The Charlotte Hornets are one of the most interesting teams in the NBA since a couple of their players have a lot of potential and are still in the earlier stages of their careers.
They'll have to make some difficult decisions this season and at the NBA trade deadline. Charlotte needs to go out and grab a center if they want to compete at a high level in the playoffs, which will be the most important question for this Hornets team this season, but there are plenty of others. Let's look at the three most pressing questions surrounding the Hornets for the rest of the 2022 season.
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Hornets Questions 2022
3. Who is going to be traded?
Fortunately for the Hornets, they have a few players on their roster who they may consider dealing in exchange for a good return. It's difficult to say if dealing a couple of these guys would be a good move for a young Hornets team that has been playing well recently, but if they want to make a playoff run, it could be in their best interests. Cody Martin, Mason Plumlee, and even rookie James Bouknight are three players that the Hornets may consider training.
It will be difficult for them to pick who they will trade with, but they must remember that they must have to pair Lamelo Ball and Miles Bridges with guys who can help them win now and in the future. Those two are going to be stars in this league in a few seasons and have already outperformed many expectations for what people thought they would do in the NBA.
It's difficult to say that the Hornets can make a deep run in the playoffs with their current squad, but they're not far off. The Hornets must bear in mind that there are many guys on their roster who aren't skilled enough to be on a championship-caliber team. They need to go out and trade a couple of their role players for other role players who can come in and make an immediate impact to improve this team.
2. Do they have the center in mind they want to get?
The Hornets' biggest question heading into the trade deadline will undoubtedly be who they will bring back in at center. It's been an area where they've needed to improve in recent seasons, but they haven't been able to do so. Even though they've been able to get some serviceable minutes from Mason Plumlee, this could be the best moment for them to go out and find a true center who can make a significant impact for this club.
At the deadline, there will be a plethora of possibilities for centers that can come in and have help this team. What should be nice for this Hornets team is that Myles Turner, according to the Indiana Pacers, will be dealt at the deadline, and there is perhaps no one better in the NBA at the center position than him to come in and play this role for the Hornets. He can defend the rim at a high level, and he can also make the outside jumper, which the Hornets love to do. Their offense relies heavily on three-point shooting, and he would not be an impediment on the court because he still provides more spacing than most other NBA centers.
When you consider that Myles Turner is still young and has a promising career ahead of him, it's easy to see why the Hornets would go out and grab him. It's possible that a big three of Lamelo Ball, Myles Turner, and Miles Bridges are instrumental in Charlotte's attempt to assemble a championship roster.
1. Can they make some noise in the playoffs?
It's difficult to argue that the Hornets' current roster is capable of defeating some of the Eastern Conference's best teams. They've shown during the season that they can compete with a couple of those teams, and there's no reason to believe they won't do so in the playoffs. Obviously, it's a different game in the playoffs. They just defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in back-to-back games, but it is improbable in the playoffs since the Bucks demonstrated last season that when the heat cranks up, they are prepared and capable of defeating teams like them.
The Hornets are a team that might cause some problems for other teams in the playoffs, but they are still a move or two away from being a true Eastern Conference contender. They should feel quite confident about moving ahead and perhaps knock off some of the conference's elite teams if they can make the right moves during the trade deadline.
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