North Charlotte Today

The Charlotte Hornets have added new talent to their backcourt following a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The team acquired guards Tre Mann and Vasilije Micic, along with Davis Bertans and two second-round picks, in exchange for Gordon Hayward at last season's trade deadline. These additions came as LaMelo Ball was sidelined with an ankle injury.

Tre Mann has made significant strides since joining the Hornets. Last season, he averaged 11.9 points, 5.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals over 28 games as a starter. Coach Charles Lee noted Mann's defensive improvement: "He's taken the challenge of wanting to really get into guys and refuse to be screened in the rearview contest... I'm just really proud of Tre’s overall development and growth so far."

Mann himself expressed satisfaction with his progress: "I'm getting more and more comfortable every time I hit the court," he said during training camp at Duke University.

Vasilije Micic also demonstrated his capabilities during training camp. Despite limited minutes with the Thunder last year, Micic found new energy in Charlotte, averaging 10.8 points and 6.2 assists across 21 games. Coach Lee praised Micic's experience: "It's a great luxury to have a veteran player that just has so much calm to him in any situation."

Micic shared his goals for training camp: “I think we can use training camp to get to know each other even more,” he stated on Media Day.

Both players are expected to play crucial roles as secondary ball handlers behind LaMelo Ball this season, adding depth alongside Brandon Miller, newcomer Josh Green, Nick Smith Jr., and rookie KJ Simpson.

Coach Lee emphasized the advantage of having multiple ball handlers: “It takes some pressure off of LaMelo and Brandon and Josh... It really is a luxury for a coach.”

The Hornets will showcase their updated lineup against New York on Sunday at Spectrum Center for their first preseason game after completing training camp at Duke University.

Reflecting on the team's progress during camp, Coach Lee remarked: “I thought that from this week here, we got better... I'm very pleased with our time here at Duke.”