The Charlotte Hornets are finally following through with the long anticipated move of buying out Kyle Lowry, making him a free agent to sign with any team except the Heat.
Charlotte Hornets G Kyle Lowry has agreed on a contract buyout, clearing the way for him to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers upon clearing waivers, Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/gfGDln0lJ0
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 11, 2024
Lowry never reported to the Hornets, and the Hornets never had any intention of playing him. This news has always been a matter of when, not if. The when is now.
He’ll go to join a 76ers team in place of the departed Patrick Beverley as they try to stay above water without Joel Embiid.
But you’re not a Hornets blog because you care about what this means for the 76ers. You’re here for the Hornets side of things. Lowry’s departure means the Hornets have an open roster spot. The right thing to do with it is to sign a G Leaguer or a couple of G Leaguers to 10 day contracts to see if someone can make an impression in the final weeks of the season. The Hornets are back to needing center depth since Mark Williams’ back continues to be a bother. That’d be a good angle to pursue.
Some people on Twitter or X or whatever have suggested that now is the time to bring 2023 second round pick James Nnaji over. He’s under contract with Barcelona. They probably don’t want to release him from his contract in the middle of their season. That’s an offseason type of move and I’d be very surprised if the Hornets even attempted to go that route right now.
The one hope is that they don’t go back and sign one of the guys they released earlier. New people that might be part of the future need to be tried out.
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