Charlotte Hornets Summer League Preview: What to Expect from Brandon Miller and Tidjane Salaun

Charlotte Hornets Summer League Preview: What to Expect from Brandon Miller and Tidjane Salaun

the summer league roster is set so is the schedule what do we expect from Brandon Miller at Summer League we’ll talk about all of that today plus this see I’ve had to live in this world for so long where you critique me and boy do I feel good now you are locked on Hornets your daily Charlotte Hornets podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day I in the minute C we live it’s lockon hornets part of the lockon podcast Network it’s your team every day thanks for making us your first listen we’re free and available anywhere you get your podcast and that includes YouTube where if you’re watching us and you watched the last episode you can see us in the same exact clothing you can see us in the same hat that Doug is wearing and you can see the same substack website every Hornet boox score.com make sure you go check it out also there you can find a sub text information I’m Walker mail I’m on WFNZ check me out too make me your second listen 12:00 to 3 p.m. whether it’s the WFNZ app or sports radio 927 fmw fnz summmer league roster is set we couldn’t get to it the last episode Doug we had to splice this thing into two we got so much content to chew on with the summer league roster Set uh do you want to go over some of the main takeaways you want to start with Brandon Miller being mentioned I’ll let you lead the way here yeah the big names that we know that are going to be part of Summer League which we should say is really broken up into two summer leagues there’s this California classic that’s going to happen in Sacramento and that will be three days July 6th through the 9th and then they’re going to go to Vegas and do the whole Vegas thing so the Vegas thing will be four games maybe five if you don’t make the four team playoff and you know the Hornets have not been anywhere they have not sniffed that playoff and and I don’t know if they will now because we thought we had a point guard finally KJ Simpson this guy that draft in the second round uh but KJ Simpson is going to miss the entirety of Summer League some of the guys that will be there though the big names are you know Nick Smith Jr and Brandon Miller Brandon Miller is on the roster Las Vegas only says the little asck here uh what do you think about Brandon Miller showing up for summer league training camp and maybe Vegas it’s exactly what I would have guessed Doug I think we might have even had this conversation once the season was over I I would expect Brandon to go to Summer League maybe play a couple games not the whole summer league session and then call it a day we see this even from the rookies that are really good we see them go back for at least a little bit their second year and then there’s just no chance they’re going to summer league their third year if you’re of the Brandon Miller level so I’m not too terribly surprised because it it’s not like it’s unprecedented we see this from other talented rookies it’s not unprecedented Walker but you know what the reaction to this is going to be it’s going to be you just went through two seasons of just devastating injury after devastating injury why would you even risk playing him at all in any kind of function that doesn’t matter I don’t care if it’s a game of checkers like why would you do anything with him where it didn’t pertain to preseason or regular season basketball well this is what the conversation was last year I I when we saw enough of Brandon Miller and then we saw him have a good game we thought all right let’s stop on the positive momentum now you’re just toying with the last couple of games we’ve already seen enough from him let’s just bring him back let’s just bring him back all all of the positivity here like now it’s just probably getting some run Charles Lee is coaching remember so maybe you get your first little bit of getting to see how Lee and Brandon Miller you know mesh with one another coach player Brandon also if KJ Simpson isn’t gonna play Doug is it going to be a situation like last season where Brandon is your best decision maker with the basketball in his hands CU honestly yeah it’s not like I did a whole lot of deep diving on a lot of these other prospects that are going to be playing for this squad so not a lot of names that I recognize um from the college level I’m not one of these hardcore draft junkies I usually keep it tight within the prospects that are available for the Hornets wherever they’re selecting so yeah maybe Brandon is that guy too that just allows everybody else to play better I’m cool with you playing a couple games but yeah anything more more than that I I’ll start to get a little antsy yeah I um I get the the idea that you know new coach who’s also coaching summer league let’s get Brandon you know more time with him I understand the precedent but I think Brandon Miller has shown enough that it’s not necessary for him to play games now I think it’s a nice culture setting thing where it’s like I’m Brandon Miller I’m not I’m not too good for summer league I can come down and hang out with some of these young guys incl ining you know the draft pick tjan salon and KJ Simpson and Nick Smith Jr like I’m going to go down there because because that’s you know what second-year players do for the most part unless they are just sort of you know unanimous number one overall selections that are rookies of the year then then you you know sort of second guess it at that point but so I get all that but I just want them to make sure that this guy is healthy for preseason I cannot we cannot have another miss you know whatever look there’s some stuff that can happen between summer league and getting ready for training camp but I don’t want Brandon Miller to miss any of those opportunities to get better and then training camp preseason you know play all day long but you know so if he yeah if he’s in there for more than one game I will be shocked okay uh let’s move on let’s go to the next segment coming up next on the lockdown Hornets podcast don’t go to sleep on the Hornets just yet finishing thoughts on the summer league roster there is one guy I want to talk about and it’s a couple guys I have left to talk about yeah let’s do that we’ll also get to more Brandon Miller stuff he has an accomplishment here selected to the US select team which is pretty cool so we’ll get to that as well coming up next [Music] loh this episode is brought to you by game time game time game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier and prices on game time actually go down the closer it gets to first pitch with killer last minute deals Allin prices views from your seed and their lowest price guarantee game time takes the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets let’s discuss some of those deals last minute deals Flash Deals and Zone deals I like the Zone deals the best because you can save even more when you choose a section and let game time choose the seats so you still get to refine it to a place that you want to sit even if it’s not the exact row and then you can get cheaper seats there I think that’s a really Savvy thing that game time is offering for everyone take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account redeem code LED o n NBA locked on NBA for $20 off download the game time app today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed more lockdown Hornets ahead okay let me start with uh one player that I want to discuss because um I fell in love with this guy in college Doug uh watching him at UNCC Asheville and so he’s a local product you know the Hornets love bringing the local products in not he one of the Rarities though not a ton here locally no you’re right we we have two um I’m trying to think of his name we we have uh I don’t have the roster in front of me but we have someone that actually played overseas was from Cox high school yep there you go from Cox Mill and actually went to Cornell and has been playing professionally for a couple of years now but Drew pimber is the other guy went to UNC Asheville Doug he was dominant in the Big South He’s listed at 610 he’s 190 pounds he’s a two-time big South player of the year he’s a two-time big South Defensive Player of the Year wow these stats are bananas let me read them off to you okay this the past two seasons okay he averaged 21 points and 20.6 points per game in each of the last two years it’s pretty good nine rebounds and eight rebounds the last two years he got to the free throw line shooting nine attempts per game two seasons ago and eight attempts per game this past season in college that many free throw attempts and he shot 83% or better each of the last two years over 50% on twos and 38% two years ago from three on four attempts per game 37% from three this past year on five and a half attempts per game all of the stats even in the Big South tell me Drew pimber deserves to have a shot somewhere in the NB ba oh by the way I mentioned the defensive player of the year stats yeah he averaged over three blocks per game two seasons ago and 2.7 blocks per game this past year all the stats suggest give this guy a shot see what he can do and if not drop him let somebody else take the chance but this is a local product that is absolutely worthwhile taking a chance on well I want to make a couple of notes Here the Hornets have some open two-way spots leaky black who has one of those two-way spots is on the roster now they did not uh tender A an offer to Amari Bailey so Amari Bailey is not on this roster he is they they’ve just waved goodbye to Amari Bailey so there are open two-way spots on this team to be had so guys you might not know these names but they are guys that might be part of The Hornet’s future moving forward I like that we don’t know a lot of these names James Banks rayquan battle Pedro Bradshaw Kevin Cross Jr Marcus Garrett Malik Hall Caleb McConnell Matt Morgan who we just mentioned like a lot of these names are unknown and I love that because they are we bringing all new names to the table we’re bringing creativity we’re bringing let’s find something that nobody’s looking at I’ll give you a couple other names that I like Jake Steven 611 270 he has like a 7 foot1 wingspan this guy’s a monster and he can shoot it well from three it’s a big that can shoot there’s some rumors swirling around right now Walker that Nick Richards could be on the Move New York the Knicks they lost Isaiah hardenstein they’re going to be looking for a backup big the Hornets may have an opportunity there with his contract to pick up I mean I’m not trying to get crazy here but they I think they could get a protected first round pick maybe a late first round I’m getting crazy but if that opportunity presented itself and they couldn’t turn it down they’re going to have to look at this summer league roster I think they’re G have to look anyway for a third big but you might be looking for a second big too so Jak Stevens somebody to watch you just mentioned pimber that’s another guy to watch uh Matt Morgan I think it’s an interesting name he was a Euro Cup MVP uh was was really good overseas he’s 6’2 so he’s going to be a point guard so I think uh you know with KJ Simpson out Matt Morgan might have a chance to shine here as well and I think leaky you know what’s he he got some playing time and did some fun things and and made Eric Collins giggle so we’ll have to see if he can continue to do that here in Summerland oh loves leaky I love leaky Eric Collins loves leaky yeah no it leaky might be one of the more interesting names too to see if does he bring it to a different level offensively to justify him staying on the roster I mean Steve Clifford went to him uh last year in dire situations and like Doug honestly was one of the guys that okay given the circumstances all right not been terrible and that really was more so defensively but didn’t try to do too much offensively so yeah we’ll we’ll see I don’t know all these guys have a shot and and maybe they can make the most of it how about Bryce McGaw oh well still still on the summer league roster now it’s interesting to note his contract is due to be guaranteed this month he is making about $2 million and the Hornets have to make a decision this month and it might that decision might be based on what you’re going to watch I’m doing the Hornets uh work here in terms of getting you to watch summer league but like that’s that is something to pay attention to uh Bryce mcgowens might be playing and we thought last season when he showed up that he was playing for a position within the rotation and he didn’t play all that well no he was bad last year in in summer league he he he held on to the basketball it was his time to shine and he missed a lot of shots lots and lots and lots of Miss shots from Bryce Macwan so he didn’t play well like yeah Doug this is a little JT thores for me where JT Thor goes back to summer league for third straight season second round pick late guy have some hope for him actually does some nice things his first stint over there second stint little underwhelming kind of last chance stuff here for Bryce McGaw and he’s barely hanging on we’ll see how much Charles Lee likes him it’s it feels like his he feels like a fifth year like it feels like he’s been playing and I know it’s only been what three this is his third trip but it feels like 17 I don’t know why oh the other thing is by the way Amari Bailey not on the roster he yeah know I me oh yeah now here we go this is the reverse you P the me I listening oh yes see the vacation you’re you’re thinking about vac see when people watch this they should know we are actually we’re on vacation as you watch this I am currently eating spare ribs I don’t know what Walker is doing but we are on vacation we pre-taped this but I just just want you to know that Walker in this moment is thinking about the barbecue that he’s going to go to and he just pulled a me which is he didn’t listen to when I said Amari Bailey was off the I went I went a solid 30 seconds on Amari Bailey yeah you know what I was doing you know what I was doing with that it it wasn’t necessarily the vacation I was looking up more Drew Pim stats and thinking this is the guy that is filling the James Nai void in my life so James Nai he’s going to be injured in Spain he was drafted against his will I don’t know if you saw that Jonathan gavone used Nai as an example of being drafted by the Hornets despite not wanting to be drafted by the Hornets except Mitch cup said too bad I like you too much my man we’re going to select you here and we’re going to figure it out from there no Drew Pim maybe he wants to be here he’s filling the void left in my life left by James Nai I love I love that idea James naagi being I mean that is the ultimate beggar being choosy right like how are James Nai how are you going to sort of throw your way around and say I don’t want to I don’t want to be drafted by the Hornets but listen he joins a long line of folks that have not wanted to be drafted by the Hornets um that that really doesn’t matter that’s not how the draft Works no um and it only works that way if you’re alexar and you can you know you you have that kind of got a little wiggle room there yeah um okay uh anything else that you need me to repeat um yeah no I I think I I think it’s interesting you know Bry I love this the shoe finally being on the other foot see I’ve had to live in this world for for so long where you critique me for not listening and boy do I feel good now well the last player I want to bring up I mean Bryce McGaw has a really interesting summer league thing like third straight year it feels we’re already at the barbecue it it feels like Bryce is like a fifth year senior I know it’s not been that long but he feels like he’s been here for so long I just wanted to say those things real quickly one more segment to go coming up next on the lockdown Hornets podcast don’t go to sleep on the Hornets just yet this Drew pimber guy is pretty interesting too dude I love him I love him oh man we’ll talk about Drew Pim next here lock out Hornets some actual original summer league thoughts I promise I won’t mention Bryce anymore um but it I we went through it yesterday with the injuries unfortunate news ton Salon laceration out for a little while but we’ll be ready for summer league and uh KJ Simpson I’m getting choked up suffered a hamstring injury and he’s not going to be available at all for summer league that was a real bummer everyone wanted a legitim point guard in summer league maybe we have that we just don’t know who that player is but we know it’s not going to be KJ maybe it could be said that too yeah maybe it could be maybe I’m saying maybe it could be Matt Morgan I did hear you on that um I think tjon Salon is the guy that you’re worried about most here right like I’m I’m glad that he’s available but this is the example I went with when they selected KJ Simpson last year Brandon Miller struggled in summer league even us as scoot fans and Scoot wagon drivers could assess the summer league and say this is not fair to criticize Brandon Miller because there is no floor spacing Brandon Miller is a little out of position because you clearly trust him the most with the basketball in his hands he’s the best passer on this roster he’s not being set up so we actually think he might do a little better once he gets to the big leagues enter ton Salon who isn’t anywhere near skilled the player that Brandon Miller is and you still don’t have a point we don’t know yet but if you still don’t give him a point guard like Doug I think he’s going to be really affected by this and so I I hope that I’m wrong we can see the defensive intensity don’t really need a point guard for that rebounding don’t need a point guard for that spot up shooting yeah you kind of do I yeah how do you think Salon will perform without KJ Simpson and let’s just say if if it holds true that you don’t have a PG out there how does that affect salon’s game conspiracy theory now um putting my tinf foil hat on that when KJ Simpson got injured and wasn’t going to be part of Summer League that’s when the organization went to Brandon Miller and said listen we need you to go to Vegas give us a little cover take the attention away from from ton Salon I don’t I don’t think there’s going to be a mence pressure for Salon because I think it’s well documented that he’s a project I don’t think people are expecting I hope people aren’t expecting for him to go and be a summer league star I think if he goes and hits a few shots has a a few highlight drives maybe some dunks and transition I think people are going to go all right cool I don’t I don’t know that they’re expecting a ton out of salon now there’s a limit to that because I think people will go hey he’s a project but if he goes out there and looks like he doesn’t even belong on a summer league roster and and stays that way cuz Brandon looked like that his first game and then he shook it off looks like that for the entire of entirety of summer league and doesn’t adjust and get better you know then you go okay is there something wrong here is I think then we’ll start some Von lay Whispers will will start to to crop up and Kai Jones even more so like that’s that’s the one yeah and Kai Jones does Salon come out and go over for 10 from three and I mean that in all seriousness like does he do does he do something that jumps out at you on the box score that you go what the what the heck is going on here um that’s what he has to avoid I think honestly for Salon a quiet summer league is going to be preferable to the you know 0 for 10 from three summer league that’s on the table by the way I I I’m nervous about it I’m not it’s not like Doomsday stuff I’m just saying when you draft somebody this raw who is one of the younger players in the draft you’re putting them up there with players that are skill build that were very good in college that are trying to make a roster spot themselves it could be very it’s very possible that Salon goes all throughout summer league and doesn’t look ready not one single game and maybe he looks ready for one game and we have that to hold on to but it’s one out of the seven eight that they play because they don’t reach the championship I’m just saying we don’t have to ride them off after that I’m trying to prepare the people to not go into this doomsday scenario because that’s on the table with how raw of a project he is you want to see Improvement that’s what I’m saying game one to game five or possibly game six if they somehow miraculously make this Vegas summer league you want to see some improvement you want to go a game game four or five a yeah he’s doing some stuff he’s made some adjustments he’s doing some stuff that he wasn’t doing in in game one and look we’ve seen so many prospects have great summer leagues amazing summer leagues and do nothing in the NBA so so none of what happens in Vegas is really going to be indicative uh but you just I think as a fan you want to see that that you know six pick in the NBA draft look like okay one day he can belong with you know actual NBA players uh because there will be opportunities for him to play this season and um you know you you you do want to see that you hope you see that okay uh Brandon Miller let’s talk more about him USA Basketball announced just a few days ago that Brandon Miller was selected to the 2024 USA men’s basketball select team Miller will train in Las Vegas from July 5th to July 8th with USA men’s basketball as It prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympics yeah I’m reminded of Cody Zeller when he was selected I think that might have been the last guy Brandon Miller and Cody Zeller so many similarities uh I I can’t even name them all we don’t have time I think they’re kind of close to the same height know that’s about it um but yeah BR it welld deserved here pretty much a no-brainer if you’re going after the best young players in the NBA Brandon seemed like a no-brainer for this select team here Doug yeah it’s great he gets an opportunity to play with his future teammate in Cooper flag it’s great oh tank City baby miles ain’t coming back lamelo’s either injured or traded Brandon Miller sitting out Cooper flag huh that would be great he now he could he could be playing with a player that should have been his teammate and Jaylen Duren be doing that wow you said this is the second episode that you’re ending in negative tones why why are you doing this all right sorry I I I’ll shift gears in the positive tone he is playing with a lot of great young players that’s cool like it’s cool to play with Thompson and Jabari Smith and brand and and uh Hami hwz and all these names but to get to train against the you know elite players that are actually going to go to Paris and represent the United States super important he gets to build relationships with like a functional Team USA say system so that hopefully one day as he progresses he can go to the Olympics four years from now and represent the United States um I wanted this for lamelo I don’t think that lamelo is not interested or that that Team USA is not interested in lamelo I think it’s all about injuries you know if lamelo had been fully healthy I think he’s part part of this system most likely uh but Brandon Miller being there is great yeah had lamelo ever been selected to or yeah l ball ever been selected to the US select team I don’t believe so I don’t think yeah and that that had to be injuries throughout right you know and that’s something that we were kind of frustrated with so yeah I I was trying to remember I like was it really Cody Zeller as the last guy it’s okay well you have to get into this system and because yeah it is it is about it’s not necessarily about the best guys in the NBA we’re just going to take the top 15 best guys in the NBA and go play they they think about this because the international game is slightly different and they want to have guys in the system not they don’t just like get everybody together uh you know a year before this thing or even you know six months before this thing happens this is a process that leads many years into playing for the Olympic team so Brandon Miller gets to be a part I mean it’s almost like a tryy out you know you get to play against the big you get to play against The A Team in hopes of being there someday so yeah I think this is huge for Brandon Mill and so many guys Paul George in particular his goat talks about his experiences with Team USA and how that helped him in his in his career so they all do they value that stuff yeah you’re you’re right it’s it’s so under discussed but I think it does have a big impact and especially with you being able to network with these players get the tricks of the trade work out with them even if you only develop one relationship with all of the Star players that’s still a big deal so I’m with you this is great for the Hornets to have a star player be able to play with them I think that’s really cool if he gets but if he gets hurt I swear to everything that is Holy I’m I’m moving to Canada go Spain go Spain go Spain not across the border yeah all right that’ll do it for lock on Hornets thanks for making us your first listen uh we’re free and available anywhere happy 4th of July I’m moving to Canada Brandon Miller gets injured that is the worst thing that can happen to this country it would be all right we’re going to do this episode next time eating Maple Donuts across the border so make sure you tune in and watch us on YouTube subscribe to YouTube to get that episode by the way yeah we’ll take one day off and then we’ll take the weekend off hopefully you guys can find some relaxing time on the lake drinking some bruskies whatever it is that you do to celebrate July 4th hopefully you guys have a great time and then tune in to lockdown Hornets on that Monday we’ll be back with you then happy vacation have a good weekend so long I’m just kidding America I love you n

The Charlotte Hornets’ Summer League roster is set, and all eyes are on Brandon Miller and Tidjane Salaun. What can fans expect from the young talent in these upcoming games?

In this episode of Locked On Hornets, we dive into the details of the Hornets’ Summer League roster and schedule, highlighting key players like Brandon Miller, Tidjane Salaun and Nick Smith Jr. We’ll discuss Miller’s potential impact, his limited game time, and the importance of his participation in building chemistry with new head coach Charles Lee.
Additionally, we cover other intriguing prospects on the roster, such as Drew Pember and Leaky Black, and what their presence means for the team’s future. Don’t miss our analysis and expectations for the Hornets’ Summer League performance!

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://linktr.ee/lockedonhornets

Become an official member of the Locked On Hornets Sicko Brigade and get Hornets news, rumors and pictures of Byron Mullens sent directly to your phone via Subtext (14 Day Free Trial): https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonhornets

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Get Doug’s gamenotes, special articles and a podcast on Hornets history at the Every Hornets Boxscore substack: everyhornetsboxscore.com

Get more Walker on Wes and Walker 12-3pm on WFNZ 92.7 FM

📲 Follow Locked On Hornets on Twitter
Locked On Hornets https://twitter.com/LockedOnHornets
Walker Mehl https://twitter.com/WalkerMehl
Doug Branson https://twitter.com/DougBransonLOH

📺 Follow Locked On NBA: https://linktr.ee/lockedonnba

📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Stitch Fix
Style that makes you feel as good as you look—get started today at StitchFix.com/LOCKEDON

Grammarly
When it comes to writing, Grammarly is there to support you from start to finish. With one click, you can easily and easily brainstorm, rewrite, and reply with suggestions based on your context and goals. Go to grammarly.com/PODCAST to download for FREE today.

Nissan
Our friends at Nissan have a lineup of SUV’s with the capabilities to take your adventure to the next level. Take the Nissan Rogue, Nissan Pathfinder, or Nissan Armada and go find your next big adventure. Shop NissanUSA.com.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Terms and conditions apply.

eBay Motors
For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.

BetterHelp
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

PrizePicks
Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.

FanDuel
Get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your bet wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#Hornets #LaMelo #LaMeloBall