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Kemba Walker spent eight entertaining seasons in Charlotte as its go-to star. Walker proved he was a legit star in the league, but he was never able to transform the Hornets into a regular team in the playoffs. That is mainly just due to the talent he was surrounded with during his time in Buzz City. The biggest name he might have played with could be Al Jefferson. No disrespect to Jefferson because he was a productive player in the NBA for many years, but Charlotte was never able to attract big names. Fast forward to 2020 when LaMelo Ball was drafted and he gets to play with a former All-star in Gordon Hayward and a collection of other good players. Ball is already playing with a lot more talent than what Walker ever had and it is not even close.
Every year, there is plenty of movers and shakers in free agency. Some big-name stars, or productive role players, are on the move to find a new home and contribute to their team. However, the Hornets are a small market team that usually struggles to bring in any big names to come play for them. In Walker's tenure, that was clearly the case. Jefferson was just one of the notable names, but Charlotte threw a five-year $120 million contract to Nic Batum to pry him from Portland. Sure, Batum was the definition of a 3&D player night in and night out for Portland, but he was not worth that kind of money. He has never made an All-Star Game and was never the number one option on his team at any point. That kind of money belongs to a number one option kind of player.
On the other hand, LaMelo Ball entered the league with Gordon Hayward primed and ready to put on a show. Hayward was a go-to scorer all those years in Utah and probably would have had the same role in Boston if it was not for that nasty injury. The Hornets brought him in and allowed him to pick up the pieces of his career. It has paid off and he put up his best scoring output since 2016. Also, Terry Rozier posted career highs across the board. Not to mention, Miles Bridges and PJ Washington are young players that seem to have some promise to be productive in this league.
The NBA Draft was also an area where Charlotte has seemed to struggle back when Kemba was a member of the organization. We all remember how the Hornets were robbed of the number one pick in 2012 when Anthony Davis was selected first overall. Despite that, they had several other good options to pick from like Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, Draymond Green, or even Harrison Barnes. Instead, the Hornets selected Michael Kidd-Gilchrist second overall…Yikes.
Even though LaMelo Ball has only been in the league for one year, the Hornets are focused on pairing LaMelo Ball with talent in the backcourt. Selecting James Bouknight with the 11th pick was a great choice because he can become a flat-out scorer for this team. In a perfect world, he will develop into the number two option for the Hornets over the next couple of seasons. The other selections that Charlotte made in the 2021 draft appear to be rotational players going forward.
Kemba Walker did all he could as a member of the Hornets. A couple of postseason appearances, a few All-Star sections, and he is the franchise's all-time leading scorer. That is awesome for a guy that never had much help during his time in Charlotte. However, Ball is set to shatter any accolade that Walker owns with the Hornets. The talent that he has will ensure it.
