Hornets mailbag: PJ Washington’s status? New owners aggressive? Can Miles Bridges practice?

Free agency hasn’t exactly triggered a spending frenzy by the Charlotte Hornets.

They couldn’t reach an agreement on a multiyear pact with Miles Bridges and he’s on track to pick his own future path as an unrestricted free agent next year. Sure, they inked LaMelo Ball to the richest deal in the history of Charlotte pro sports, handing him the first rookie max extension contract in the 35 years of the team’s existence.

But the only other news of major importance surrounds the franchise’s control changing hands, going from Michael Jordan to a group mostly led by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin.

That leaves plenty of questions.

In this latest mailbag, we answer reader queries looking for an update on PJ Washington’s contractual situation, if the new ownership group will be aggressive, whether Miles Bridges can practice and play in the preseason and more:

What’s going on with PJ? — @buzz_szn via X (formerly known as Twitter)

Status quo from all indicators. Doesn’t mean any potential progress hasn’t been made, but nothing appears imminent. Since he’s a restricted free agent, the Hornets hold all of the power. The only true way for Washington to get the upper hand is to follow a path similar to that of Bridges. And that is to sign the qualifying offer and try his best to ball out, creating a larger market for his services that would require Charlotte to pay up in order to keep him around beyond 2023-24 since Washington would be an unrestricted free agent.

Do you expect new ownership to be aggressive the next year in making moves to fit their image? Like what has happened in Minnesota and Phoenix (and what David Tepper did clearing out Cam Newton and Ron Rivera)? — @SportsReverend via X

While the situations you mentioned are a little different, in part because Michael Jordan still holds a minority stake in the team and didn’t completely give up ownership, we get where you’re coming from. Looking at it from the outside, we won’t know the real perspective of the new group until hearing some public comments from Schnall and Plotkin. But with the way franchises are run these days, let’s be honest: this isn’t Monopoly money. When people fork over billions for something, they are only going to sit back for so long before leaving their mark.

That will likely happen here, too.

Now, what that timetable is, we’ll have to wait to get a gauge of how heavy handed Schnall and Plotkin will be and whether they plan to spend lavishly trying to build a winner. Depending on where the team sits heading into the trade deadline in February, it’ll be fascinating to examine the approach of the new group and if whether it decides to push to be more aggressive with moves.

Can Miles still practice with the team while he’s suspended? — @Hornets4life704 via X

Yes. His suspension technically just relates to regular-season game action. According to Section IV of Rule No. 3 in the NBA’s official rulebook, “If a player, coach or assistant coach is suspended from a game or games, he shall not at any time before, during or after such game or games appear in any part of the arena or stands where his team is playing.” So, unless it’s a regular-season game day, Bridges is allowed to be involved in the daily team activities and in the building. That also includes preseason action.

What’s the deal with James Bouknight and Kai Jones? Are they ever gonna play consistently? — @EAgent182 via X

Not unless they pogo stick themselves over the players currently ahead of them on the depth chart. Bouknight is an off guard and with the addition of an interchangeable piece in Brandon Miller, the minutes just aren’t there for Bouknight. His best bet to rise up the backcourt depths will be filling in should someone ahead of him in the rotation get injured, which with the Hornets is always a possibility.

Jones is widely viewed by the organization as a center. The Hornets committed to Mark Williams as their future at the position, and they signed Nick Richards to a three-year, $15 million deal in the spring. Coach Steve Clifford hated rotating three centers even for a short spell at the tail end of the season, likening it to intramurals. Thus, Jones is on the outside looking in heading into his third season.

Is Cody Martin’s knee problem resolved? — @benAecon via X

Besides Mark Williams, no one else underwent any kind of surgical procedures over the summer for the Hornets. So that has to be considered a good thing as far as Cody’s health goes. But the real test won’t come until he’s played in multiple games, cutting, defending and jumping against some of the world’s best basketball players. And you’re correct. Cody’s importance often goes unnoticed because people see the holes in his game. His defense is key and prior to getting sick in 2021-22 he was leading the league in 3-point percent, something many forget.

What’s your roster rotation projections? — @DahlBaaht via X

That’ll be coming soon. The issue at the moment is the roster isn’t completely set. As mentioned earlier in the answer to @buzz_szn’s question, Washington’s status remains unresolved. There’s also the possibility they add another ball-handling guard as team president/general manager Mitch Kupchak alluded to last week during LaMelo Ball’s press conference. With Dennis Smith Jr. gone, unless the Hornets sign someone to replace him, the backup point guard duties shift to Terry Rozier. That would push up his minutes and lessen his opportunities to rest, which is something the staff may not want to necessarily do. It’s going to be interesting to see how rookie Nick Smith Jr. eventually fits into the plans as well.

Could the Hornets be decent this year? — @Ben_Harmon via X

All depends on what your definition of decent is. Does that entail them finishing below .500 for the eighth time in the past 11 seasons? Or missing out on the playoffs for an eighth straight year, but managing to make the play-in tournament for the third occasion since the format was introduced in 2021 and lose again? Being just decent in 2023-24 probably won’t cut it with this ownership. The Hornets will need to strive to be something better than they have over the bulk of the last decade to satisfy the new regime.