Charlotte Hornets Reconstruction
Lord show mercy on this franchise.
Intro
I will be performing an advanced mock rebuild of the Charlotte Hornets. I wasn’t planning on this being a full series, more so highlighting organizations that I aspire to work for one day, but we’ll see. I like Charlotte, it’s a great city in a good location with a chill atmosphere. The elephant in the room though is the Hornets are not great. A long history lacking success, zero ever ECF appearances, bottom five attendance year in and year out, and bottom four in all-time overall win percentage. Also, since the transition from the Bobcats to the Hornets about a decade ago, the team is averaging about 32 wins a season. In other words, not just “something must change,” everything must change. A stark, genuine culture shift has to occur. However, with all this being said, the great thing about an organization of this caliber is that the only way from here is up. And I am here to assist!
State of the Team
Before anything else, I first like to investigate the “Alpha,” as I like to call it, of the team. The star in this case is Lamelo Ball. Lamelo is a fantastic player, a real hooper, but he is barely a positive-impact player (see my previous blog for info on PIPs). First, he has played in barely over half (52%) of all games since his career began. He has subpar efficiency and actually regresses in this regard yearly. He fills the stat sheets but does not contribute to winning as much as I would want my alpha to. It comes down to defense, shot creation, efficiency, and floor-raising ability to be a championship-leading alpha and unfortunately, he only checks the shot creation box. The Play-In game vs. the Hawks in 2022 also comes to mind. Down 31 with four seconds left, Lamelo calls for the ball so he can get a free garbage-time layup (I would assume to boost his 7/25 shooting performance that game). He ends up getting blocked by Dieng and is seen smiling and laughing as the buzzer sounds. That’s just not the character and maturity I want to see from my star, and he hasn't shown any improvements in this regard, respectively speaking. Therefore, I would shop him after this season and look to obtain key young building blocks.
Trade Moves
The trade I am eyeing is with the Rockets, if they fail to acquire De’Aaron Fox this summer. Lamelo fits their timeline and ambition, and (I am assuming) after failing to make waves in the playoffs the Rockets would look to bolster their starting five with an all-star like Lamelo. On paper, a trade would include VanVleet (HOU would have to accept his TO), Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, and possibly Cam Whitmore if frustration in his role carries into the offseason. As for the Hornets, I would give up: Lamelo, Grant Williams, Cody Martin, and a minimum such as Seth Curry. Initial negotiations would also include draft compensation from HOU, but HOU would more than likely refuse such an offer. Charlotte would retain $7 million more in this deal, which gives them some leverage going back to asking for a moderately protected first-round pick or two seconds in initial talks.
The idea of this trade is to revamp your young core and surround adequate building blocks on the same timeline as the rest of your current blocks (Brandon Miller, Mark Williams, Tidjane Saluan, and Tre Mann). You might be wondering how I must forget about Miles Bridges. Well…
In the next move of the offseason, Miles is… also getting shipped off. I can just see him fitting perfectly with the culture and mindset of the Grit-and-Grind Grizzlies! My first offer would include a foundation of Santi Aldama (sign-and-trade), Jaylen Wells and Brandon Clarke being sent to CHA, however, I would have to digress to Santi (maybe Wells) and Marcus Smart for Bridges and Taj Gibson after much deliberation with Zach Kleiman. I would also require a Top-3 protected 2027 MEM First, MEM 2029 swap, and a 2030 MEM Second in this deal. Santi strikes me as a Dean Wade/Maxi Kleber/Nikola Jovic type, not flashy or fancy, but gets the job done and excels in his role. His stretch ability really intrigues me and would compliment Mark and Amen well. Smart and VanVleet ideally would try to be rerouted, but realistically their contracts are not appealing at all to any would-be suitors. If this trade fails to gain traction, I’d hit up the Magic and ask for Isaac and Da Silva for Bridges, DaQuan Jeffries and 2027 DEN 2nd Swap. Either or, I’m extremely comfortable with both deals.
Reasoning
To reiterate, the goal of this, like any rebuild, is to fortify your farm system. Charlotte, like other small-market teams, won’t attract any big-name free agents, therefore you must build through draft capital, and in this case, young promising prospects. Amen and Jabari might be too valuable to move for Lamelo from HOU’s standpoint, but I would try everything in my power to get a deal done. The new starting five for the 2025-26 season would be: FVV, Miller, Jabari, Amen, and Mark. Obviously, I’d let the coach handle the rotation, but the bench would consist of: Mann, Green, Tidjane, Smith, Santi, and Moussa (not including free agent pickups). The overall lineup has some holes, of course, but I like the fit and future of the roster. The biggest question mark would be the spacing (Amen and Mark), but I am confident in Amen’s ability to improve his jumper (I would lock him in the practice facility the entire summer to work on his jump shot, even going as far to keep him in there throughout the season as games are being played without him, lol) and even Mark becoming sort of a facilitating-hub at the top of the key (his assists continue to improve each season and each month of this season). Amen also strikes me as a potential floor general playmaker because of his extreme intelligence and decisiveness. He averaged six assists in the Overtime Elite League and 9 assists/game in the OTE playoffs and is averaging 5.5 in his last 20 games as well.
Draft and Free Agency
Lastly, to address the draft and free agency. I know when you are as bad as the Hornets are you don’t draft for fit you draft for talent, but I would still draft a guard as that position is the only glaring weakness this starting lineup has, from a potential standpoint. I really like Kasparas Jakucionis and Dylan Harper a lot, as well as second-round picks Taylor Bol-Bowen, Hunter Sallis, and/or Emmanuel Sharpe. Regarding free agency, I would pursue those that are listed in my PIP article. It looks like we’d be around $40 million under the First Apron, so definitely some leeway there to grab guys like (my targets) Malcom Brogdon, Terance Mann, Larry Nance Jr., and/or Jericho Sims. Lastly, I’d take a flyer on G-league player DJ Steward. DJ has been killing it in the G and I would love to add him to this roster.
Final Thoughts
This new culture of players emphasizes effort & hustle, length & physicality, and two-way ability. I am very confident in this squad and this new rebuild.
P.S. All trades are validated through Spotrac Trade Machine.
Last edited 1/11/25