DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks added veteran Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to their young core Tuesday as they close in on the franchise's first trip to the playoffs in four years.Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft, signed with the Mavericks after taking a buyout from the Charlotte Hornets. Dallas waived Ryan Broekhoff to make room for Kidd-Gilchrist.The 26-year-old Kidd-Gilchrist, drafted by Charlotte behind former Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis, had fallen out of the rotation with the Hornets. The agreement with the Mavericks came two days after Kidd-Gilchrist was waived.At 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds in his eighth season, Kidd-Gilchrist gives Dallas the size and experience to help defend some of the elite forwards in the rugged Western Conference.Offense will be the bigger question in a scheme that relies heavily on 3-point shooting even from most of Dallas' frontcourt players, including 7-foot-3 forward Kristaps Porzingis.Kidd-Gilchrist struggled with his shooting despite efforts... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks are set to add veteran Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to their young core as they close in on the franchise's first trip to the playoffs in four years.Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft, has agreed to sign with the Mavericks after taking a buyout from the Charlotte Hornets, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said Monday night.The Mavericks plan to waive Ryan Broekhoff to make room for Kidd-Gilchrist, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the moves are not yet official.The 26-year-old Kidd-Gilchrist, drafted by Charlotte behind former Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis, had fallen out of the rotation with the Hornets. The agreement with the Mavericks came two days after Kidd-Gilchrist was waived.At 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds in his eighth season, Kidd-Gilchrist gives Dallas the size and experience to help defend some of the elite forwards in the Western Conference.Offense will be the bigger question in a scheme... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Hornets waived former No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and 15-year NBA veteran Marvin Williams on Saturday.The 6-foot-6 Kidd-Gilchrist was selected behind Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis in the 2012 draft, but he found himself out of Charlotte's rotation this season under coach James Borrego. He has played in only 12 games, averaging four points.The 26-year-old Kidd-Gilchrist holds career averages of 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.1 minutes per game during his eight seasons in Charlotte.However, Kidd-Gilchrist struggled with his shooting despite efforts to improve his form. He shot 47.5% from the field during his career and 28% from 3-point range.The Hornets finished 7-59 in the 2011-12 season but wound up with the second pick in the lottery. That allowed the New Orleans Pelicans to draft Davis, a perennial All-Star, with the first pick, which proved to be a devastating blow to the development of the Hornets' franchise.The 6-foot-8 Williams... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hornets center Cody Zeller got proactive when NBA free agency arrived, posting a picture of himself on social media selling lemonade for 25 cents a glass with all proceeds going to "Keep Kemba in Charlotte."That didn't work out.Hornets owner Michael Jordan had no intention of paying Kemba Walker, a three-time All-Star and the franchise's all-time leading scorer, a $221 million supermax contract. Walker wound up going to the Celtics for $140 million over four years.With Walker's departure, the Hornets are in a youth movement that leaves them as one of the favorites to land the No. 1 overall pick in next year's NBA draft."We have been so close to getting over the hump (and making the playoffs), so it felt like if we gave it another shot or two we could get over that hump," Zeller said. "But I think Kemba is going to be good in Boston. ... At the end of the day you want what is best for him, but it sucks for me a little bit."And the Hornets, too.Walker had become the... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist underwent a surgical procedure to address a chronic groin strain.The team called the surgery Tuesday a success. The No. 2 pick in the 2012 NBA draft out of Kentucky is expected to make a full recovery and be available for the start of the team's training camp in September.Kidd-Gilchrist was relegated to a backup role last season with the Hornets. He appeared in 64 games with starts, and averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — There's a part of Kemba Walker that wants to play his entire career with the Charlotte Hornets. There's another part that wants to compete for an NBA championship before he's too old.With the Hornets not ready to compete with the Golden State Warriors of the world, the 28-year-old Walker enters this offseason having to make a choice between loyalty and chasing a ring.And he's just not ready to do that just yet."I have no feeling right now, I don't know," Walker said of his impending decision in free agency this summer. "Honestly, I don't know what to expect. I guess it's a lot of different emotions bottled up into one. I'm not sure. I don't know."The three-time All-Star point guard is expected to be a hot commodity when free agency opens July 1.He's coming off his most productive season statistically, averaging a career-high 25.6 points per game to go along with 5.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds. He was selected as an All-Star game starter for the first time and has put... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Kemba Walker is keeping the Charlotte Hornets in the postseason pictureWalker scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half to help Charlotte build a big lead and they went on to beat the Detroit Pistons 104-91 Sunday in a possibly pivotal game with just two games remaining in the regular season for the playoff-hopeful teams.The Hornets (38-42) have won three straight to cling to their chances of rallying for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference."I'm happy to still be playing for something," Walker said.The Pistons have a lot at stake as well and yet they still seemed to lack effort at times, leading to some boos from their fans and criticism from at least one player."We didn't play for 48 minutes like we understood the implications and what this season is coming down to," Detroit star Blake Griffin said.Detroit (39-41) has lost four in a row to possibly plummet from being a sixth-seeded team to missing the postseason for a third consecutive year and the ninth time in... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Kemba Walker scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half to help the Charlotte Hornets build a big lead and they went on to beat the Detroit Pistons 104-91 Sunday.Charlotte (38-42) has won three straight to cling to its chances of rallying for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.The Pistons (39-41) have lost four in a row to possibly plummet from being a sixth-seeded team to missing the postseason for a third consecutive year and the ninth time in a decade.Detroit coach Dwane Casey said before the game that his team had to slow down Walker after he helped the Hornets win the previous three matchups.That simply didn't happen.Walker had 11 points in the first quarter and nine in the second, lifting the Hornets to a 60-42 lead.The electric point guard had plenty of help.Hornets reserve Frank Kaminski scored a season-high 24 points and Jeremy Lamb had 17 points off the bench. Charlotte's Dwayne Bacon had 14 points and rookie Miles Bridges added 10 points.Detroit was led... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — New Hornets coach James Borrego plans make Charlotte relevant again in the NBA's Eastern Conference by developing the existing players on the roster.He may not have any other choice.Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday "there is no master plan to blow up this team right now" when asked about the chances of dramatically overhauling the roster after back-to-back 36-win seasons. He said Borrego was hired with the understanding that "he was going to coach the guys that are on this team right now."Borrego, who was hired Thursday night as the first Hispanic-American head coach in the NBA history, appeared to be up to the challenge when he was introduced at a news conference on Friday."My mentality is this is our group and we are moving forward with it," said Borrego, who becomes the 11th head coach in franchise history . "I'm excited about that current group as it stands right now. I think our biggest room for growth is the internal development piece."That's... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan has his guy.The Hornets owner has finalized a deal to hire San Antonio Spurs assistant coach James Borrego as Charlotte's next head coach, according to people familiar with the situation.The people spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the Hornets haven't officially announced the hiring.A news conference is expected in the next few days.The 40-year Borrego has spent 15 years an NBA assistant coach, 10 of those with San Antonio under Gregg Popovich. He has been a part of two NBA championship teams — in 2005 and 2007. He also was an assistant with the New Orleans Hornets, well before the team moved back to Charlotte.This will be his first head coaching job.However, he did serve as an interim coach with the Orlando Magic late in 2015-16 season after Jacque Vaughn was fired.The Hornets are in the midst of a major change in the organization.Jordan fired general manager Rich Cho midway through last season and hired Mitch... [More]

The struggling Hornets have shaken up their front office, firing general manager Rich Cho on Tuesday."Rich worked tirelessly on behalf of our team and instituted a number of management tools that have benefited our organization," Hornets owner Michael Jordan said in a release. "We are deeply committed to our fans and to the city of Charlotte to provide a consistent winner on the court. The search will now begin for our next head of basketball operations who will help us achieve that goal."Charlotte is 24-33 and on the verge of failing to reach the playoffs for the second straight season.Jordan's college teammate Buzz Peterson was hired last year as the team's assistant general manager is a potential replacement. Former Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak could be another candidate to join Peterson in the front office in some capacity.Cho was hired as GM in 2011 and assumed day-to-day responsibilities of the basketball operations department in 2014."I will always be grateful for my experience with the... [More]

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 15 points in Monday's win over New York. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and notched his second double-double of the season.

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 17 points on Monday.

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 22 points in Wednesday's 115-107 loss to Cleveland.

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marvin Williams scored 17 each for the Hornets.

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned after missing three games for personal reasons, started and had eight points and five rebounds Friday at Boston.

G Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is not with the team in San Antonio due to personal reasons (excused absence).

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist left the game for good in the second quarter Wednesday when he went to the locker room feeling ill. He was scoreless in seven minutes against Milwaukee.

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned after he missed the first three games because of the death of his grandmother. Kidd-Gilchrist was limited to two points in 11 minutes, but his return allowed the Hornets to go back to a more familiar rotation.

F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (personal) did not play Friday.