Hornets Preseason is OVER! | Rookies NAIL Dress Rehearsal!! 😤| Tidjane Salaun OVER Pat Connaughton??

Walker is back and flying solo! Good news: Hornets preseason is over! Bad news: They lost to Memphis 117-98 to end the session. What were the positives? Walker goes over the performances from the rookies and why they nailed their dress rehearsal, even if the team played poorly overall. Plus, why did the Hornets decide to cut Pat Connaughton over Tidjane Salaun? Was it the right decision?

With Moussa Diabate held out by a knee injury the team is calling day-to-day, Hannes Steinbach got real minutes and made the most of them, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He started slow again, but he ran the floor, showed his strong hands, and kept getting better as the night went on. His two-man game with Christian Anderson Jr., his teammate on the German national team, already looks like a weapon in transition.

Anderson gets a closer look too. His pick-and-roll reads, low dribbles, and quick passes are why he's being compared to a quarterback, and one of his turnovers says more about Liam McNeeley's missed slip than about Anderson's decision. Charles Lee is coaching McNeeley hard, and that tells you something about where the young wing stands.

Finally, the roster is set. Jeff Peterson waived Pat Connaughton and kept Tidjane Salaun as the 15th man. Was it the right call, and what does Salaun's upcoming option decision mean for his future in Charlotte? Real basketball is almost here, and so is opening night for this young Hornets team.

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