Report: Hornets Sign 2024 Summer League Player to a Deal

Matt Alquiza | Aug 8, 2024

Mar 9, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard RaeQuan Battle (21) dribbles against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

According to Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer, the Charlotte Hornets have added a familiar face to their franchise.

The Charlotte Hornets have reportedly signed RaeQuan Battle, part of the 2024 Summer League roster, to an Exhibit 10 contract.

#Hornets are signing RaeQuan Battle to an Exhibit 10 contract, league sources told @theobserver. Battle was a member of their summer league team. Move puts Battle in line to join the @greensboroswarm.

— Rod Boone (@rodboone) August 9, 2024

Battle, 23, averaged 3.3 points over 7.8 minutes in his three Las Vegas Summer League appearances. In the Hornets' undefeated stint in California, Battle averaged 7.0 points across three games shooting greater than 40% from deep.

His Exhibit 10 deal will likely land him in Greensboro with the Swarm for the foreesable future. Not sure what an Exhibit 10 deal is? Here's an explainer from hoopsrumor.com:

"Introduced in the NBA’s 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year deals worth the minimum salary. They don’t come with any compensation protection, but can include an optional bonus worth as little as $5K and – in 2023/24 – as much as $75K.

Let’s say an undrafted rookie signs an Exhibit 10 contract with the Jazz that includes a $75K bonus. He attends camp with the Jazz, but is waived before the regular season begins, with Utah designating him an affiliate player in order to retain his G League rights. In that scenario, if the rookie elects to play in the G League for the Salt Lake City Stars and remains with the club for 60 days, he’d be entitled to his full $75K bonus."

In layman's terms, Exhibit 10 contracts basically give an incentive to players to stick in the G-League instead of pursuing overseas deals. It's a long shot that Battle will ever suit up for the senior Hornets, but he'll earn valuable reps in Greensboro. Battle went undrafted after averaging 16.1 points and 4.0 rebounds on 40/34/83 splits as a senior at West Virginia.

The next time Hornets fans will have the chance to see Battle take the floor in purple and teal will be on October 6th when the team opens up their preseason schedule.

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