Since starting the season 5-3, the Hornets have plummeted down the Eastern standings, losing 17 of their last 23 games and slipping to 11-20 — 12th in the conference. The club currently sits 5.5 games out of a playoff spot in the East, and a homestand that was supposed to help turn things around has resulted in a 1-3 record so far.
As Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes, with the Hornets’ season cratering, it may be time for the organization to turn to Plan B.
Still, it’s not clear what Plan B in Charlotte is. Unlike fellow 11-win teams like the Kings, Suns, and Lakers, the Hornets don’t have a plethora of promising young players they can focus on developing with things going south. Malik Monk, Frank Kaminsky, and Dwayne Bacon are really the only players who fit that bill. Charlotte’s roster is otherwise overrun with highly-priced veterans, many of whom are underperforming or injured.
Cody Zeller, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams, and Nicolas Batum are earning a combined $61MM+ in 2017/18, and none are averaging more than 10.2 PPG so far this season. Batum, in particular, has struggled mightily. While injuries are partly to blame, the veteran swingman has a dismal .394/.277/.821 shooting line to go along with his $22.4MM cap hit. He’s under contract for three more years after this one, and his salary will only get more expensive going forward.
As Bonnell writes, the Hornets are often active around the trade deadline, but their moves generally involve finding complementary pieces, not blowing things up. With so many pricey veterans on their books, it won’t be easy for the Hornets to blow up their roster anyway — dumping one or two of those expensive contracts without taking a bad deal back would likely cost the team young players or draft picks, and would still leave several long-term commitments on the cap.
The Hornets are in a tough spot, and we’re turning to you to help assess their next move. What do you think the Hornets should do with their roster? Can this core still be successful? Could the team still make a playoff run with a tweak or two? Or is a more drastic overhaul required?
Jump into the comment section to weigh in with your two cents on the Hornets!
I live in NC and watch this team usually every night. The one thing they lack is overall talent.
Outside of Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard(who has played his role perfectly) theres only a few players who should be kept around.
Marvin Williams (starts at PF) has vastly underperformed since signing a contract extension two offseasons ago and he’s not getting any younger.
The same could be said for Batum, though injuries could be to blame, he has the tools to go out and give you 15p/5r/5a But sometimes he just lacks effort and care.
The backup PG situation is a mess as it has been since Jeremy Lin left and MCW and Julyan Stone are clearly not the answer.
Malik Monk is undersized for his position, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has improved his shooting and overall numbers but can’t stay on the court.
The rookie Bacon has shown promise but is in a logjam behind Batum, Monk, Lamb, MKG.
They should look to dump one of the big salaries in Kidd-Gilchrist, Batum, or Williams and build around Walker and Lamb(who has been vastly underrated thoughout the league). Let Howard walk after his contract ends next season. Extend Kaminsky and make him your everyday starting PF.
Nobody seems to want to place Cody Zeller in a good category or a bad one. I assume he is kind of laying low this year. (torn medial meniscus in his left knee) I think he is not overvalued at 4yr/$56mil.
You really like Frank K? I don’t think he has the talent to be a starting power forward in the NBA. Who can he guard and all the other usual questions? I think he’s a backup, and I trade “throw-in” if that route is taken.
I like all your other points though. Good assessments.
Gary it’s been a long time buddy! How ya been? How’s the family?
Everything is fantastic, thanks for asking. You?
I’m good. I miss our epic battles.
I’ll try to spice things up when I see your comments. All in good fun of course. Brothers till the end. Go Warriors and hornets.
Appreciate it brother. One of these days we are gonna wind up sitting next to each other at a game
The worst thing they could do is jump the gum based on 31 games. A full rebuild is a several year commitment at a minimum. It probably should happen at some point, but you have to remember that even hot FA destinations like the Lakers are taking at least three years. A place like Charlotte might take 5 or more.