The Hornets started out by giving free-agent point guard Devonte’ Graham a qualifying offer which made him a restricted free agent. They however did not give a qualifying offer to guard Malik Monk which made him an unrestricted free agent and means he will not be on our team next year. In exchange for Graham, a restricted free agent, the Hornets acquired Wesley Iwundu and a New Orleans Pelicans 2022 first-round pick. The Hornets also signed veteran point guard and Charlotte native Ish Smith to a one-year 4.5 million deal with a team option in the second year. The biggest signing of all came as a surprise, as the Hornets signed veteran forward Kelly Oubre Jr. to a two-year $26 million contract. In signing Oubre, I believe we get a very talented player who averaged 15.4 points and 6 rebounds per game last season for the Warriors. I already couldn’t wait to hear Eric Collins calling the games next year, and now that we have Oubre’s flashy dunks, I mean good golly miss molly! Sadly we lost the longest-lasting hornet Cody Zeller to the Trail Blazers, but it was definitely time to move on. While I am a Zeller fan I think we needed to move on to a starting center capable of stretching the floor and keeping up with the pace of our gameplay. Bismack Biyombo, Brad Wanamaker, Caleb Martin, and Nate Darling are other Hornets that won’t be coming back next year. I will certainly miss Darling’s energy and enthusiasm for the game.