Charlotte makes moves for future
Hornets collect pile of resources
Oklahoma City got Gordon Hayward, Dallas got PJ Washington, Miami got Terry Rozier and Philadelphia wound up getting city native and Villanova alum Kyle Lowry following a buyout after he was traded.
The Thunder, Mavericks, Heat and 76ers must feel good about that.
The Charlotte Hornets should feel good as well — even though they were the team on the other end of all those transactions.
It’s a natural inclination when the trade season in the NBA passes: Everyone feels compelled to decide which teams won and which teams lost. New York made some smart moves and surely believes it can now make a serious run in the Eastern Conference. Phoenix added depth and versatility. Boston found a way to perhaps upgrade its bench a bit.
Thing is, the winner of the trade deadline might not be decided until someone hoists the Larry O’brien in June. Or maybe, teams like the Hornets hope, it won’t be decided until 2026 or 2027. The only place they’re going when this season ends is the draft lottery. So, they did the prudent thing — they blew it up, as those in the roster-building business say, and started starting over once again. Time will tell if it works out, but seeds have clearly been planted.
“It’s a different dynamic,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “Look, not that they’re not meaningful games — they’re always meaningful — but it’s not like we’re two games out of the playoffs.”
Credit to Clifford for saying that. Credit to the Hornets for evidently agreeing and looking to change it.
Nobody knows how this will end in Charlotte; Michael Jordan just sold the team and when teams sell new ownership tends to want to bring in its own people to run things. One of those dominoes fell Monday, when general manager Mitch Kupchak transitioned to an advisory role. Clifford might go next. But it’s clear: new owners
Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin aren’t waiting for the summer to start changing the roster — they did it now.
Here’s basically what Charlotte ended up with after trade season: Seth Curry, Grant Williams, Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, two first-round picks, two second-round picks and salary cap space.
That’s almost as many assets as they have wins this season.
The Hornets have 29 games left in this season, which will be their seventh in the last eight years without a winning record and could finish as the second-worst in the city’s NBA history.
This season no longer matters from a won-lost perspective. These last 29 games are a building block to the summer and to figure out what could be next season, and the season after that, and the season after that. The Hornets think Brandon Miller — the No. 2 pick behind Victor Wembanyama in next year’s draft — will be a star.
There are good pieces on the roster, most of whom are under contract for next season and in many cases beyond.
What they did at the trade deadline won’t matter much this year. But down the road, it sure might.