The 2019-20 Charlotte Hornets were a surprising team last season, considering they finished ahead of a couple of teams in the standings who many had tabbed as challenging for a playoff spot in the East. Granted, 23 wins is nothing to celebrate, but for a team that just watched its franchise cornerstone bolt for the Boston Celtics last offseason with no backup plan in place, Charlotte fared rather well.
Without Kemba Walker's presence to force Charlotte to chase a playoff spot, the Hornets were able to watch their young players develop while taking stock of what it had. It turns out there was some talent floating around on the Hornets roster, as guard Devonte' Graham burst onto the scene early in the season. The second-year guard thrived when given more opportunities after cutting his teeth in the G League his rookie year, and after starting the season on the bench, he ended it as the team's starting point guard. The only problem was that the Hornets had just paid Terry Rozier $56.7 million to take on that role in Walker's absence.
The two ended up sharing the backcourt in the starting lineup and led the way in scoring for Charlotte, with both putting up 18 points a game last season.
Last season was a rebuilding year for Charlotte, and heading into the 2020-21 season, it looked like the Hornets would be on year two of that plan. But when free agency opened and the Hornets were one of just a handful of teams around the league who had an abundance of cap space, the franchise went out and executed a sign-and-trade for Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward.
Add that to the Hornets drafting polarizing guard LaMelo Ball No. 3 overall in the NBA Draft, and Charlotte quickly put together what should be an entertaining squad that could potentially compete for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Ball brings immediate attention to the franchise, while Hayward brings All-Star status and playoff experience. We'll see if those two, surrounded by a host of other young players, can be the recipe for success in making Charlotte a competitive team in the East.
Taking the temperature
Hornets believer: Charlotte had perhaps the best offseason in recent memory after signing a versatile scorer in Hayward, drafting Ball -- who will surely be in the running for Rookie of the Year -- and managed to get Nicolas Batum off the roster after waiving him to make room for Hayward's contract. In a matter of days, the Hornets went from a team that was looking at another season of floundering in the lower tier of the Eastern Conference, to a squad that could challenge for the final playoff spot in the East.
Hornets skeptic: Labeling this as the best offseason in recent memory for the Hornets isn't saying much considering the many years in which this team failed to build an adequate playoff contender around Walker, but it is an encouraging sign to see that Michael Jordan is actually trying to put this team in a position to win. However, the money that the Hornets threw at Hayward is a bit excessive considering his injury history, and it doesn't appear to be behind him either as he just fractured his finger during practice. Batum never lived up to the massive contract Charlotte gave him in 2016, but by using the stretch provision to waive him, the Hornets will now be paying Batum a little over $9 million until 2023. That's not an ideal use of money for a franchise that should be trying to stay flexible going forward if they want to win.
As far as Ball goes, isn't it a bit too early to be giving him his roses after just a couple of preseason games?
Hornets believer: Ball is the most exciting draft pick the Hornets have had since taking Kemba Walker, and the excitement surrounding him isn't undeserving either. Sure, it's just preseason, but have you seen the passes he's been making?! He's already living up to the ridiculous amount of hype that's been surrounding him since high school, proving that he's a skilled half-court creator, and he's showing no fear in driving straight into the defense and finish at the rim through contact.
The first two games of the preseason displayed his passing prowess, while the third game showed how skilled he is as a scorer, too. What's even better, he's making it look rather easy. Granted it is the preseason, but the way he surveys the defense before he makes a decision shows his patience at this level, which is impressive for a rookie. Technically he's already played professionally in Australia, so he's familiar playing against grown men, which should come in handy for him in his first season in the NBA.
Hornets skeptic: Ball has shown flashes during the preseason, I'll give you that, but then what does Charlotte do with Graham and Rozier in the backcourt? If Ball continues to progress in his rookie season, there's bound to be a point where he ends up in the starting lineup, just as Graham did in his second season. That could be a problem Charlotte has to address sooner than later with two rising guards on rookie contracts and a veteran who is still owed $18.9 million this season, and $17.9 million next season.
Hornets believer: That sounds like a good problem to have to be honest. Having three guards, all with differing skills, is something that Charlotte wishes it probably had during Walker's tenure. Now, coach James Borrego can deploy several different lineups that will give the Hornets different looks. One game, Ball and Graham could be in the backcourt, with Graham moving off the ball -- something that he excelled at in college while he was sharing the backcourt with Frank Mason -- and Ball acting as the primary ballhandler. Rozier can be a threat off the bench and the leader of the second unit.
In another game, the Hornets could go with Rozier and Graham, while Ball picks apart second units off the bench. Charlotte having options is a great place to be in, not to mention there's always the possibility of trading Rozier for more young assets or draft picks. His presence in the locker room, though, as a vocal leader and a veteran with playoff experience is something that should be invaluable to a youthful team like the Hornets.
Either way, Charlotte has a few talented players will make them an exciting team to watch this season and a squad that could be fighting for a play-in spot to secure the final playoff seed out East. No one expected this team to be toying with the postseason before the draft and free agency, and now they'll enter the season with a jolt of excitement and confidence, which is a great place to be in for a small-market franchise like Charlotte.
Eye on: Gordon Hayward
In one of the most surprising moves of the offseason, Hayward decided to opt-out of his player option with the Boston Celtics for a change of scenery and a different role in a new city. Hayward left a team that just made it to the Eastern Conference finals, for a franchise that hasn't made it out of the first round of the postseason since 2002, so it was a bit of a head-scratcher of a decision. However, over the last season in Boston, as Jayson Tatum's star rose and Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker became the second and third options on offense, Hayward's role began to diminish in the starting lineup to where he was relegated to becoming just a catch-and-shoot type of player, something that he never was in Utah.
He still put up efficient numbers, which included averaging 17.5 points a game and 6.7 rebounds, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from deep, but his average time of possession last season was just 2.8 minutes per game, which is a significant dip from the 3.5 minutes a game that he averaged in his last season with the Utah Jazz. Hayward's move to Charlotte isn't as much about winning a championship, because clearly, the Celtics are far closer to that goal than the Hornets are right now, but it's more about him getting back to that role he had in Utah, where he was the primary source of offense.
While that's understandable on Hayward's part, we'll see if he can get back to that role of being a player who can create his own shots after the injuries he's endured over the years, including the most recent finger injury that has him listed as day-to-day. The Hornets committed a lot of years and money into Hayward getting back to the All-Star he was in Utah, and he's clearly betting on himself by joining a team that is on the outside looking in at the playoffs this season. We'll see which version of Hayward Charlotte gets because a lot rests on his ability to perform at a high level on a consistent basis.
