The NBA Trade Deadline was insane. 24 teams made 12 trades involving 49 players and the Charlotte Hornets were actually in on the fun this year. Unfortunately, no major piece was brought back to Charlotte other than a holster of 2nd round picks. They even lost Mason Plumlee, who was having a career year, and Jalen McDaniels. McDaniels development has been great over the last three years. He will likely be a key role player in Philadelphia, while Plumlee provides much-needed depth at the center spot in Los Angeles for the Clippers. So what does that mean for Charlotte?
Mark Williams time to shine
After subtracting Plumlee, Mark Williams is the prime candidate to get the nod from Steve Clifford to start moving forward. After spending time with the Hornets G-League affiliate, Greensboro Swarm, his game is ready to take a leap. In 11 games with the Swarm, he averaged 22.2 PTS, 12.2 REB, and 1.8 BLK on 64.8% shooting. He has the potential to translate that to the pros. Williams is averaging seven points, five rebounds, and a block a game in 25 games so far while he was seeing 14 minutes a night.
Everyone has seen that he has good instincts on the defensive side of the ball. Rise up to contest shots, good help defender, and could jump into passing lanes at the perfect time. Fans were raging over not keeping Jalen Duren in the previous draft, but Williams could end up being a good building block for his franchise, too.
Why they couldn't keep Jalen McDaniels
As much as they wanted to, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak could not afford to keep McDaniels, literally. Both he and Plumlee were unrestricted free agents at the season's end. There was no telling what both guys might have expected to make, especially after the career years they've been having. Kupchak even spoke on the matter:
“Something I’ve learned is you can’t pay everybody and these are hard decisions, especially Jalen.”
Meaning they have to direct their money to other young players that will be available in free agency and re-sign some guys that play a larger role for Charlotte. Both PJ Washington & Kelly Oubre Jr. are two guys that could possibly be retained. Washington turned down a four-year $60 million offer over the summer to up his value and that gamble likely paid off. Kupchak said he would like to retain some of the veteran players, which could lead to Oubre signing a one to two-year deal if he is interested.
In the end, no major piece was added at the deadline for the Hornets. They did manage to avoid spending more money on guys that may not have had a long-term future with the team though, which is a win. Only one position on the floor has one guaranteed great talent, but now it's time to fill the rest out. Let's see how management makes moves in the upcoming off-season.
Kupchak went to go check out potential number one overall pick Victor Wembanyama in France recently. That would be the perfect young player to help get the ball rolling.
Follow Us
Subscribe