Charlotte Hornets upgrade rookie Bryce McGowens with a multi-year contract

The news of the Hornets signing Bryce McGowens comes as no surprise, as coach Steve Clifford’s roster is soon to reach the limit of active games from rotation players with two-year deals. As you know, athletes with these contracts are only allowed to participate in 50 games per campaign, so the Charlotte management decided to reward the rookie with a multi-year-deal. 

The contract reportedly worth $7.4 million over four years with a team option in the final tournament is well deserved for McGowens, who has performed strongly and often, considering he is only in his first season as a professional. Now the team has met the NBA’s norm of having a 14-player roster minimum.

Hornets are converting Bryce McGowens’ two-way contract to a four-year, $7.4M deal.

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Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Mitch Kupchak was the person in charge of the announcement this Sunday, as per team policy, the terms of the deal were not disclosed. The GM’s discourse has been the same in the past couple of months: to focus on developing players.

“I don’t think that is something that we can bank on as a small market team — I just don’t,” Kupchak said a couple of weeks ago about not depending on signing free agents. “The way we are going to get better is through the draft and player development. And then if we get lucky, make a couple savvy trades. We are a small market team and we have to look at the world a little differently.”

McGowens was originally selected as the 40th overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft. The Charlotte management then signed the youngster via a draft trade in exchange for Josh Minott and a 2023 second-round draft pick.

The 20-year-old has participated in 26 contests for the North Carolina side this tournament, averaging 4.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 14.7 minutes per match. As for his actions with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G-League affiliate squad, he’s played in 10 games total, having posted 22.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 35.4 minutes per exhibition.

One of his best performances of the season with the Hornets, was not too long ago. Just a week ago, he dropped 11 points, handed out 3 assists and stole the ball twice in 25 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs.

Watch his highlights of that match which probably meant for him his contract extension for the Charlotte side:

Back in the start of the season, journalist Chase Whitney foretold how important giving McGowens minutes would eventually be for the club. “There’s no telling how many meaningful NBA minutes McGowens will play as a rookie, but there’s a skill package present that makes the 6-foot-7 teenager an intriguing prospect nonetheless,” he wrote for At The Hive.

“The Hornets are currently bereft of guard depth, which helps his case quite a bit. It wouldn’t be surprising to see McGowens elevated from a Two-Way to a standard contract at some point this season, especially if a midseason trade is completed.”