The Charlotte Hornets have an interest in signing free-agent guard Julyan Stone. There's a problem, however.
Stone signed with Italian club Reyer Venezia recently and apparently doesn't have an opt-out clause in his contract. To make matters worse, his father is in intensive hospital care stateside.
According to a post on his Instagram account, the Italian team is now ignoring calls from he and his agent.
"The Hornets have been super supportive," Stone's agent, Giovanni Funiciello, told the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell. "Unfortunately, (Stone's father is) extremely ill. The last thing we wanted to do was get this out there in the public."
The Hornets are in the market for a third point guard behind Kemba Walker and Michael Carter-Williams, and likely want to take the minimum-contract route, given their salary-cap commitments. The 28-year-old Stone hasn't played in the NBA since 2013-14 with the Toronto Raptors.