The Charlotte Hornets are have begun the post-Kemba Walker era and will try to build a competitive team next season. After acquiring Terry Rozier from the Boston Celtics and signing first-round draft pick PJ Washington, the team still plans to make several moves, and according to general manager Mitch Kupchak, the Hornets front office will look at available free agents as well as potential trades to bolster the roster.
“We’re still in a period where we can acquire free agents and make trades. Our plan is to field a team that can be entertaining and sustained moving forward. Our goal is to compete for the playoffs, advance in the playoffs and someday win a championship.”
After refusing to offer Walker the supermax and the max contract, the Hornets have allowed their lone All-Star to walk away for almost nothing. While there is no doubt that Rozier is a great pickup, he's not capable of leading a team on his own. Charlotte will still need a few pieces to fill out the rest of the roster before next season starts.
The problem is, most of the top to mid-tier free agents have already been taken. There are still some players available for them, but those guys will look to sign with contenders first before considering the Hornets.
If the Hornets will look to acquire players via trade, they could unload the expiring contracts of Bismack Biyombo, Marvin Williams, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The negative side of that is they will also have to include draft picks before any team agrees to absorb those players, and that could hurt them in the future.
The Horners are not giving up on being able to build a playoff contender, but with limited options, they will have to be creative moving forward if they wish to accomplish their goal.
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