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The Charlotte Hornets have become one of the more beleaguered franchises in the NBA. They have made just two playoff appearances in the last nine years despite having one of the best point guards in the NBA in Kemba Walker, and their draft choices throughout the years have been wrought with bust-worthy selections.
To make matters worse, they have handicapped themselves financially by handing out big contracts to Bismack Biyombo and Nicolas Batum.
Come Sunday, it seems unlikely that Walker will still be a member of the Hornets. Initial reports had suggested that he may be open to taking a pay cut in order to stay with the franchise, but ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday morning that the two sides were far apart on their terms at the negotiating table. In turn, the Boston Celtics have emerged as favorites to land Walker in free agency.
Should Kemba ultimately leave Charlotte for another team during free agency, the Hornets will officially begin a new chapter. They have a few expiring contracts–Biyombo, Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist–after next season, but Batum has a player option for over $27 million that he will almost certainly accept (if he is still on the roster).
The Hornets also struggled to develop recent draft picks like Malik Monk and Miles Bridges this past year, although it is likely that they will both see higher usage this season.
And given that the Hornets finished ninth in the East, they ended up with the No. 13 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, selecting former Kentucky big P.J. Washington. Certainly not a questionable pick in the lottery, but hardly an impact player that the Hornets would need to compete.
So where might Charlotte go from here?
Fillers in free agency
Even if Walker departs in the coming days, the Hornets will not have a ton of cap space unless they decide to push the boundaries of the luxury tax, which would be insensible given that they will not attract any top-tier free agents.
With that in mind, it seems likely that they will merely sign fillers to try to compliment the rest of the roster. There are a number of veteran players that could make for interesting additions and mentors for some of the younger building blocks such as Monk, Bridges and Washington.
Rather than re-signing players like Jeremy Lamb and Frank Kaminsky, the Hornets could go after players such as Taj Gibson or Ed Davis in the frontcourt. Both would be just as effective as Cody Zeller or Biyombo while also providing some leadership in such a transitory phase.
Of course, the Hornets will also need a new point guard, which makes Tyus Jones an interesting option. Jones struggled to shoot the ball and has not seen much of a jump since his rookie season, but he actually led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio, and would be another guy that could see some improvement with more minutes on a nightly basis.
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Regardless of who the Hornets end up targeting, they should likely hand out a number of short-term deals and refrain from selling high on a guy like they did in Batum's case.
Let the kids play
The Hornets really have no choice but to own the front office decisions that they have made which led them to this juncture.
That means they may as well invest in Bridges, Monk, Washington, Tyler Zeller and Dwayne Bacon (amongst others) by giving them more responsibility.
Walker was by far the leading scorer (close to 24 points per game), and if the Hornets let Lamb walk they will lose their second-leading scorer. This opens up plenty of opportunity for the youngsters to step up and seize the opportunity.
In today's NBA, it is better to commit to your youth at the risk of a losing season than to consistently be on the fringes of the lottery.
Make no mistake, the Hornets will be a very bad team if they lose Walker.
But if they see tangible growth out of some of the young guys and land a top pick in the 2020 NBA draft, the season will not have been a total loss.
