oubre Jr. (Early Bird)

Dennis Smith Jr. and Svi Mykhailiuk were afterthoughts for the rest of the league but they revitalized their career in Charlotte. Smith had his best season since 2018-19 and established himself as the backup point guard not long after being the last guy to make the opening day roster.

Mykhailiuk was acquired in the trade that sent Jalen McDaniels to Philadelphia and with the Hornets losing several to injuries down the stretch, Mykhailiuk became one of the team's most efficient scorers. He may or may not return to Charlotte, but he has certainly played himself into another NBA contract.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had himself a career year averaging north of 20 points per game. His offensive production was greatly needed but it was the improvement that he made on the defensive end of the floor that doesn't get talked about enough. KOJ wants to stay with the Hornets, but it doesn't seem like a sure thing.

Restricted Free Agents

G Theo Maledon (Two-Way), F P.J. Washington (Bird), F Miles Bridges (Bird)

Maledon isn't much of a scorer, but he impacts the game in other ways. He is still extremely young at just 21, so there's still a lot of room for him to grow. It'll be interesting to see if Maledon returns to Charlotte as the third guard or if they'll go in another direction.

P.J. Washington has steadily improved each year he's been in the NBA. He was one of the few Hornets that escaped the injury bug this season, appearing in a team-high 73 games. Mitch Kupchak mentioned using their money to re-sign their own guys versus bringing in outside free agents. Washington will be at the top of their priority list this offseason.

The NBA announced a 30-game suspension for Miles Bridges a few days ago, but 20 of those games are being counted as served after he sat out this past season. Charlotte knows they need to surround LaMelo Ball with talent in order to keep him in Buzz City beyond his rookie contract. Don't be surprised to see the Hornets and Bridges get a deal done this summer.

Under Contact

PG LaMelo Ball

SG Terry Rozier, James Bouknight, Kobi Simmons, Xavier Sneed (Two-Way)

SF Gordon Hayward, Cody Martin, Bryce McGowens

PF JT Thor

C Mark Williams, Nick Richards, Kai Jones

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