South Charlotte Today

The Charlotte Hornets have announced several roster changes. President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson confirmed the signing of center Harry Giles III, guard RaeQuan Battle, and guard Jaylen Sims. Concurrently, the team has waived center Joel Soriano, Battle, and Sims.

Harry Giles III spent the 2023-24 season with both the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, participating in 23 games and averaging 2.4 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. His NBA career includes two seasons with the Sacramento Kings (2018-20) and one year with the Portland Trail Blazers (2020-21). He has career averages of 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists over 165 games (17 starts). Giles III hails from Winston-Salem, N.C., was a top-five recruit in the class of 2016, attended Duke University for one season, and was selected by Portland as the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

RaeQuan Battle averaged 16.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game at West Virginia University last season. He also played for the Hornets in this year's California Classic and NBA 2K25 summer leagues.

Jaylen Sims is a native of Charlotte who recorded averages of 16.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in his time with the Greensboro Swarm during the previous season.

Joel Soriano posted an average of 13.8 points, along with significant contributions of 9.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game for St John's University last season.