ESPN front-office analyst Bobby Marks outlined three distinct themes dominating the off-season agendas of the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets: staying healthy, settling starting roles and finalizing contract decisions.
Charlotte Hornets: Availability Drives Every Discussion
Health will dictate Charlotte’s 2024-25 outlook after injuries forced the club to roll out 36 different starting units last year and finish second league-wide in games missed. Point guard LaMelo Ball has topped 60 appearances only once in five seasons and has sat at least 25 contests in each of the past three. No. 2 scorer Brandon Miller played just 27 games before right-wrist surgery, and the trio of Ball, Miller and Miles Bridges started together only seven times.
Youth remains the franchise’s backbone: seven players are on first- or second-round rookie contracts, highlighted by last year’s No. 6 pick Tidjane Salaun, who averaged 21.0 minutes while shooting 33.0 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from three.
Charlotte already holds 15 guaranteed deals. Center Moussa Diabaté, on a non-guaranteed contract after eight starts, is expected to stay in the rotation; his salary protection increases to $250,000 on Oct. 22. Team options on Salaun (third year) and Miller (fourth year) must be exercised by Oct. 31, while possible extensions for Collin Sexton, Grant Williams and Pat Connaughton also sit on the calendar.
Chicago Bulls: Small Forward Spot Up for Grabs
In Chicago, the primary storyline is who claims the starting small-forward job. A potential distraction disappeared when restricted free agent Josh Giddey accepted a four-year, $100 million contract in early September, leaving a head-to-head battle between Kevin Huerter and Isaac Okoro.
Huerter averaged 32.3 minutes per night from March 1 onward and posted a team-best plus-7.9 during a 15-3 closing run. Okoro, acquired in the Lonzo Ball trade, delivers physical defense but less perimeter spacing.
The Bulls must also address contract clocks. Dalen Terry’s rookie-scale extension window closes on Oct. 20, and the third-year team option for lottery pick Matas Buzelis is due Oct. 31. Extension-eligible players include Nikola Vucevic, Terry, Julian Phillips, Jevon Carter, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Zach Collins.
Denver Nuggets: New Front Office, New Moves
Ben Tenzer’s first months as Denver’s executive vice president of basketball operations have already produced significant turnover. Promoted after general manager Calvin Booth and head coach Michael Malone were dismissed on Apr. 9, Tenzer has since traded for Cameron Johnson and Jonas Valančiūnas, and signed Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr.
The next order of business is rookie extensions for Christian Braun and Peyton Watson. Braun logged 33.9 minutes per game, starting 77 of 79 contests, his third straight season above 75 games, and joined Dyson Daniels as the only NBA players in the past two years to raise scoring by more than eight points per game. Watson posted career highs across every category and recorded a plus-11.7 net rating per 100 possessions when sharing the floor with Jamal Murray, Braun, Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokić.
Denver has routinely locked up its core—Jokić, Aaron Gordon, Murray, Porter and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have all inked new deals since 2022. This off-season, extensions for Jokić, Johnson, Braun and Watson must be finalized by Oct. 20. Team options on Julian Strawther (fourth year) and DaRon Holmes II (third year) come due Oct. 31, while Hunter Tyson and Jalen Pickett also remain extension candidates.
The three franchises enter training camp with distinct priorities but identical deadlines, as health, lineup competition and contract timers converge ahead of the Oct. 31 option cutoff.
Source: Hoops Wire
