Miles Bridges returns to the Charlotte Hornets + Charles Lee is that dude

Miles Bridges returns to the Charlotte Hornets + Charles Lee is that dude

A lot happened over July 4th weekend we have finally come to the conclusion of the miles Bridges free agency offseason we’ll even sprinkle just a little bit of Summer League into today’s episode and discuss Charles Lee’s coaching on lock on hornets and this yeah nothing was getting on that shirt no barbecue sauce on my shirt but I was wearing seven aprons good you are locked on Hornets your daily Charlotte Hornets podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday in the minute cuz we live it’s lockon hornets part of the locked on podcast Network it’s your team every day and then you know maybe not every day during holiday season but still pretty much every single day we appreciate you making us your first listen make sure you check us out really anywhere you get your podcast that includes YouTube we’re back from break we got a lot to discuss there’s Doug Branson talking about it and also writing about it on every Hornets boox score.com he’s writing to you specifically you about it with his subtext so make sure you find his information there every Hornets boox score.com I’m Walker mail I’m talking about it more I’m not writing at all I just talk WFNZ sports radio yap yap yap that’s all I do 927 FM so let’s just dive right into it uh yeah lots lots over the weekend we brought our equipment Doug but it was still a little too late in the process where it’s like all right yeah we’ll just we’ll just do it Monday make the people wait sometimes you have to wait we need to build anticipation people want to know what we think we’re building it and now it is time to reveal how we feel about miles Bridges resigning to the Charlotte Hornets for three years $75 million the conclusion of a saga that has lasted what feels like half my life has finally come to an end it does feel like that but you heard some of the details there I’ll repeat them miles Bridges agreed to return on a three-year $75 million contract 25 million a year at least that’s kind of the way that this thing will divide up we’ll see if it’s an ascending contract whether it’s declining in value as the years go on but I can’t imagine that actually happens some of the other things just little small details we were looking for team options in there because of the way that we waited for a while for this to get done I don’t think there’s any team options here we’re looking at just three straight up years of this contract and then at the end of this thing he’ll hit unrestricted free agency once more in the report on ESPN according to Adrien W narowski who had the write up he said Bridges did explore the possibility of sign and trade scenarios But ultimately decided to return to the Hornets Doug I think well I’ll just ask where do you want to start here do we want to go through the process on how we eventually landed on a week into free agency miles deciding to come back to Charlotte and Charlotte deciding to bring him back on a 25 million dollar a year deal yeah look I’m glad it’s over you know honestly I mean it’s just dragged on for a long time um I’m not really angry anymore I’m just disappointed that the franchise decided uh to tie themselves to someone that pled no contest to felony domestic violence I saw the pictures I saw the video I can’t forget those things and so as a as a fan as a human being I’m not in love with the idea of of the franchise uh you know basically continuing continuing to give more power and more money to someone that showed very little Contrition in the process of returning to the team uh I I don’t think it sends a great signal to uh victims of domestic violence in the future in this league I think Adam Sila and teams have been pretty clear that the NBA uh will tolerate domestic violence in this league and one has to question at some point when they will not tolerate it anymore what will it take for because with with Bridges and Kevin Porter Jr and uh you know names on down the line um this has been something that continues to happen over and over again uh from a basketball perspective I also think it’s a big risk for the Charlotte Hornets because you do sign the the three-year deal as opposed to maybe a four-year deal um it is a little bit more friendly in terms of no options uh we again we’ll have to see where the contract is it more ascending is it more descending is it just 25 million straight down the line um but it is a big risk because if something does happen with bridges in the future off the court then the Hornets will look like naive at best but I but I think they’ll almost look implicit at this point because of how long this process have G has gone on and how many opportunities they had to disassociate themselves uh with him so there there’s my opening thoughts without even getting to some of the Encore stuff yet that’s just kind of my opening feelings on it yeah no just ultimate feelings right in the first 60 seconds that I see this contract and react to it I’m disappointed as well 25 million we pretty much nailed the value of this that that is the figure specifically that we have been throwing out every single podcast that we talk about a miles Bridge’s contract we were using 25 is that Mark and I think Doug that’s probably been the contract on the table this entire time and the Hornets weren’t budging anywhere north of it and then miles and maybe that’s the case and then miles so I so what I think is that this this was a difficult negotiation similar to how it was a difficult negotiation when miles Bridges first signed the qualifying offer I think the Hornets had if I’m just purely speculating here but I think it was probably one of these situations where like we’ll give you two years you know 23 million no I want four years 30 million or I want four years 28 million all right fine let’s go three years 25 million they probably probably met in the middle somewhere after Bridges realized and his team realized that they weren’t going to get a better deal or a better sign and trade option uh the market rejected him yeah I I want Wonder just how much there were there was negotiating on Charlotte’s front though because this is if you look at a $75 million year deal for Miles the deal is not terrible it’s a tradable contract I think for the most part it’s about what the value is for him as a player compared to what other players signed in this free agency market so the deal is not a bad one I did not like the decision for that deal to be handed out by the Charlotte Hornets with the current iteration of the franchise with so much turning over in the decision making process with a decent amount turning over via the roster you have to go back to the trade deadline in order to get all of the change and even before that in the Terry roier trade but with so much change with so much shaping up as to this is going to be our identity and we know right we know lamelo we know Brandon Miller and for the most part we know Mark Williams at least the team wants those three guys to be the core of what this team is going to be I don’t get the strong sense that the Hornets are overwhelmingly wanting miles to be the foundation of this squad going forward or else negotiations I think wouldn’t have taken as long remember it’s a week in free agency but they’ve had even even longer to negotiate this because new rules say that the team can start negotiating with their free agents as soon as the clock hits zero for that Boston Celtics title run so this thing played out a lot longer than other contract negotiations did it was not overwhelming for the Hornets to say please come back miles we would love to have you which also makes me believe Doug something we’ve discussed quite a bit there’s a real possibility that Miles could be traded at this upcoming trade deadline or doesn’t finish the duration of his contract here with the Hornets whether it’s because miles is a highly sought after guy or whether it’s just because the Hornets don’t feel like miles fits their scheme or their situation whatever he doesn’t fit it might just not be a perfect fit together so there are plenty of reasons as to think to think as to why maybe miles might be traded at this upcoming NBA trade deadline off season and just doesn’t finish this three-year contract with the team yeah so the if they don’t view him as part of the core which I agree with I don’t think that they view him as like an essential part of the core I think that is lamelo Brandon and to some extent Mark Williams so if they don’t view him that way then why sign him to a three-year $75 million deal I mean $25 million as a percentage of your cap is significant um so why would they do it and and I think my answer to that question is he does at at his highest level of play he does allow you to function better uh as a team um he’s a physical player he’s a durable player he’s a talented scorer uh when he’s scoring like he was before the absence a little less when he was scoring like he was sort of inefficiently and and missing a lot of mid-range shots like he was last season but theoretically he’s a super talented scorer who can get his own shot and and so that does fit and I think he fits from a like a hard work uh sort of attitude that they’re looking for a you know look how many minutes he played last season I mean that guy’s not going to say no to much so that sort of fits with what Lee wants to establish here so I think this is all about just making your team play better which look if if all of this results in lamelo and Brandon getting playoff experience because you’ve got more Talent on the roster that’s going to be a positive for lamelo and brand but we talk about risk and I think there is some risk that you’ve brought on someone that’s going to possibly you know take attention away from Brandon suck up some of the offensive oxygen and and influence his development a little bit and I think that’s where your your fit question comes in in a possible trade scenario down the line we have more on Miles Bridges let’s get to it coming up next on the lockdown Hornets podcast don’t go to sleep on the Hornets just yet I want to discuss the asset retention angle because that’s maybe another reason as to why they bring back miles Bridges $25 million a year we can discuss his fit on the court a little more so with some of the other guys that they have toan Salon what does that mean for him because there was some conversation about the fit with those two together on the roster we got a lot to get to still to come up [Music] L this episode is brought to you by fanuel I love sports I love them so much I never want them to stop but as the playoffs are over in the the NBA we do get fewer games and this is about Silly Season time the sports aren’t sporting like I want them to but FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want and all I have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime I’m in the mood this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long so head over to fanduel.com start making the most of your summer FanDuel the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball more like Hornets ahead the other part of what I think the Hornets were wondering about here Doug or what they were playing for in the future you you stop make a Hardline stop at 25 million annually because anything north of that the chances of a bad contract are greater and greater and greater so to me you bring him back maybe this was the highest you were willing to go because you view this as a pretty tradable deal and Miles doesn’t have to leave for nothing you don’t have to eat up even more of the cap space if miles is looking for 30 million a year trying to recoup as much as he can after all the money he lost after pleading no contest felony domestic violence so he can’t find it anywhere it was just in the report we see it the entire time throughout the process right sign and Trade sign and trade possibilities were absolutely there at least they were looking for them I don’t know how real they ever were but there were some sign and trade possibilities that they could have looked at both sides here so if my miles was looking at it too and that’s the wording here it’s not the Hornets were looking at it it was Miles was looking at sign and trade possibilities he was looking for more money so now if he can’t find 30 million a year you’re talking about 15 total 5 million a year of course yeah it’s it’s a contract that I think maybe now other teams would be willing to accept and plus we know how much contracts can change in the NBA I use Russell Westbrook as the example of him being a terrible asset spending like half of the season in Washington or the second half of his season in Washington now he’s valuable asset again and then it’s terrible like these contracts are a roller coaster sometimes so if miles has a good first half of the Year shoots pretty eff efficiently accepts his role you know really the third maybe you know 2A 2B with Brandon and and and uh you know himself compared to lamelo maybe that makes some sense but I like it’s not a bad deal I just don’t like the decision to bring him back but I get the asset ition mode here to where now instead of just having him leave go somewhere else at this kind of figure now they can maybe collect a first round pick lots of second round picks maybe multiple first round picks but I do think those types of deals are on the table in the future yeah I mean obviously there wasn’t a sign and trade this was framed as like Bridges couldn’t find a sign and trade but like the Hornets would have to right they would have to enjoy the things that were coming back in the signning trade so they obviously also did not find a deal that was to their their liking but they may find it in the future and so yeah I think that is part of it retaining the retaining retaining miles Bridges as an asset to be move for future assets I think is a big thing and I want to go back to you talking about you know him going into the market and and not being able to find a deal I think that the the pleading no contest to felony domestic violence that played a factor but it wasn’t the factor I I think the factor is that he came back after missing a year of basketball and didn’t didn’t look like an Allstar and really didn’t look like the same player that he was before and so there is something to prove on that front plus he he isn’t playoff tested I can’t remember who it was maybe Demar de rozan there was there was another player that WJ tweeted about uh signing and there was that language there like the team was excited to bring a playoff tested veteran it matters I guarantee you that the Dallas Mavericks if they wanted to move PJ Washington now would get even more value for PJ Washington than the Hornets got and the Hornets got a first round pick 100% because PJ Washington looked like an impact player in the playoffs there was not that evidence when he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets and so if you’re the Hornets your focus I think should be to try to see if this healthy core together can get some playoff experience because it’s going to help lamelo it’s going to help Brandon it’s going to help Mark and it’s going to make miles Bridges much more attractive in year two or three of that deal when you when you are prepared to move it for either future picks or a player to be named yeah the playoff stuff it it does matter you’re right that it it’s not the fact that he played no contest as to why specifically he didn’t get a contract you’re right especially with the Clippers the Clippers almost went after the trifecta here going for Kevin Porter Jr team they don’t care they just don’t care if you care I apologize I I feel for you because I care but they they don’t care no they they were going for miles after having already agreed to a contract with Kevin Porter Jr and then they dabbled in the Josh Primo business after he got cut like what six months into his tenure with the Spurs ridiculous so yeah it’s it’s miles coming back there are some basketball reasons as to why like you think about the other contracts given out here Doug miles I would say was one of the more talented players we we know miles even now two years ago we would have been clamoring for the Hornets to give him the max right we we knew they were going to give him $30 million a year and that would have been totally fine we would have come on this podcast then we would have said hey homegrown Talent you drafted him he became a fringe Allstar didn’t make it but a fringe Allstar a couple of years ago maybe the ceiling is even higher give the man $30 million and let’s roll with him and his best friend lamelo the basketball reasons as to now why you wouldn’t bring him back they make sense too but the contract is going to be around 25 million per season cavius Caldwell Pope Fair Deal 22 right online with the miles contract Isaiah hartenstein got paid more per season because OKC is in playoff win now mode going into the playoffs needed some size so Isaiah got more money OG anobi got more money like this isn’t one of the highest paid contracts this go around in free agency which kind of lets you know hey if they don’t care really about the pleading of no contest okay if we’re if we agree there they do care about the basketball stuff 25 million year a year is a lot right like it’s a lot of money but also compared to everybody else in the market it’s it’s not all that much so I just didn’t like the Hornets giving this deal out at this point but again the asset retention nobody else was looking to give him one hell Tobi Harris Got This Money Doug Detroit who could have been interested there were reports that they might dabble in the miles Bridges business they said nope we’re going to go after Tobias Harris and give him the same amount per year just for two seasons so there there wasn’t enough interest out there for Detroit for Detroit it’s an element of you got to spend the money somewhere so yeah you know so there’s there’s always going to be that guy who gets into that like perfect guy for that situation doesn’t really care about winning you know has done has done some winning before so but I think it’s interesting you mentioned anobi I mentioned Amar D Roan you mentioned Tobias SS there I think that bridges in his Camp wanted anobi money wanted anobi uh uh sort of the the recognition that anobi got from New York of of his value to the franchise and instead he got Demar D Roan money almost exactly and the Demar de rozan contract is like hey you’re you’re a good you’re a good player we don’t know if you’re like a really really good player anymore and there’s some questions about like your your value in the playoffs so here’s a contract that is you know Equitable to that and so I think that’s a little bit of the factor here for Miles bridges too so yeah I mean for Charlotte look there’s a universe in which you know he did last year come back and play at an All-Star level and he lifted the Hornets you know way higher than they had any business of being maybe lamelo stays healthy and bridges does look super attractive in the marketplace and I think in that Universe miles just says Charlotte see you I’m G to go play for LA or whatever I don’t think he I I honestly don’t believe he has true like allegiance to the city and so like in in in that mindset I think Charlotte was smart to say look we have a little bit of an and very cynically smart let me just say that but smart to say look we have an angle here to keep an asset and then turn that into something else in the future and it makes our team functionally better let’s let’s pursue that at the right price I think it was look Jeff Peterson continues to look like The Savvy operator that we’ve always wanted here as general manager I don’t think this deal does anything to change that idea no you’re right I also don’t know if it enhances it but we still stay pretty neutral right like if you would have had a team option in the third season it wasn’t 25 maybe it was a little bit below that I think there would have been okay Jeff Peterson somehow got it done even more so it’s it’s in the pretty neutral area of this was the Mark we kept going with every single miles Bridges pod we did we mentioned 25 per season that’s the deal we mentioned like three it’s not a short term it’s not longterm you’re right in the middle so 3 years it Still Remains pretty neutral unless of course we say miles comes out and looks pretty good that’s a win-win because it’s either okay now we have a a guy that is supposed to hit his prime although I’m not sure with the the style that he plays as to that’s true but miles still can give you good basketball with this team or he can give somebody else good basketball but they’ll have to pay the price for it so then You’ spin into a couple of first round picks either way he comes out first half of the season next year and looks good yeah it’s a win-win for Jeff Peterson at that point well so I’ll actually I’ll push back a little bit and say I think this does enhance it because you’ve got to get the deal done and this is what I said over and over during the Mitch cup check era they could not get the deal done miles signed the qualifying offer they couldn’t get the deal done now you want to get the deal done in a way because look there there is there is another Universe let me just we’re we’re just really multivers right now all over the place there is Another Universe in which they do try to push team option or they try to push two years and say we’re not going above that Miles very well could have said all right fine I’m going to go sign a one-year deal it’s not going to be for the money that I want but forget you Charlotte I’m going to go sign a one-year deal with another team and then I’ll do another prove me and enter the offseason and you get nothing so that Universe existed as well instead they get the deal done on terms that I would say are they’re not the team friendliest but they are Team friendly and and and they got pin to paper and I think that that says a lot about what Jeff Peterson is able to do in this Marketplace and it it it it I think signals good things in the future when they go into negotiations with other players they’re going to do what it takes to get a deal done but not you know go so far as to do things that damage the future of the franchise that that’s fair I just I would have been okay had he walked away for nothing like I I would have even in the basketball so again we keep putting these different hats on right obviously you know on a personal level I would have been totally okay with that throw that personal level hat off and put my general manager cynical NBA doesn’t care about domestic violence hat on and I say Well done Jeff Peterson you did a good job no I know I I do think there’s a middle ground hat even with the basketball stuff to where I mean this this can happen you you don’t you don’t have somebody taking 25 million off the books like that that matters especially with new CBA people have been discussing the new CBA with the aprons all the aprons and all of that now you might see players yeah during my cookout I wore like seven aprons in honor of of this new pay a lot of money yeah seven aprons I mean that is I’ll tell you my shirt was Immaculate you nothing was getting on that shirt no barbecue sauce on my shirt buddy I was wearing seven aprons good but you’re going to see guys walk away for a lot more now rather than teams where they used to be like oh we can’t lose them for nothing that’s that’s the worst thing that can happen is if he walks away for nothing now with the new CBA it doesn’t seem like it’s the worst thing that could happen I know the Hornets aren’t up against the luxury tax they’re not against the aprons but even still that doesn’t seem like worst case scenario anymore like it used to with the old collective bargaining agreement so okay yeah there are the miles thoughts I’m sure we’ll have more as we move on coming up next on the lockdown Hornets podcast don’t go to sleep on the Hornets just yet now let’s talk about the Charles Lee thoughts yes we are all here for Charles Lee your new head coach we’ll talk about him and summer league coming up next [Music] this episode is brought to you by better help comparison is the thief of joy and it’s easy to Envy other people’s lives it might look like they have it all together on their Instagram Facebook social media what have you but in reality they probably don’t therapy can help you focus on what you want instead of what others have so you can start living your best life if you are thinking of starting therapy give better help a try it’s entirely online designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule just fill out a brief questionnaire to get mats with a licensed therapist and then you can switch therapist anytime for no additional charge stop comparing and start focusing with better help visit betterhelp.com lockon NBA today to get 10% off your first month that’s betterhelp HP betterhelp.com lockon NBA one more segment to go locked on Hornets Doug I was texting smoke the producer of the Kyle Bailey show on sports radio 927 WFNZ it’s such a good radio Name by the way but he’s big Hornets fan right and he texted me he said oh my God miles Bridges is the new Nick patum and that every single season there’s going to be something new to talk about and he will never exit Our Lives no matter what iteration that we’re talking about whether it’s a current contract whether it’s a stretch and wave provision whether he’s hurting the Hornets on the opposite side we will never ever stop talking about this person and now it feels like miles Bridges has taken the Nick bat baton in having to talk about him constantly well and will we will we talk about the money to production aspect of it because that that’s what’s interesting when you sign a guy like miles to 25 million and you have a player on your roster and Brandon Miller who Steve Clifford last year said was your you know without lamelo was your best offensive weapon uh you know and as Brandon continues to grow look it’s it’s going to take a while for Brandon to reap the benefits and and make a lot of money too it’s going to take a couple of years and so until then you are going to have this sort of weird imbalance in money to production how much will that will that be an issue um you want to move to Charles Lee let’s do it man I’m I’m py to Pumped man from the mo we we did our summer league preview right before they dropped that Banger of a practice video I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited for a summer league Camp practice video in my entire life but I was revved up ready to go you know shout out to the Hornets media team for actually like showing specific clips of teaching moments here what a concept yeah I I it it was really cool to see Charles Lee actually coaching Brandon Miller it wasn’t just some puff piece it was Brandon yes if right this is what we need to do on the defensive end of the floor calling out Nick Smith Jr yep you you got to see specific teaching moments which you know I get why teams don’t do it I actually understand it you don’t want to frustrate right I understand it but is an easy win if you can convince the player if there is any convincing if they care at all right if you can convince the player hey this is going to be really good PR for us people love seeing the coach at work and we like kind of seeing a little bit what of what you might consider dirt like oh he’s coaching him oh he thinks he did something wrong that’s really cool but what was awesome was to see Charles Lee actually coaching these guys defensively which everyone knows it’s where this team has struggled the last few seasons even with you know some better iterations with cliff and then there were some injuries there you get the idea but very cool to see that with Brandon with Nick Smith Jr the young guys getting called out Charles Lee the energy that video with the first practice that the social media team showed to the world you’re right I tweeted out that I was ready to run through a brick wall like the cool-aid man I saw exclamation points on your Twitter you said if you’re buying stock you’re holding on you’re buying more and you’re holding on to it like it feels like this is the guy it it’s just so comforting we’re going to be led to somewhere positive with this guy at the helm I watched a little bit of Forest Gump over the holiday because I guess it’s the 30th anniversary of the film so they’re like playing it all over TV and whatever it’s on I just have to stop and just watch whatever scene and and try to desperately try to pull myself away great TV movie it’s it’s might be the ultimate TV movie A Few Good Men actually I think A Few Good Men is the ultimate TV movie but sha shank well that was on TV for a long time I got sha Shang thoughts but we don’t have time for those got to talk about Charles Lee here but uh the scene came up where Forest gets a letter in the in his mail from from Apple where they invested all of the uh Bubba Gump stock or the the profits into Apple stock and so he says you know he never has to worry about money again if you invest in Charles Lee stock right now you are never going going to have to worry about this team working hard committing on the defensive end as long as you keep keep bringing in the type of players that they’ve started to bring in now your your Josh greens your Brandon Millers your Nick Smith jors you can release that that kind of video because it’s Brandon Miller and he wants to get better and he doesn’t care you know about that kind he doesn’t care about getting embarrassed he just wants to be a better player Nick Smith Jr wants to be a better player and they’re reflecting that in the play in Summer League at least Nick Smith Jr is because his activity on the defensive end is Miles Ahead of where it was last year you know he’s he’s struggling to shoot a little bit but the activity from the entire team is reflective of the head coaches energy in a summer league so far that hasn’t featured Brandon Miller hasn’t featured tjon Salon yet hasn’t featured the second round pick KJ Simpson the the summer league storyline so far has been about Charles Lee’s ability as head coach of the summer league team to get this team organized and committed to both ends of the floor energy level has been off the charts I mean the talent level on this roster summer league roster Walker is not all that much different I think one could argue maybe even a little bit worse the name recog is not there we’ve recognized more names in the past and we even discussed that in the preview and and yet this team is smoking out there in the California classic the holding the Spurs to under 70 holding the Chinese National Team uh they’re going to cause a diplomatic issue here uh if if they keep smoking the Chinese National Team like this it was um incredible to watch and you should be you have every right to be excited about Charles Lee doing this with the veterans in in a couple of months yeah 97-65 game one of the California classic for those that don’t know the Hornets win they beat the Spurs by over 30 points and then they beat Team China 93 to 62 two wins with a combined margin of victory of 60 yeah baby yes summer league it’s fun I can’t say again I can’t say it’s fun again because I can’t tell you when it has been fun it’s just Flatout fun in the early going it’s fun Doug I giggled I giggled you want to know what I giggled at um was it I’m going to take a guess I’m gonna take a wild take a guess at what I it was somebody saying I’ll give you a little hint it was somebody saying something and it made me giggle was it Nick Smith Jr discussing being challenged defensively by Charles Lee is that the saying or is it something different no that made me that gave me a wide smile but you know it was like it was almost a giggle it was preg giggle it was prle if you will but I’ll tell you what made me giggle it was something that well let me give you one more hint and see if you can guess it was something that Charles Lee said no I can’t get it what you got he said when asked about you know the summer league energy and what they saw and what was different and everything he said everything matters I love that because this franchise has almost I think acted the opposite for many many years they when you looked at Summer League teams have passed you went why don’t they have a point guard where are the guys that play defense what is happening why won’t they go out and get a third Center they told me they wanted to make the playoffs playoff teams usually have depth at Center and point guard where’s the backup point guard everything matters I love that if that is the you know we also heard Hornet’s DNA and I love that too forget culture folks we’re not talking about culture these are men of science they’re out there splicing DNA changing it making the defense crisper I love it um and that’s that that’s my whole thing every thing matters use every available tool if you’re the front office and and if you’re the coaching staff you are telling this squad every possession matters every defensive possession matters just as much as every offensive possession I love the attitude I love the mentality I love the DNA I’m so I’m so hyped and it is and summer is the time for hype you know that’s what I say the Silly Season baby summer is the time for for being irrational and I’m irrationally happy right well give give give them the the summer leue phrase you came up with you have so many I actually wonder if you forgot what you’re saying is but what is it I was trying to remember it yes you have so many no I I remember this because it’s it’s to me it’s one of your best ones summer league is for feelings that’s right Summer’s for feelings that’s right summer leag yes summer league summer it’s for feelings and we’re feeling summer for feelings and then training camp and regular season that’s for you know let’s get let’s get rational let’s get real about who’s playing and who’s not but summer is absolutely for feelings and I’m I think I’m feeling the best that I felt in in a number of Summers I can’t remember I mean I can’t remember the last time I looked at a summer league and went and there there have been a lot of Summers that have been stunted by player injuries and different things and you’ve got a little bit of of that going on right now with Salon not being available with with Simpson not being available for the entire uh season and yet you have a coaching change and I’ll say this too it makes me really give some kudos to Steve Clifford for stepping down what he did for recogniz in hey I don’t have the energy that I used to I don’t have the energy to coach this young team to do what is necessary to get this team to where it needs to be and that allowed this franchise to go out and get Charles Lee who obviously and the players are responding like you hear um you hear Nick Smith Jr talk about being challenged but you also hear him say words like energy like these players can feel the energy in these practices it’s a it’s at a different level and it’s going to mean great things when when he applies this to the veterans I think that’s the biggest difference leeky black also said something about the energy from Charles Lee and and this is the last thing I guess we can finish with it is funny to see Hornet’s Twitter come together and defend Steve Clifford this entire time that’s been an interesting twist I would you would expect oh Charles Lee new life with the summer league thank God we got rid of those old coaches that’s not how Hornet’s Twitter has reacted at least in my opinion people have defended Clifford because a lot of the stuff at least just from a surface level standpoint defense preaching effort it’s the same as what Steve Clifford was discussing but you’re right the biggest the biggest Factor the biggest difference has been the energy which Steve Clifford who’s older and has been doing this for a long time just doesn’t have and it does feel like Clifford recognized that it reminds me of Roy Williams stepping down not because he didn’t want to deal with the transfer portal I know I’m sure that had something to do with it Roy Williams when he stepped down from North Carolina truly thought he was not the right guy for the job anymore I do feel like Steve Clifford had the same thoughts man I really don’t think I’m the right guy for this job anymore I don’t think I can get the best out of him because this is the message I know the message is correct I understand that this is I know what I’m talking about I just I can’t get it out of them I feel like they need somebody more more ump and that’s where Charles Lee comes in and yeah nice recognition all around here from everybody really and I’m gonna say this to end it’s it’s a combination and it’s a it’s a convergence of getting coach and also giving him players he is going to love Josh green and Josh Green is going to love being coached by Charles Lee there is a convergence here of finding the right guys finally giving the head coach the ingredients that the that that complement what the head coach wants to execute I think the biggest crime in Charlotte Hornet’s history is that Clifford coached all these years and coached his bleep off and this franchise never did him the service of giving him the kind of guys he need except for one one season 20156 they finally gave him the guys and you know and then they let all of those guys go it’s a crime it’s criminal you should be put in jail uh Bill Simmons podcast this weekend said that the Celtics really hated to see Lee go they were excited but they hated it they loved that guy of course they did and he says you know what the Hornets actually might know what they’re doing which is the best compliment I think Bill Simmons has ever given this team we did it hang the banner hang the banner Bill Simmons said we know what we’re doing it’s a beautiful day here in charlot land that’ll do it for lock on Hornets thanks for making us your first listen we’re free and available anywhere you get your pods subscribe like whatever you do with videos do all that stuff on YouTube and then catch us anywhere you get your pods also go to Every Hornet boox score.com Doug Branson is the curator of that website I’m Walker mail listen to me on sports radio 927 WFNZ every weekday from 12:00 to 300 p.m. have a great rest of your day we’ll be back with you tomorrow me [Music]

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