Charlotte is putting its faith in its young talent to continue to develop.
have exercised the third-year options for Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr., along with picking up the fourth-year option on the contract of center Mark Williams.
Miller has been on the shelf since the first half of the season opener with a glute injury but is expected to return in the near future. The team stated last week that he would be re-evaluated this Friday. During his rookie season, Miller averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists which led to a third-place finish in the NBA's Rookie of the Year award, placing behind Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren.
Williams appears to be fully recovered from the back injury that cost him much of the 2023-24 season, but he injured his foot the day before training camp and has yet to make his season debut. With zero training camp or preseason action, there will likely have to be some sort of a ramp-up period for Williams to return to gameplay. Prior to his injury last season, he averaged 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds.
As for Nick Smith Jr., he was thrown into the fire probably a little earlier than the Hornets would have liked as a rookie but he showed flashes of being an offensive scoring punch off the bench. His 43% three-point shooting percentage was the best mark by any rookie.schuylercallihangmail.com Twitter:@Callihan_ Schuyler Callihan is the lead publisher of Mountaineers Now, All Panthers, and All Hornets on FanNation/Sports Illustrated.
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