The Sicko Satchel is full! Walker and Doug rummage through the satchel to answer your latest questions on Brandon Miller and where he fits into the rotation. Could some of the drafted rookies lead to trading Terry Rozier? Finally, the guys give their thoughts on the last two picks in the draft.
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We start things off with the Seco Satchel taking your questions and of Course the YouTube comments section and Then we'll finish our thoughts on the Summer games we've seen so far before Tonight's game against the Pelicans all Today on lockdown Hornets we're locked On hornets part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day in America We live It's locked on hornets part of the Lockdown podcast Network it's your team Every day thanks for making us your First listen we are free we are Available anywhere you get your pods if You check us out on YouTube then you'll See for the second time this week Doug And I color coordinated our t-shirt oh Sure brother now Doug will see me when We're talking back and forth pre-show But I can't see him he often has me on a Different screen or I'm just looking at Myself so did you not realize it until The screens the dueling screen showed us Beside each other wearing the same color Uh listen I'm very busy this morning I'm Looking at this New Orleans Pelican Summer league roster I saw that they Have Jalen Crutcher now that threw me Off a little bit I've got I'm working on Some stat stuff or every Hornetsboxgore.com I'm just buried in Statistics right now so listen I got a Lot going on so no I'm sorry I wasn't
Looking at what color your T-shirt you Had on until you came on the screen for Real for real all right that's Doug Branson and you can check his workout on His sub stack every hornetsboxcore.com And you can listen to me every weekday On sports radio 927w now how often does That happen between you and uh Wes it Doesn't happen Wes has Um some pretty fire outfits that he'll Wear well and and t-shirts you know all Across the board sometimes I'll wear my Wild graphic not graphic tees but like My Mugsy Bogues or Glenn rice shirt I'll Hornets it up a little bit had a Scottie Pippen shirt on the other day Um but we don't really have the same T-shirt problems we don't do that but we Do put it out on Twitter though some of The fire that we'll both wear sometimes That does happen Um this is pretty fire right in your Face fire with all these red shirts all Right let's go to the sicko Satchel it's Enough outfit talk okay get out of here Outfits let's talk about psycho Satchel Questions that you have for me Doug what Do you want to lead off the show with The sicko Satchel for those that are Just joining us that's our our q a our Mail bag it's for the sickos the people That for some reason are still Believing that this team will figure it All out maybe after a new ownership
Group and a new front office they'll Figure some stuff out and one of the Things that they have to figure out I Think is ultimately this Wing rotation Both in the short term and the long term And we had a lot of sickos in the Satchel asking about Terry Rozier a lot Of different versions of how much time Uh is left in Terry's career with the Charlotte Hornets what kind of trade Value can you get this is Tyler saying If we were to trade Terry what package Do you think we could put together what Kind of trade package do you think we Could get in return love having Terry on The team but now is the best time to Move on from him before the trade Deadline so Walker do you think that the Hornets will trade Terry Rozier I mean Significantly before the deadline Um I don't think so I don't think Significantly before the deadline just Because we've already gone through draft Night which is a nice Catalyst to breed Deals and it didn't happen there is and The next one would be getting closer to The deadline so maybe once we get to That mid-season Point Terry Rozier is Gone I don't think it's going to be Significantly before the deadline they Decide to move on them now at this past Deadline Doug we all knew that Terry Rozier rumors they were ramping up Rumors were that there were some
Interested teams but there wasn't a deal That was able to get done I do think it Used to be Gordon hayward's contract Because he was making over 30 million Dollars this would have been a couple of Years ago where that was the most that Was probably the worst because of his Availability but he was a good player on The court so it was always kind of hard To gauge what a team thought about Gordon I think you're in that same realm Here with Terry but Terry rozier's Contract is now probably the hardest to Trade because one Gordon Hayward now You're in that weird area where it might Even be Advent Pages for you to go ahead And trade for his contract it's an Expiring and you free up 30 million Dollars lamello ball you won his Contract because you want the player so Lamello clearly isn't that and then Everybody else I mean nobody else is on A long-term deal so Terry's going to be The hardest guy to trade uh in my Opinion at least getting some real value In return yeah the CBA the new CBA that Hasn't taken effect yet but is Influencing decisions on the marketplace Because it introduces this new tax apron That that essentially if you get to a Certain level you're going to get Penalized and then if you get to another Level you're going to get Ultra Penalized a lot of teams that I think
Would have been interested in Terry Rozier Services may have balked at the Contract number because of that so they Introduced those new CBA rules to help Teams like the Charlotte Hornets compete In the long term compete for players That ultimately would have been vacuumed Up by the golden states and the Milwaukee's you know these waiver wire Guys that you know all of a sudden end Up on these Championship contending Teams now some of the lower rung playoff Teams may be able to compete on the Market for those services but in the Short term it hurts anyone who had one Of these contracts that's a that's a Little bit dicier so the Hornets are Probably going to have to work through a Lot of this stuff on their books and Then and make good decisions moving Forward so I agree with you Walker I Don't think that it happens until we get Closer to the deadline well one well Just one of the a point for me with Terry Rozier remember we were talking About at the deadline this past season Man his numbers were so down so then we Were discussing maybe it is better for The Hornets to wait until let's say Terry has a hot two months to the start Of the season and you're hoping for that And instead he moves off of the 33 Three-point shooting and 42 percent Overall field goal percent 41.5 right
Those numbers are worse than they were The previous two years so now you have a Contract where you have a lot of years Left on it still you're paying a premium And you're paying a lot of money it's Not a Max but you're paying a lot of Money and the numbers aren't good so Maybe this these first two months of the Season whatever the numbers honestly It's it's almost in that territory for Him with the territory if you will it's Almost in that territory where the Numbers can't help but go up I mean I Don't expect him to shoot that poorly Again especially with guys coming back To the roster I don't have my soundboard Loaded right now but I'll make sure to Get a little EC laugh Eric Collins Laughing therefore I appreciate it sorry Thank you Eric uh that was good on the Fly Um okay I I agree with all that Um I think uh with with Terry Rozier And you know part of the reason is Numbers were down last season was Because he was being asked to play point Guard you know do a lot for a team that Didn't have a lot of guard help uh I Don't know if you've noticed Walker but They still haven't signed a backup point Guard they've got Teo maladone Even Nick Smith Jr there they'll face Itself facilitator no we've seen that We've well maybe if you if summer league
Didn't exist you might have been able to Sell me on that but I've seen what Nick Smith Jr and James booknight do when They're not trying to score for Themselves and it's it's it's pretty Much bubkus it might be worse than Bob Kiss it might be sub bupcast subkus if You will uh because they're turning the Basketball over so uh they they need to Get some guard help to make sure that Terry Rozier can actually play shooting Guard but some of the other questions in The sicko Satchel regarded Terry Rozier's future at the shooting guard Position and some of them were will Nick Smith Jr start over Terry will Brandon Miller start over Terry Rozier what are The chances that we see Terry Rose air Moved to a bench roll this season in Favor of Brandon Miller at the two or Nick Smith Jr at the two well I mean Nick Smith Jr is not happening I would Be shocked I would be I'd be pretty Surprised about Brandon Miller starting At the two this season if Brandon Miller Starts if we just want to Parlay this Into uh what are the chances Brandon Miller starts anywhere question which is Theoretically anywhere from the two of The four but I don't expect him to start At the four so really you're looking at Small forward and then you're looking at Gordon Hayward as a guy do you want to Manage Gordon's minutes off of the bench
Then maybe Brandon sneaks into that Three spot but remember of course miles Bridges is coming back if you wanted to Say Brandon would start the first 10 Games while PJ Washington isn't on the Roster Gordon Hayward moves to that four Brandon goes to three maybe that's a way That he starts but Brandon is the only One that has a shot from the rookies Hell we were just asking about rotation Minutes for Nick Smith Jr he's not going To start Brandon if he does I think It'll be more at the three Yeah totally and I think it would be a Situation where the team and Gordon get Together much like they did with Nick Batoon before him who they stretched in Order to actually acquire Gordon Hayward But in a situation similar to that the Team and the player come together and Say look you're not part of our future We've also got this other player who is Part of our future you know we're going To go another way with this you know but That's towards the end of the season you Know when Gordon Hayward might not play All together uh because you you try to Trade him at the deadline you couldn't And then now you're saying okay we're Moving towards Brandon Miller so Brandon Miller is going to be at the three now That's a situation where I see him Starting I I don't see it happening at
The beginning of the year they've got Too many veterans they've got playoff Aspirations so I think Clifford is going To lean on those Veterans as much to This the dismay of a lot of hornets fans Uh you're you're probably not going to Say no they won't be happy Um but if they make the playoffs every I Think everybody's happy if Brandon Miller is getting significant minutes Off the bench inch and they and the Hornets make the playoffs I think Ultimately everyone will be happy Because what would benefit Brandon Miller more than starting as long as He's getting minutes it's great but Benefiting him more than starting would Be playoff experience that's the problem With lamello like lamelo doesn't have Any playoff experience because you know I think the team around him hasn't been Good enough to get him that playoff Experience so you know hopefully they They make those roster decisions not Based on trying to get Brandon Miller Ready for year two or year three but to Actually get a playoff experience that's What I would like to see yeah we'll see What happens there not only in the Backcourt but also out on the wing a Little bit more so maybe we ask more Psycho Satchel questions about that Coming up next on the locked on Hornets Podcast don't go to sleep on the Hornets
Just yet we still have more questions to Rummage through and then we'll give some Finishing thoughts on a couple draft Picks we did not speak about yesterday We got to Brandon Miller Nick Smith Jr They of course needed all the attention After combining for 59 points what about James Naji what about Amari Bailey what Do we think of their summer league so Far we'll get to that in just a moment But first I need to tell you about Better help this episode is brought to You by better help if you're thinking About starting therapy well then give Betterhelp a try it's entirely online It's designed to be convenient flexible And suited to your schedule and all you Have to do is fill out a brief Questionnaire to get matched with a Licensed therapist and then you can even Switch therapists anytime too for no Additional charge if you feel the need To do so let therapy be your math with Better help visit betterhelp.com Lock.nba today to get 10 off your first Month that's better health help help Betterhelp.com Lock.nba more locked on Hornets coming Up next Is locked on Hornets Walker sometimes you don't have to have The best package sometimes you just have To have the only package if you wait or This is uh if my dating life taught me
Anything sometimes you just have to wait Around long enough until you're the only Thing remaining and then suddenly you Look pretty great in comparison It's time for more of the locked on Hornets podcast Foreign Doug hit us with some more sicko Satchel Questions give us some good ones give us A good one this one uh Tyler says who is The backup shooting guard so let's Assume just kind of bouncing off the Discussion we had in segment one if Terry's going to start at two You've got a number of players that can Compete for that backup shooting guard Role you've got Brandon Miller who I Think long term is your is your answer To but you've also got Cody Martin Hopefully the right twin this season Hopefully he plays hopefully he's the Available twin Is huge that's a big part yeah right uh And then you got Bryce McGowan's as well It's it's a Triple M situation uh it's Not just Eminem it's Eminem in the Backup shooting guard uh battle here who Do you got Yeah I just think I think more so Brandon Miller will be the backup three I I'm Really interested to see how many how Many two minutes that he's gonna face Because the idea the advantage of
Brandon Miller at the two is that he's Big and so that he can shoot over Everybody I don't maybe that maybe that will be Something that you can look to exploit Or use to your advantage in the bad Court but he can also shoot over most Small forwards right so I think that Advantage is a little mitigated because It's not like he's going to have a Problem if he's going to shoot out on The perimeter he'll be able to get a Shot off against small forwards as well If he's not as quick As some of the other options that you Might have in the at the shooting guard Spot and Cody Martin probably is better Defensively right now than you put Cody Martin out there and then you have Brandon Miller at the small forward Coming off of the bench or starting if Gordon Hayward is the guy that is coming Off of the bench while you try to manage His minutes it won't be Nick Smith Jr I I think it'll be between Cody Martin and Brandon Miller a little bit but I I'm Really interested to see what Steve Clifford sees in Brandon I still think It's small forward right I you'll see Him play some backcourt I'm not saying You'll you'll never see him at the two But if you're just going to who plays The second most minutes at the shooting Guard spot behind Terry when everybody
Is available I think Cody's probably Going to play the most minutes at that Spot yet I'm not sure that those Distinctions shooting guard and small Forward are going to matter as much as They have in the past for the Charlotte Hornets because this version of the Front office has done a few things right And I think one of the things that They've done right is Target players Like McGowan's and Amari Bailey and Brandon Miller that can play you know a Versatile style of defense that you can Sort of play them at the two you can Play them at the three you can go a Little smaller you can get a little Bigger there's there are many more Options on this team than maybe there Were in the past they've kind of gone For this a particular type of player a Lot in the draft and so they've got Options here so really I think it's it's A wing rotation now more so than a 2-3 Kind of situation and so I think Miller Will gobble up the most minutes Ultimately and I think you can you can See situations where he's playing Alongside Hayward and Hayward is taking The better score you know defensively of Of the 2-3 matchup uh and you can see uh Opportunities for him to play alongside Maybe a mcgowans or or a Cody Martin and Miller picks up because look if you're If you want to bet on something
Defensively for him I think you bet on His quickness because you can't bet on His strength right now uh maybe he puts Off he's been on his length more so than Even his quickness that's fine that's Fine too yeah so but you're not betting On a string so I mean if it's you know You're gonna have to hide him a little Bit from some of the if if if he does Play three you've got to hide him a Little bit you might have to play him Maybe with PJ Washington in a bench Rotation where PJ is picking up the best Wing scorer and then you hide Brandon on Maybe a a four that plays out on the Perimeter that you know he's not gonna Have to hang that Brandon Miller's not Gonna have to hang with as much or Whatever the defensive stopper is over There that's just who Brandon Miller Guards and and even in the backcourt Maybe if you have a shooting guard that Is more of the good I don't know I mean Because because that's the other way That you use his size and the backcourt Is defensively I was talking more Offensively but defensively maybe you Could use the length I I actually worry A little more about people driving by Brandon the length will help and so Maybe even if you turn your hips a Little bit and have to go with whoever Drives by you the length can help you Especially with Mark Williams right that
That'll help a lot but just funneling Everything into Mark Williams and then Letting the guard be scared so now you Just have a whole bunch of arms coming At you yeah you know there's going to be A lot of length on this team with this Pick and Brandon he's going to have a Lot of options but he might be playing With Nick Richards so I mean you know That's that's the challenge for Clifford Is balancing you know the strengths and Weaknesses of these players to try to Find lineups that are going to work Together well I was actually looking at Some lineup data for the Charlotte Hornets last season this is going to be Part of something that I do for every Hornet's box score.com by the way if you Want to subscribe help me out Um I was looking at some lineup data From last year and of the of the 14 Lineups That played around 100 minutes because There were two lineups that played 98 I Counted them to 98 possessions of the of The 14 lineups that played around 100 Possessions last season you want to take A guess at how many of them have had a Positive points per possession Differential meaning they they scored More points per possession than they Gave up Um How many
Out of 14 only four lineups and it Wasn't the main starting lineup you know Your lamello Terry Gordon Hayward PJ Washington Mason Plum yeah that was a Minus 1.8 wasn't bad wasn't like you Know atrocious or anything it didn't get A ton of possessions relative to what They would have gotten had lamelo played More than 36 games but not not terrible But a lot of those lineups were terrible The four that were positive Two of them featured Jayla McDaniels at The two or paired with Kelly oubre 2-3 Wing possessions she had length on the Wing there for two of those positive Ones the other two featured Dennis Smith Jr Yeah and one of them was lamelo and Dennis Smith Jr so you know that was a Plus five in 98 possessions so I guess You know you can play a point guard with Lamelo ball it does fit it does work it Was positive whatever I'm not bitter Anyway my point is in looking at that Lineup data I'm Banning myself from even mentioning His name okay I'm not even gonna say his Name anymore Because people in the comments just Started that they just like Let It Go Let it go it's fine you know okay fine I'm gonna let it go I'm not gonna it Seems like we're doing that right now This is a good example I'm not even
Going to say the point guard that now Plays for Portland Trail blade I'm not Going to say his name Okay anyway the point of all that is That long term Brandon Miller is going To be so good as a two next to lamelo Ball because we've seen in lineup data That putting length at that two position Or at the wing position just having two Guys that that have length is a way for This team to generate positive outcomes And but you got it offense as well well Honestly or or a Dennis Smith Jr type I Mean there there's two different Examples there so right but Cody to me He's not as good of a Defender as Dennis Smith Jr is that's not what I'm saying But you might even have a bit of a Best Of Both World situation with Cody being More physical on the perimeter and also Being six six no he's not six nine like In Miller no he doesn't have that length But there were a couple of examples There that showed defensively because Yeah Kelly oubre had a good deflection Rate last year I don't know if anybody Is calling him a stopper you know he's Not a non-ball stopper right McDaniel Annuals was a really good team defender In my opinion Dennis Smith Jr was Amazing at the point of attack like we Know he had Elite numbers all across the Board Advanced stats would show so it's Just who did Steve Clifford want to roll
With do you want to put linked out there Do you want to put Cody out there more So to your point it does allow maybe the Idea of Brandon playing more too than we Were talking about a little bit even if We were still giving it a possibility What who's going to step up and provide Is anyone going to step up and provide The on-ball pressure that Dennis Smith Jr provided last season because now That's gone you let that go for a Minimum amount of money I mean it is Seriously I just don't understand it why You would let Dennis Smith Jr go to the Brooklyn Nets for a paltry amount and Lose something that that changed the Calculus of games last season It changed the calculus when you were When you were doing Algebra I mean you Were you know your offense your offense Was so bad that the math out there was Algebra and he was out there changing The calculus because his defense what Was that impactful and and I don't know I don't see it on this roster right now I don't know that they're going to add It they may just have to you know they May just say good luck Steve figure it Out Mark good luck Mark Williams because You're going to be doing a lot more You're going to be doing a lot more help Defense at the at the rim it helps you Um well speak you mentioned the words Right now okay so maybe we don't have
This guy right now that can help in that Role but maybe in the future there's This certain player that could help in That role coming up next on the lockdown Hornets podcast tease me don't go to Sleep on the Hornets just yet about Amari Bailey could he be that guy in the Future even if he can't do it his rookie Season we'll get to him and James Naji In just a moment but not before I talk About bird dogs you've seen Doug sport Him on that there camera they're Fantastic for dogs make you look good And because they look uh the reason they Look good is because they have stretch Khaki shorts that are designed to fit Slimmer through the thigh and the leg Giving you a truly sculpted look for Dogs shorts do the exact same thing as Lululemon but they fit way better and They fit way better than regular shorts That are made of this stiff restricting Cotton bird dogs fix this issue by Inventing Cloud knit fabric that looks Just like khaki but stretches so you get A way Slimmer fit without having to Sacrifice movement bird dogs use Anti-stink sweat wicking fabric that Keeps you cool and dry all day go to Birddogs.com locked on NBA or enter Promo code locked on NBA for a free Yeti Style tumbler that's birddogs.com Lockdown NBA or promo code locked on NBA For a free Yeti Yeti style tumbler you
Won't want to take your bird dogs off we Promise you one more segment to go Locked on Hornets this is locked on Hornets Doug is wearing his sunglasses And doors at as we record 8 23 a.m Doug Explain yourself I am smothered in U.S Soccer came down to Charlotte to watch The men's national teams uh Jesus back To back Hattie there's her soccer Analysis for the day but yeah you don't Want to see these eyeballs okay these Eyeballs these red nose have seen some Things if you will and uh yeah I'm Recovering and I'm doing my best here It's time for more of the locked on Hornets podcast Thank you I didn't realize that we were wearing uh The same hat and the same shirt in that Bump but you picked the perfect one Today nice job yeah I was wearing the Same exact shirt who knew It's in honor of the U.S Men's National Team they were in San Diego semifinals Of the Gold Cup they lost to Panama on Uh penalty kicks my guy Jesus didn't Have the Hattie missed the penalty kick You know what I'm not there he just Doesn't play as well just that's but You're not bitter you're not bitter at All you're moving on just well now Listen that's the B Team uh for here's Your soccer analysis for the day that Was the B Team essentially there are a
Few guys on that Squad that are going to Play in the World Cup in 2026 but that Was mostly B teamers out there playing Panama so you know okay they fine they Don't they don't go to the Gold Cup Final whatever they're going to regroup They've got a lot of years here to get Ready for this Gold Cup and get the a Team together Um are the Hornets summer league team Are they going to be playing for any Kind of cup or are they going to be Going home after this I know no Gold Cup No silver cup no bronze cup no uh no Sterling silver cup yeah it's nice with The broken handle it's it's whatever it Is it's broken okay no copper cup now You know this we have no Diet Coke can Cup all right yeah you got any more you Good yeah I would give me all the bad Cops to win all of the bad ones no Coffee cup With the with the brown ring at the Bottom because you haven't washed it in A while yeah just rinse it out all you Have to do is rinse it out after you're Done rinse it out and you're gonna sorry I'm sorry you sound like you sound like Producer Katie I'm sorry okay I'm a Little busy it's it's really easy you Have wine glasses too all you have to do Is just rinse it out and you don't have The red ring around it but I'm fine I'm Not bitter this is just a not bitter
Show Doug we're all fine okay I'm fine Anyway Um the Charlotte Hornets summer league Team we know they have not won a game Yet there are some people that were Upset about that some despite Brandon Clearly playing the best he ever has in Summer league despite what we said about Upset you're saying they are upset that They didn't win that game against Portland well I mean you have yeah the Whole win one for the culture right like Come on it's who cares who cares I want Good perform the part of the reason that Summer league was so bad yes you'd like To win I'm not I'm not discounting that But the storyline is not the loss Against Portland the storyline is Playing playing the best and Nick Smith Jr going for over 30 points so that's The storyline Um now I think all of the draft picks Showed out I mean we had the rookie Takeover yesterday clearly it was Nick Smith Jr and Brandon Miller leading the Story but what'd you think about Amari Bailey and James Najee out there Performing as well I've Loved what I've Seen out of Amari Bailey I think Defensively he actually projects better For me than Bryce McGowan's Offensively it's a different story uh That he needs a lot of work he needs a Shot doctor uh kreitzer is going to have
To get in with Bailey and figure some Stuff out because that shot looks super Wonky uh but but love the hustle love The link love the Doc Ock arms that Stretch out and and grab basketballs out Of nowhere pick them out of passing Lanes take them back transition Dunks Love what I've seen out of Bailey Naji Too I mean defensively I love the Movements uh I love the shot blocking He's physical I think he needs to work On finishing some plays that may be Rooted in what we've talked about before With the speed of the game and the Intensity and the and what they ask you To do in terms of running up and down The court being different from Euro League yeah than it is in the NBA Because the Euro league Is super physical like guys really they Get bodies on bodies and it's mostly a Game that is played on the ground and Not up in the air and not running back You know not a ton of transition and You're a league right so like NBA is Totally different story so maybe he'll Be better at finishing those plays as he Gets his sort of NBA uh lungs together Uh but I've liked what I've seen out of Naji well I mean wimby said that exact Same thing they asked him about the Difference between the NBA and playing Overseas and he talked about it being Less physical here in the NBA and also
Wendy's tired I mean he got fatigued There was that conversation about him Because it's just a different style and So you have to be in some kind of in a Different type of condition because you Know it's not it's not like James Naji Is eating cheeseburgers this off Season's not like wimby is just chilling On the couch it's just that it's a Complete different style even for seven Four seven five top prospect or the 31st Prospect or the third 31st guy taken That's a lot more solid but also still Seven feet doesn't matter what body type Just the conditioning isn't there not True for Amari you know he's running Around all over the place which is a lot Of fun he's right do you like that by The way do you like the idea that the NBA wimby also said it's easier to score In the NBA than it is in Euro league Which is weird for him to say because He's only played summer league it's like Wimby it might get a little bit Different when you get to the when you Get to the NBA but yeah and he scored And he didn't have a good first game too So it's like hold on well you know you Know let's let's maybe hold hold off on Those comments but what do you think About that idea though because I he's Probably not the first Euro league guy To think that I mean you know obviously Luca uh is is much more free to score in
Uh the NBA than he was when he was Playing in Euro league so like look how Physical he is I mean that's his game He certainly has a lot of physical He's a beefy boy well no he is but that That's how he gets to the rim a lot Right like he's just getting there he's Just mashing his entire time getting to The goal defensively sure he's not good But offensively that's how he plays I Think it makes sense if the NBA is going To be comprised of the best athletes on The planet that play basketball and so In order to use that athleticism to your Advantage yes a lot of that is strength But also a lot of that is just beating Guys down the floor especially with Advanced stats pointing to more Possessions is a good thing three-point Shooting is a good thing so if you don't Have those athletes not to that level Playing overseas and you also don't have It as spread out then you're almost Playing in a phone booth to give you Some good old football coach speak They're playing in a phone booth over There and and look and this isn't this Isn't Me you know scouting the leagues Overseas you know religiously right like That's not what I'm doing but it does Make sense in that regard of yeah you Know this is what the NBA is and this is What they're comprised do you like that
Do you like that the NBA has really Transitioned from the sort of peak uh Bar room brawl that was the 90s into What it is today which is an entirely Different game which is up and down Everybody's Rip Hamilton now you have to Be ripped that Rip Hamilton level of Running back and forth uh you know uh All around the court looking for Opportunities and and it is much less Physical the hand checking's gone I mean Do you like that Yeah I I think it's totally fine there Are a lot of people that will discuss The 90s being the best ERA it was a lot Of fun you had a whole lot of I mean Especially with the Charlotte Hornets You know everybody loves to go back to The grandma mod days I mean we reference It once a week and it was 30 years ago I Mean that's that's just how it is or it Was 20 years ago on the BET and the the Later part of the good stages right we Still like that but the product I mean you know yes they might have Played defense is what you're saying They're still playing defense it's just That guys are so skilled you have to be Skilled everywhere man I mean at least It's something you know if you can't Shoot then you have to be able to move Your feet on the perimeter be a dive guy That can also jump you know with a 40-inch vertical it's just what these
Guys can do these days it's freaking Ridiculous man so yes I I have no Problem with the way the game has Evolved I I really don't it they do Still play defense it's just different It's it's now so much team defense and Everybody playing together and everybody Understanding you know that half step That they can't take towards the basket Or the half step that they can't give up For the closeout and everybody Communicating it's why you value talking It's why you value intelligence guys That really understand you know defense Is not about how much of a beating can You take it's really much more about how Much of a you know mind bleep can you Take because these offenses are trying To just confuse you and get you to take That half step in a direction that they Want you to take so that they can expose You and get to the rim and so that's the Adjustment that Brandon Miller has to Make but the style of game that is Played right now I think makes you feel Better about taking a guy like Brandon Miller because it is so much about Length and being able to shoot over guys And and being able to use that to your Advantage and so when we talk about Brandon Miller getting stronger he Certainly needs to do that but it's not Like we're asking him to transform his Body into like Andre Iguodala or or just
Like a guy that's like super strong you Know I don't think that's where Brandon Miller has to get to but he does have to Get a Little Bit Stronger but he doesn't Have to you know take the same beating That guys would have taken in in the 1990s so anyway I just thought it was an Interesting conversation really quickly On Naji I know you love him you think he Should be the starting center uh so I Just wanted to give you some time for The all-nba team just get it just get it Clear I think he's the top I think it's A top five Center in the league right Now So but you know it is confusing for us To say you know maybe he needs Another year in Barcelona uh before he Comes back over here if we're also Saying that the style of play is Significantly different than what he Would face in the NBA or even the Swarm Like the Swarm are going to play way Different than Barcelona so how do you How do you square that Circle I don't I don't know what's best for his Development to be quite honest with you If he wants to go over to Barcelona That's great there was a lot of Conversation about him starting but then They just brought in former Hornet Billy Hernan Gomez so it looks like he's going To be the starting center for Barcelona So you know
Yes Billy defensively we know Naji is Better than Billy Billy is an Outstanding rebounder that's the way That he makes it in the NBA he's an Outstanding rebounder defensively he is Really bad Naji is going to be like I Look I said that he was the second best Defensive Center on this roster right Now for the Hornets I know that he's Better than Billy in Barcelona we've Seen that but I love Billy's rebounding Is great on this team Mark Williams is a Very very good defensive prospect you Could easily see him you know grabbing a Couple of all NBA selections Rim Protection is great we see him scare Guards into making wrong decisions Driving out of the paint I wait to see What Mark is going to do in his second Year with Nick Richards there's some Rim Protection numbers that can be there you Know like field goal percentage for the Other team when shooting against him Those numbers aren't bad Um they're they're on the high end with Some of the cleaning the glass Efficiency stuff on that end but on the Perimeter we know it's not nearly as Good Nick Richards I think as far as the Discipline goes it's not good at all Nick Richards will value if we're Talking about Nick Richards remember the Steve Clifford quote where Nick Richards Is physical and Mark Williams is is the
Smart Defender well I mean even so is Nick more physical than nausea is I I Beg to differ on that one so yeah that It's it's not it doesn't mean that Naji Should be the backup center because Offensively he's not better than Nick Richards Nick Richards is a really good Offensive rebounder one of the best in The league given what we've seen this Past season especially because he Improves so much Nick Richards should Still be the backup center right he Should still get minutes and Naji is Still getting dnp CDs but defensively I Think very highly of them I I think that There are not a lot of things that you Can do in a realistic scenario for Naji To be uncomfortable in a few situations If he's gonna have to guard Kyrie Irving Out at the at the top of the key then Yeah he'll get driven by but in the most Likely scenarios of guarding you know Can he stay in front of Threes on pick And rolls he can hedge he can drop he Can contest at The Rim he can make you Think out in the short corner do I need To pass can I get the shot up oh wait no I don't know what to do I'll just turn It over yeah I I think he's really Really good defensively and I'm really Excited to see what he'll do and you Have to make a call I mean if you are Going if you are going to send him back To Barcelona because you don't think
There are going to be enough minutes for Him or or you think you know it would Just be better financially not to have To figure that out then you've got to Figure something out and there's not There aren't a ton of names left on the Kind of free agency list I mean Biz is Sitting there if you want to do a third Biz reunion I don't know if he's been Picked up yet but I know he was on the List Serge Ibaka Dwayne Deadman boban Nerlins null Yertz event Tristan Thompson I mean none of these Names are like jumping out at me gorji Jang no van Lee's still out there if you Want to do a reunion with no family is He still playing goodness yeah he's Still he's still here so there's his Name at least so yeah I mean not not a Ton of options out there so what is that What does that third Center look like Unless it's Kai Jones you know unless You just really feel confident that this Is you know he he would get that Opportunity but then you're one injury Away from playing significant minutes With Kai Jones to the center I think That could Uh that could hurt your playoff chances We saw last year we saw last year Kai Jones was asked to do quite a bit Because of all the injuries last thing I'll say as we talk about Bailey and
Naji these are the defensive prospects That you feel good about right I mean Offensively both of them are weaker in That area than they are on the other end Of the floor we wanted some balance to The force we wanted some defense and you Got a couple guys that look like they Can be pretty damn good on that end Brandon Miller showing some flashes been Very up and down there's been some Really bad defensive games in my opinion From him but there's also been some Great stretches the chase down block That he had is one of the best Highlights you know he he does show a Lot of effort he'll get bumped off the Spot but and Nick Smith Jr hasn't shown A ton of Defense in my opinion I mean he I think Naji was you know saving him a Lot right like anybody that would get Driven by not actually was there to Continue his return style yeah so it's But but Brandon is not a turnstile I Would absolutely not call him that so Yeah it's nice to have some defensive Prospect here in this draft with uh with The four guys you brought in so that's Cool to see all right that'll do it That's locked on Hornets we got one more Epic episode to go this week we'll recap That episode or the game I guess tonight Against the Pelicans who has Jalen Crutcher so watch out for him again Um and then you can see some of the
Other guys on the roster too Um this is like Silly Season summer League style because it's like two-way Contract guys now you know like I wonder If the Pelicans are going to be resting Anyone well just do your just do your Health rain dance like do your health Dance make sure everybody stays healthy You know that's that that is the one Benefit to them losing all of these Summer League games is that they don't Have to play two more of them uh or one More or two more or three more yeah I Mean you know this is all at this point It's all Russian Roulette you know I Mean you're just hoping that nobody gets Injured so that's all I'm that's all I Want to see is everyone stay healthy I'd Love to see Brandon Miller uh you know Follow up that performance with another Efficient performance uh you know maybe Come out of the gates first quarter I Want to see them you know making good Decisions because I thought even in that Game where a lot of great stuff happened For Brandon he started with two plays Where he looked out of Swords so I just Want to see from the jump and I want to See harder Closeouts he's talking about Defense for Brandon Miller being a Little wishy-washy I want to see him Make some hard Closeouts that's that's What annoyed me in that last game I Thought his Closeouts were a little soft
And uh and stay healthy as you mentioned Yeah big strong NFL training camp Vibes Just get out of there healthy as much as Possible that'll do it thanks for making Us your first listen catch us anywhere You get your pods make your second Listen game to game NBA every moment Every top performance every result again Catch that podcast wherever you get your Pods we'll be back with you tomorrow Have a great rest of your day
Charlotte North Carolina – Things to Do and See
Events, Life, Sports, Weather, News
The city of Charlotte North Carolina is home to a variety of teams at every level of professional American sport. From the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets to NFL football’s Carolina Panthers, sports fans have a lot to cheer for here. In addition to pro-athletes, Charlotte’s booming music scene features chart-topping musicians that play at venues ranging from the historic Tremont Music Hall to the state-of-the-art Spectrum Center for the Arts.
For a more low-key experience, the city boasts several parks and green spaces that are perfect for picnics, Frisbee games or just relaxing with friends. If you’re looking for a little more action, you can head down to the Bank of America Stadium or the Charlotte Motor Speedway and watch some of the best racing in the world.
For the outdoorsy types, there’s also a number of mountain and wilderness trails that can be found in the surrounding areas. You’ll find plenty of opportunity to get a workout in or simply take in the scenery from scenic spots like Springmaid Mountain, where runners can test their skills in 5K and 10K trail races before enjoying live bluegrass music. If you’re looking for a bit of a getaway, it only takes about an hour and a half to reach the foothills of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains or even further east to the beaches of the Atlantic coastline.