The Charlotte Hornets are re-signing free agent guard Theo Maledon to a two-way contract. Maledon, 22, was selected 34th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2020 NBA Draft.

However, the 6-foot-4 guard was then traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, along with Al Horford, Vasilije Micic, and a 2025 first round draft pick for Terrance Ferguson, Danny Green, and Vincent Poirier.

Per multiple NBA betting sites, the Charlotte Hornets hold 30th-ranked odds to win next season’s 2024 championship. Sportsbooks show better odds for the Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, and Orlando Magic.

Guard Theo Maledon is returning to the Charlotte Hornets on a two-way contract, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 29, 2023

Theo Maledon made 49 starts in 65 games played with OKC during his rookie 2020-21 NBA season, averaging career highs of 10.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 27.4 minutes per game. Plus, he shot 36.8% from the field and 33.5% from 3-point range.

In the 2021-22 season, the guard made just seven starts in 51 appearances. Maledon logged 7.1 points, 2.6 boards, 2.2 assists, and 17.8 minutes per game. He also shot 37.5% from the floor and 29.3% from downtown.

Charlotte Hornets re-sign guard Theo Maledon to a two-way contract; the 22-year-old will join guard Amari Bailey and forward Leaky Black as the Hornets’ two-way players

While with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBA G League affiliate, the guard averaged 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in eight appearances.

Last season, Maledon made seven starts in 44 games with the Hornets. He averaged 6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 19.4 minutes per game while shooting career bests of 40.2% from the field and 85.1% at the foul line.

In Charlotte’s 128-108 loss to the Toronto Raptors on April 2, 2023, the guard recorded eight points, eight boards, and a career-high 14 assists in 41 minutes as a starter.

Prior to his NBA career, the Frenchman played with ASVEL, a professional basketball club of the LNB Pro A, from 2017 through 2020. In the 2018-19 LNB Pro A season, Maledon averaged a career-high 7.4 points per game.

#Hornets are signing Théo Maledon to a two-way contract, league sources told @theobserver. Maledon played well for Charlotte in 44 games last season, averaging 6.7 points, 3.5 assists and 2.8 rebounds.

— Rod Boone (@rodboone) September 29, 2023

Additionally, he helped ASVEL become LNB Pro A champions and win the French Cup in 2019. Maledon won LNB Pro A Best Young Player and was named French Cup Final MVP.

In the following season, the guard tied his career-high average in scoring in the EuroLeague. Moreover, he tallied 1.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest in 22 games.

Now, Maledon is set to join guard Amari Bailey and forward Leaky Black as the Hornets’ two-way players. All three will spend time with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.

The Hornets waived forwards Angelo Allegri and Tre Scott and guard Jaylen Sims as well. A two-way contract can be converted into a regular deal. Plus, two-way players remain ineligible for the NBA playoffs.

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Fans and experts were expecting a great outcome from Minnesota‘s fearless experiment of pairing two centers together in their starting lineup last season. However, it turned into a false start as Karl-Anthony Towns missed out on 52 matches due to a strained calf muscle, just as Rudy Gobert was making his official debut with the Timberwolves. 

Unfortunately for the French big man, he was at the end of most of the criticism the team earned throughout the campaign, even though they eventually qualified to the playoffs but lost in the Western Conference’s first round.

“I think it’s always a work in progress,” Gobert said. “You can’t get enough.” Check out some of the duo’s best plays from their 2022/23 season in the video below.

It wasn’t until Towns finally returned for the postseason that they were able to demonstrate what the experiment was all about. Their coaching staff now expects the French star to feel more comfortable in Minnesota, just as they hope to keep the Dominican healthy throughout the competition.

“Me and Rudy needed more time,” Towns admitted. “Obviously my injury didn’t help, so it will be good to be out there with him and be healthy doing it and just get right to it.”

There was a lot of pressure around Gobert‘s performances, as he was traded from Utah to Minnesota at a high price, made up of five-first round picks (including Walker Kessler).

The 31-year-old recently returned from representing France at the FIBA World Cup saying he’s feeling the ‘best I’ve ever felt’, and now feels enthusiastic to restart with the Wolves.

“I think we’ve grown a lot individually and collectively, and now I feel really excited being back here with this group,” Gobert said. “I can feel their energy. I can feel that it’s going to be a good year for us.”

Wolves’ president Tim Connelly recognized that coach Finch ‘was dealt a tough hand’ and trusts his vision of pairing both centers

Right before the start of their training camp this Friday, both coach Chris Finch and president Tim Connelly attended the press to talk about the decisions made over the summer, just as well as their expectations for this upcoming season.

The executive trusts the staff’s vision, and understood that external circumstances also affected their performances. “He was dealt a tough hand to try to make that work,” Connelly told the press.

“I think both those guys are very willing and capable of putting team in front of individual productivity.”

Tim Connelly talks about the sacrifice and chemistry between star big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. #RaisedByWolves pic.twitter.com/cf0uHmd1BR

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) September 28, 2023

Now that the Timberwolves are ready to replay the Gobert-Towns pairing, coach Finch addressed how this formula will adjust to Anthony Edwards‘ continuous emergence as a rising star in the league, and how the three of them can connect on the floor.

“We’ll do a lot of work with those guys together — player-development, small group work for sure,” the trainer explained. “I think through the season last year, Ant and Rudy had a better understanding. It’s not the finished product by any stretch of the imagination, but you felt it getting better and better. I think the key for us is to recapture the chemistry that Ant and KAT have always had.”

This upcoming 2023/24 campaign finally seemed like the year that the Pelicans would have a fresh start with a healthy roster. However, just as Zion Williamson seems to be as fit as ever, Trey Murphy III fell to injury this summer and will miss at least the first month of NBA action. 

Coach Willie Green is well aware the team seem overdue for a season of good health, but he wants to concentrate on the things he can control to create new opportunities.

“It is challenging, maybe frustrating at times,” the trainer expressed. “But we try to shift our focus to what we can control. I try to look at it as much as I can as opportunity. Opportunities for players to step up, opportunities for guys who might not have gotten time, and opportunities overall for our team and our organization.

“No team wants to deal with injuries, but we understand it’s a part of it. Hopefully, we can go into the season pretty healthy, obviously minus Trey’s situation. If we do, we can compete with any team in the NBA.”

The #Pelicans announced today that forward Trey Murphy III underwent a successful partial meniscectomy and received a biologic injection in his left knee this afternoon.

The surgery was performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York.… pic.twitter.com/XAlYGg1Z9o

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) September 7, 2023

When referring specifically about Murphy’s situation, he recognized that it’s a shame considering how he showcased his talent last season, plus all work he was putting in this summer.

“Tough break, right? Trey Murphy is coming off a fantastic year for us. He was working his tail off in the offseason. We were in the gym preparing, he took a misstep, kind of tweaked his knee. We learned he had a torn meniscus,” Green said.

About Trey’s pains, which should heal by December, the coach acknowledged the fact that it was helpful that he suffered the injury inside the New Orleans’ facilities.

“With him being at our place, we knew exactly what happened. But at the end of the day, it was still a tough break for Trey, tough news for us,” he said. “The positives are that this is not a career-ending injury at all. We were hoping we were going to have him back at some point.”

The coach is grateful to have both Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram healthy and ready for camp, but still needs other players to step up in the shooting department

“So far, so good,” coach Green said when asked about how stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have performed so far this offseason.

“We want to take steps in the right direction on both ends. We hang our hats on being a good defensive team first. But we’ll take some steps offensively this season because we hired James Borrego [former Spurs assistant and Hornets head coach] as one of our top assistants,” he continued.

Now that Murphy is out of the picture, the Pelicans trainer admitted that the rest of the team has to tune their shooting precision for this next campaign, especially as last season they ranked as the 29th worst team in three-point efficiency.

“Other guys have to step up in that department. We know C.J. [McCollum, who led New Orleans in volume, 211 of 543) is more than capable. Brandon, historically, is a good 3-point shooter – he needs to take more. There will be more shots for Naji [Marshall], Herb and Jose. And then we drafted Jordan Hawkins from UConn, who is an elite shooter coming out of college. He may get some minutes when we need shooting on the floor,” Green explained.