East Notes: Hornets, Kemba Walker, Heat, Wizards

Hornets

The Hornets are hiring recently retired guard and franchise legend Kemba Walker as an assistant under new coach Charles Lee, the team revealed in a press release.

Walker dropped hints that he wasn’t leaving the game entirely when released a statement on his retirement.

“Basketball will forever be a part of my life so this isn’t goodbye,” he said. “I’m excited for what’s next.”

• Walker was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and made three All-Star teams as a member of the Hornets. He averaged 19.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 34.1 minutes per game across 605 total regular season games with Charlotte, before heading to the Celtics in a 2019 sign-and-trade deal.

Heat

• The Heat and center Thomas Bryant have reached agreement on a one-year contract, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line. Bryant will receive the veteran’s minimum, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
• Miami may be in the lead for Bulls free agent wing DeMar DeRozan. We have that full story here.

Wizards

• The Wizards are bringing back center Tristan Vukcevic on a two-way contract, per the NBA transactions log. Vukcevic joined the Wizards in March after spending most of the season playing in Serbia. He was selected with the No. 42 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
• In case you missed it, the Wizards got older this offseason — by design — in signing center Jonas Valanciunas (Pelicans) and landing guard Malcolm Brogdon (Trail Blazers) in a trade. We have the full details here.
• Of course, there’s still plenty of youth, as the Wizards selected French big man Alex Sarr with the No. 2 overall pick. Along with Sarr, Washington drafted guard/forward Carlton Carrington and guard Kyshawn George.

• GM Will Dawkins told reporters of the draft: “We were strategic, [and] we were aggressive and made sure that we accomplished our goals.”