Washington

Hornets Notes: Washington, Bouknight, Jones, Martin

Published

10 months ago

July 30, 2023

Hornets Notes: Washington, Bouknight, Jones, Martin

The situation surrounding Hornets forward P.J. Washington has been “amazingly quiet,” Marc Stein states in his latest Substack chat. With nearly a month elapsed since free agency began, Washington remains the most prominent player without a new contract and there’s little indication that the impasse will be resolved soon.

Washington is restricted, so Charlotte can match any offer sheet he might receive, but free agency money dried up weeks ago. No one has the resources to offer him a contract starting at more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of about $12.4MM without working out a sign-and-trade. Stein speculates that Washington may decide to accept the Hornets’ $8.5MM qualifying offer and test the market again next summer when he’s unrestricted.

That same theory is floated by Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer, who notes that threatening to take the QO is the only way Washington can gain any leverage in negotiations. Like Stein, Boone reports that everything appears to be “status quo,” but cautions that doesn’t mean progress isn’t being made behind the scenes.

There’s more from Charlotte:

There’s no clear path to playing time for either James Bouknight or Kai Jones, Boone adds in the same piece. The selection of Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick in the draft creates another obstacle for Bouknight, who hasn’t made a significant impression during his first two NBA seasons. Another wing player may have to be injured for Bouknight to get a shot at rotation minutes. Jones is third on the depth chart behind Mark Williams, a first-round pick last year, and Nick Richards, who recently signed a three-year, $15MM extension. Boone states that coach Steve Clifford doesn’t like using three centers, so there doesn’t seem to be a role for Jones.
The Hornets may be in the market for a ball-handling guard after Dennis Smith Jr. signed with the Nets, according to Boone. He notes that there’s no one on the roster who would be a natural backup to LaMelo Ball, so that role would likely go to Terry Rozier, which would push his minutes above where the team wants them to be.
It’s encouraging that Cody Martin hasn’t undergone surgery for the knee issues that limited him to seven games last season, Boone adds. However, he points out that the Hornets won’t know how Martin’s knee will hold up until he resumes playing a regular schedule. The small forward has three seasons left on his four-year, $31MM contract.

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Washington

Delays across George Washington Bridge as NYPD monitors bridges for protests

Published

10 mins ago

May 15, 2024

Press Room

Delays across George Washington Bridge as NYPD monitors bridges for protests

NEW YORK (WABC) — There are major delays on the George Washington Bridge on Wednesday morning as police are monitoring what is expected to be a heavy protest day.

Port Authority has one lane closed in both directions, leading to delays up to an hour inbound.

This is breaking news. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Washington

Angels manager Ron Washington criticizes player after his own squeeze bunt decision backfires

Published

7 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Press Room

Angels manager Ron Washington criticizes player after his own squeeze bunt decision backfires

ANAHEIM, Calif. — JoJo Romero appeared rattled. The St. Louis Cardinals setup man had walked two batters in a row — one on a pitch-clock violation. He’d been in three-ball counts to every hitter he faced.

There was one out, the bases were loaded and St. Louis was up a run in the eighth inning. That’s when Los Angeles Angels manager Ron Washington called for Luis Guillorme to execute a squeeze bunt.

The pitch was well outside. Guillorme couldn’t make contact. And Zach Neto, running down the line, was an easy out. The Angels didn’t score again and lost 7-6 on Tuesday.

Washington absolved himself of all blame in the situation and instead placed it at the feet of Guillorme, who has been with the team for less than one week.

“He didn’t do the job,” Washington said of Guillorme. “It wasn’t anything I did wrong. He didn’t do the job.

“I would have rather went to the ninth inning with a 6-6 lead than gone to the ninth inning the way we did.”

Washington also incorrectly said that Romero had been throwing strikes. At the time, Romero had thrown 14 balls in the inning compared to just 12 strikes.

“He was throwing the ball in the strike zone,” Washington said, before elevating his voice at the reporter and hitting his hand against the podium. “Why are you making excuses? He was throwing the ball in the strike zone. (Guillorme) did not get the bunt down. Period.”

The Angels have struggled mightily in Washington’s first season as Angels manager. Tuesday evening’s loss dropped their record to 15-28. They’ve lost all but two series this season and have won consecutive games just twice all year.

Guillorme took the high road in responding to Washington’s comments. He accepted responsibility, even though any bunt would have been nearly impossible to get down, given the pitch’s location.

“I haven’t seen anything,” Guillorme said when asked about what was said. “He made a good pitch. I didn’t get it down. I’ve got to try to put a bat on it. That’s it.”

Washington has been a proponent of small-ball baseball. And with the Angels struggling to score this season, he’s been actively trying to manufacture runs. The decision, he said, was rooted in the lefty-lefty matchup with Guillorme and Romero, who is also a sinker ball pitcher. Washington said he was concerned about a potential double play.

Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés said he understood why the Angels did it, given Romero’s prowess this season. But was still caught off guard as it happened.

“When I saw the runner coming home, I was like, ‘Why is he running at me?’ So I was like, ‘Alright, let me just tag him and throw the ball to third.’”

(Photo of Ron Washington from April 10: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)

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Oregon State, Washington State football games will on CW or Fox this fall, Pac-12 announces

Published

15 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Press Room

Oregon State, Washington State football games will on CW or Fox this fall, Pac-12 announces

The Pac-12 Conference announced on Tuesday that Oregon State and Washington State’s home games will be on the CW Network or Fox. Most will be on the CW, including the Beavers hosting the Cougars on Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Fox or FS1 will carry Texas Tech at Washington State on Sept. 7 and Oregon at Oregon State on Sept. 14.

Oregon State and Washington State remain committed to rebuilding the Pac-12, but it will as a two-team league for 2024 and possibly 2025.

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