Hornets head coach Charles Lee decided to bench starting power forward Naz Reid for the entire second half of Wednesday’s loss in Detroit, per Roderick Boone (Substack link).
“Unfortunately, Naz didn’t meet our standards in the first half,” Lee said, “and at halftime we made the decision that he wasn’t going to play in the second half. We look forward to him meeting our standards next game.”
While Lee didn’t specify the standards Reid failed to meet, Boone hears it involved something the veteran big man said. However, the two addressed the incident after the game and are moving past it, Boone writes.
Reid was acquired from Minnesota over the summer as part of the LaMelo Ball trade. He’s in the second season of a five-year, $125MM contract.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- The Hornets assigned second-year wing Could Knueppel to their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, on Thursday to practice, the team announced (via Twitter). That suggests last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up is ramping up his activity and could be nearing his season debut after being sidelined with a hamstring strain this fall.
- After missing the first four games of the season with a left ankle sprain, AJ Dybants appeared to be 100% in his NBA debut on Wednesday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes (free link). Dybantsa, selected first overall by the Wizards in June’s draft, recorded 19 points (on 8-of-12 shooting), two rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes while playing solid defense on James Harden (16 points of 5-of-18 shooting), “one of his favorite players growing up.” Washington ended up losing the game, but Dybantsa was a bright spot despite playing on a minutes restriction, Robbins adds. “I thought he was terrific,” said the Wizards’ Brian Keefea coach who is not prone to overstatement. “You saw his ability to get to the basket from the opening play, his ability to make the simple reads (and) great passing from him. I thought his defensive activity was terrific. Pretty impressive for a first game.”
- Another 2026 lottery pick, Hawks guard Kingston Flemingshad a breakout performance during Tuesday’s game vs. Miami, according to Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscriber link). The eighth overall pick contributed 23 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), five assists, five rebounds, one steal and one block in 28 minutes. Flemings says he’s still adjusting to the speed of the NBA and is focused on staying in attack mode, Burns notes. The 19-year-old had two points and five assists in 17 minutes during Wednesday’s game vs. Cleveland, but more importantly, Atlanta bounced back with a win after losing to the Heat.