Is anyone else as confused as I am about the team additions and the contracts that we keep hearing about? It can all get pretty confusing at times. First was Aaron Harrison being signed after Summer League ended in Orlando. I heard first that the contract was non-guaranteed, and then I heard Rick Bonnell say that it was partial-guaranteed. Let me define what these terms mean:
Guaranteed – With a guaranteed contract, if the player is waived, he has the right to receive the complete contract amount.
Non-Guaranteed – With the non-guaranteed contract, the team can waive the player before a pre-established date, paying only a partial amount of the contract. Once season starts, all contracts become guaranteed for the rest of the season after January 10th.
Partial Guarantee – I struggled to find a definition for this one. I saw in one spot that a partial guarantee means that the player gets paid some money. Partial guarantees can inform a team’s preseason decisions — if one player has a contract that’s guaranteed for $300K while another player is on a fully non-guaranteed deal, the club may be more likely to retain the first player, who will get paid either way.
Aaron Harrison’s contract is partially guaranteed for this season, and has a team option for next season. Basically, it sounds like the Hornets will most likely be keeping him with the team. If you look at our depth at shooting guard, though Nic Batum is slated to start at that position, technically he should probably be considered a small forward, due to our lack of depth at that spot. With that said, true shooting guards on the team are Jeremy Lamb, Troy Daniels, and Aaron Harrison, who can play some point guard, should he need to. Elliot Williams was the second addition to the roster, but under a non-guaranteed contract. In this case, I see a battle between Harrison and Williams for a roster spot, though, most likely, Harrison stays on the team over Williams and his unguaranteed deal. This is not to say that if Williams just plain outplays Harrison, Harrison could be released and Williams could get guaranteed. You just have to look at the players we have and see how training camp goes before anything can be decided for certain. In keeping Batum as a small forward, this is the shooting guards list as of right now:
Jeremy Lamb – 1year + Qualifying Offer next year
Troy Daniels – 1 year remaining
Aaron Harrison – 1 year partial-guarantee + team option next year
Elliot Williams – 1 year non-guaranteed
Bottom line is that at this position, while there are some players here to fill the spots, the team is most likely looking long term in Harrison and hoping that 2-3 of these guys really flourish this season so we will want to keep them long term. My prediction out of this group is that Lamb shows his worth and gets his QO, or maybe even an extension. Beyond that, it is very hard to say.
The latest of the roster additions is Sam Thompson, from THE Ohio State. Sam, a 6’7”, 200lb, small forward, was signed to a non-guaranteed contract. Again, the small forward position is a thin spot for the team. Behind Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is only PJ Hairston. If I stick with what I did in the first section with shooting guards, MKG, Nic Batum, and PJ Hairston are it at this position. If you want Marvin Williams to be lumped in there, you can put him there, but age (29 years old) and miles (entering his 11th season) may have him moving too slow to be effective as a small forward anymore. Sam is an interesting addition since Coach Clifford plans to start Batum at shooting guard. In doing so, that shrinks the depth chart at small forward to something like this:
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist -1 year + qualifying offer
PJ Hairston – 1 year + team option for the next 2 years & a qualifying offer for the 18-19 season
Sam Thompson – 1 year unguaranteed
What are my predictions for the small forward spot? Again, so much hinges on training camp. Hairston struggled with his shot in Summer League, though his hustle looked better than last season. He still has some maturing to do though. I often question Cho’s database because Hairston’s up-side has not outweighed his off-court antics just yet. This is year 2 for Hairston to step up, and at 23 years old, I expect him to step up or be shipped out. This year will be an important one for him. As for Sam Thompson, I know he can dunk. I know he is probably one of the most explosive leapers that have been around in a long time. Can this 22-year-old hit jumpers and play solid defense? If he can, he could be a good fit for this team. When Hairston is hitting his 3-pointers, it’s a thing of beauty, but we haven’t seen much of it. Thompson may not have that 3-point stroke that Hairston does, but if all other aspects of his game look to be better than Hairston, there could be some competition there.
The reality of it all is a simple fact. 15 players can be on an NBA roster. Tyler Hansbrough was the last guaranteed contract signed for the year and that put us at 14 players. The next closest thing to a guaranteed contract is Aaron Harrison and his partial guaranteed contract.
When player signings take place, my question is always what are the team needs versus what players have been brought in. I believe that the power forward and center positions will be filled by committee. Obviously we will see Al Jefferson and Spencer Hawes play the center position exclusively (I could be wrong on this one, but I doubt it), but it’s the rest of that front court crew that can all rotate into either spot. Rookie, Frank Kaminsky can easily play power forward or center, as can Cody Zeller. Tyler Hansbrough will be this year’s “toughness” guy, and will probably play mostly power forward, but could be asked at times to play center in a “small ball” lineup. Marvin Williams will be there to play power forward, but with having only Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and PJ Hairston slated to play small forward, Marvin will most likely be splitting time at small forward and power forward. Nic Batum could step in and play some minutes at small forward, and I fully expect him to, but Coach Clifford wants him at shooting guard, so minutes may be limited there.
So what do we need? There are so many players now that have the ability to play multiple positions; the team can cover most areas. Power forward and center are covered. Point guard is covered. Shooting guard is covered. Small forward was my only concern and I believe we can cover that spot fairly well too. So why did we bring in a combo guard, a shooting guard, and a small forward? Well my friends, there’s nothing wrong with a little competition for roster spots. I believe that Aaron Harrison gets the 15th spot. Do I think the other 2 have a chance? There are always player trades that could free up more spots.
Let’s get to training camp and through it before we speculate anymore.
And as always…
Let’s Go Hornets!
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