With their present roster, the Charlotte Hornets are stuck in neutral.
Although they are mistaken, it is nevertheless acceptable for someone to make the contrary argument. At slightly under a 27% rate, this team is winning games. It’s unlikely that their winning % will soar with LaMelo Ball in the starting lineup, even though he hasn’t played for the majority of the season. Being seated between 35 and 38% is arguably the optimum situation with the team’s best player. No-man’s land is another name for this. When this team is just starting to rebuild their competitiveness, being in this position is a surefire way to become irrelevant, and that is the last thing they need.
Actually, the Hornets lack the elite talent and depth to accomplish anything special this season. While there’s no denying that LaMelo is the team’s star, his career seems to be headed in a worrying route given his age of 22 and his history of injuries. Surpassing the expectations of most draft analysts, Brandon Miller has shown impressive rookie performance. It would be extremely early to claim that Miller is a rising star for the Hornets at this point.
Though large men like Mark Williams think Jarrett Allen have a limited ability to make long-term contributions, they are a good big man who could help anchor their defense. Subpar role players, clear trade targets, and expiring contracts make up the group after this one. Reconfiguring the roster in this way isn’t exactly likely to produce sustained success.
It is imperative that Charlotte think about doing a complete roster reset. That implies that Ball, Miller, and Williams are not the only people who are accessible. As they need to move past players like Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward in order to put the team on the correct track going ahead, these three players are the only ones who should be assured spots on the roster for the following season. Should this not be done, Charlotte basketball will continue to be useless.
It is disrespectful to both players and supporters to keep acting as though this Hornets squad is capable of competing for anything, as it is very clear that this roster is defective and will not improve this season. Seeing this sooner rather than later is what’s best for the franchise, because waiting will only mean that Charlotte will be home to non-competitive basketball for far longer than anyone would like.