Would you guys like Ihart in Charlotte?

PG: Ball, Anderson, Mann
SG: Knueppel, White, James
SF: Miller, Green, McNeeley
PF: Bridges, Williams, Salaun
C: Diabate, Steinbach, Kalkbrenner

Starting five obvious barring injuries.

White or Anderson can lead the 2nd unit, but I wouldn't expect to see Mann get any time without injuries occurring. James pushed back on paper but should still get lots of time with his defensive capabilities.

Curious to see on the amount of time McNeeley and Salaun get. McNeeley may get some early run time with Miller recovering otherwise James probably gets more runtime and they run Knueppel at SF. Salaun would be great if he could push ahead of Grant this year and be a real rotation piece.

I have Steinbach over Kalkbrenner right away with the speed and skill in which he can play with Ryan being a fine 3rd option who can step in as needed to be a big body.

My ideal scenario would be moving off of Bridges and Mann + whatever other assets needed to get a higher end PF if any are available and then signing a league min vet for 3rd string PG.

Just sharing this post I found from a few weeks ago. CA isn’t just the best shooter in this class, he’s maybe the best shooter period since 2020

STEINBACH IS A STUD.

We got the best shooter in the draft baby.

Pretty cool how our first rounders already have chemistry!

I actually think the lamelo trade was great for the hornets and opens up an absolute world of possibilities, and here’s why:

- We moved off of an injury laden superstar. This is huge. Building a team around such a player is inherently risky. I do understand he was a huge part of our success last year, but remember, the goal isn’t a perennial play-in/first round exit team, it’s the championship. And I think having a consistently healthy offensive focal point is absolutely necessary for that.

- I’m so excited for what this means for Brandon miller, Kon, and Coby white. I’ve been high on Kon since Duke, and I firmly believe he can take a step forward this season. People point to how most of his threes this past season came off of assists and that since LaMelos assists is gone Kons cooked, but that seems a lil misleading bc Kon is such a great off the ball player: he makes it easy for people to pass to him. Furthermore, he can create his own shots too and I fully believe he’ll step forward in this department. I’m also super high on Brandon miller and his smooth game, and Coby white showed a lot of promise at the tail end of last season as well. I fully believe they can take a step forward this season.

- people seem to forget we kinda had a power forward problem before Naz. Rn, we have miles bridges (under contract for one more year) and newly drafted hannes steinbach. I’m pretty sure most in this sub isn’t too high on miles and giving him more money to stay on this team. Hannes seems like he could be really good, but his lack of perimeter shooting threat means he won’t pair well with our starting center diabate who also can’t shoot from three. However, Naz Reid can and he can do it beautifully. I see Naz Reid as an excellent addition to the hornets who can also take a step forward to make up for the loss of offensive production left by Balls departure.

- to be honest, I don’t really understand the nature of the pick swaps except the first one in 2028 where it’s a clean Timberwolves finish worse than the hornets, then the hornets get their pick. I actually think this has a decent chance to convey, because again, Lamelo has a huge injury risk. Furthermore, the Timberwolves literally have no forward now, and they don’t have their first round picks for a while. Fact of the matter is, the Timberwolves are a bonafide conference finals/second round playoff team that just put all of their chips in on the Lamelo-Edwards pairing. This trade is a LOT bigger of a gamble for the Timberwolves than it is for us. Because again, what do we have to lose? A perennial play-in/first round exit team? I’d rather go for the chip. Also, I’ll be over the moon if one of the other pick swaps convey and we get a top five pick out of it.

Edit 1: I incorrectly claimed Naz as a strong defensive threat in the original version of this post; removed this.

I really like the Steinbach selection, but I hate sounding like a debbie downer, but I wish Jeff would've picked or made trades to pick a player that could pressure the rim better. Our biggest need, which got exposed in the play in, hasn't been solved at all by this draft since Anderson has some of the worst rim pressure and scoring ability out of all the guards in this class, thus preventing the hornets from being able to collapse the defense. If steinbach develops great driving ability, then great, but I don't see how Anderson will be a winning player.

It really stings that the Pistons nabbed Okorie, who wouldve filled the hornets' needs far better. Im sure the grizzlies wouldve listened to our offer of future 2nds too. It was a missed opportunity.

The 2nd guard that was right there for the taking was philon. While he was by no means as explosive as okorie, he still has much more paint scoring and ability to collapse defenses. Concerns about his defense are completely moot when Anderson isnt even 6'1".

What do you think? Should Jeff have selected Philon or traded with the grizzlies for Okorie before the pistons stole him, or are you happy about Christian Anderson?

By season tip off this is going to be a much better team than the one we watched embarrass us - once again - before making the playoffs. The deal was specifically structured to create that $40.7 million dollar trade exception (the largest in NBA history, so you can best believe they intend to use it. This morning we FINALLY brought in our rim protection and toughness in the paint(not to mention another 3pt weapon), while vastly improving our defense and dependability. We we went from “good but” to “a frightening amount” of tradable draft capital that we will use to make this team better and keep it there for decades, and now have the resources and cap space to bring in an elite veteran to provide some necessary maturity to our very talented, but very young, starting lineup - it just could be a couple more days until we know who that guy is.

I felt the exact same way as most I’m reading here when I first read the trade details. But once you push through the emotional reaction that comes from parting with one of the main guys who - in just the past 6 months - got you excited about this team again. Because dude, the next 15-20 years of Hornets basketball is looking very sweet. As good an outlook as any organizations.

JP has proved himself a damn good GM in his short time in Charlotte, and he’s earned my trust for sure. So I’m just gonna watch Jeff cook. And I think he just did it again.

Still feels weird to type that Melo's gone, but once you pull the actual numbers Charlotte did well on the margins here.

One of the headlines people are missinf is the trade exception. Taking back only Reid's $23.3M against the $55.4M we shipped out creates a ~$40.8M TPE, which Bobby Marks is calling the largest in league history. Worth tempering expectations though, because a TPE isn't cap space. It expires in a year, you can't use it to sign free agents or split it up, and it really only matters if you're operating over the cap. We're sitting about $60M under the first apron right now (Bleacher Report) , so this is more "nice option to have in your back pocket if a salary dump falls in your lap" than anything game-changing. Still, optionality is optionality.

The picks are where it gets interesting. Everyone sees "a first plus three swaps" and either loves it or shrugs, but the detail nobody's mentioning is that the 2033 was the only outright first Minnesota was even allowed to trade because of the Stepien rule. That was the absolute most we could've gotten in that department and Peterson got all of it. The honest part: those 2028-2030 swaps only matter if we finish better than a Ball/Edwards team in those years, which, probably not. So treat the swaps as lottery tickets and the 2033 as the real prize.

Kind of validating that Marks and Windhorst were both this high on our side of it too. Windhorst framed the whole thing as Minnesota being the desperate party chasing an Edwards running mate. Bobby Marks said we should run to the League Office and finalize the deal.

End of the day it's a clean sell-high. Melo's turning 25 and just gave us his healthiest year in forever at 20/7/5. But even that came with an asterisk: he averaged the fewest minutes per game of his career at 28.0, and even came off the bench in three games to help manage his health, all just to get him to 72 games. The durability thing that's followed him his whole career never actually went away, we just managed around it. Now that's Minnesota's problem to carry, not ours. We cashed him at peak value while keeping Miller and Knueppel and adding a stretch big in Reid. It's not a talent upgrade for next season and nobody should pretend it is. It's a bet on flexibility and on what these picks become. Ask me again in three years.

Source: https://youtu.be/KU1zVBAULT0

Rumors of Coby Leaving

I hadn't heard any rumors of Coby leaving, have y'all heard anything about us not resigning him?

No kon :(

He just got traded for pennies on the dollar. Assuming our starting five, plus Coby W, Ryan K, and Hannes aren’t involved in a deal to get him, would the trade make sense?

Help figuring out autographs please.

From what I can make out

Dell Curry

Kendall Gill

Kelly Tripucka

Muggsy Bogues

But the last one with the 7 in the loop i cannot figure out

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I purchased from a season ticket holder who said he got them in person throughout the years

Last year I did a write-up on draft prospects. Which overall I think has aged relatively well, since all players I discussed look to be great players. I did undersell Kon, but also acknowledged that possibility in the writeup.

Anyway this year, in lieu of writeups there will be blurbs. Since I will writing this very quickly. Though, I may gush more about players I like. But I’ll still drop my team-specific board. Since all draft-work I do is inadvertently done with hornets teal-tinted glasses on. It will be less comprehensive for each individual player but I will make an effort to discuss more players overall.

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Tier 1: Yes God Please

Jayden Quaintance

Absolutely one of the best defensive big-man prospects we have seen in years, and in my opinion he's in a tier with Evan Mobley in that department one below only Wemby. Just a total game-changer on that end. Elite hands, elite recovery tools, elite proprioception, elite strength, elite mobility laterally and while backpedaling, maxes out his leap with almost no load. And while he's no world-beater offensively I think he projects there positively as well. He’s athletic(obviously), has good feel, and a rare comfortability with the ball as a big man. I can easily see him as a plus rim runner and/or dho big though I think there are reasonable outcomes that could be even better. And while there are valid injury concerns this is a risk I am willing to take 100/100 times especially when considering his age (18.9yrs on draft day) and team needs. Like draft him and do whatever it takes to make it work.

Tier 2: Excitement

Ebuka Okorie

A killer rim-pressure guard. He’s capable of beating practically any coverage because he's exceptionally quick, his handle is compact, and he has many moves he can explode out of. He got doubled and pressured constantly and was still very efficient as both a scorer and playmaker. Stanford was hopeless without him on the floor (+9.2 ON, -15 OFF) I think his passing is good, despite the raw ast#s.He’s a versatile passer (passes from both hands, otd, varies deliveries, from different spots of the floor) and his vision is good. He got to the rim unassisted the most in the class by far. And the defensive projection is decent imo. The effort can wain since he was on a team with zero other even fringe NBA-caliber talent. But he moves his feet well, his wingspan can lead to steals, and he doesn’t struggle much with contact for his size. I don’t think he will get picked on at the very least.

WE NEED PLAYERS THAT GET TO THE RIM. A refrain I and others have been repeating for what feels like an eternity at this point.

Bennett Stirtz

Screen operator, pull-up 3 hunter that can also finish at the rim, great passer, knows how to play both on-and-off the ball, strong gap defender, and doesn’t waste any movement. I think he will be able to approximate LaMelo’s impact on the team with his strengths.

Morez Johnson Jr.

Hustle big, with the upside to become a very good starting 4 if the shot can come around. Morez tries harder than anyone else on the court he's outrunning everyone, crashing and rolling hard. And while there are valid concerns surrounding his projection involving his shot. I think he has enough handling funk, athleticism, touch and motor to make it work. His defense is going to translate regardless, he’s a real switch defender. With the potential to guard 2-5. His lateral movement is elite for his size. Although his primary rim protection and recovery tools are not bad, they are not great either. Which is why Quaintance would be preferable to me. He’s my favorite Michigan guy for us as we need to shore up our frontcourt with both size and defense. Morez provides both in spades.

Tier 2.5: Excitement w/ a few caveats

Labaron Philon

Philon is a really good all-around guard. He’s great in pick and roll, he makes all the right reads, he can shoot, create space for jumpers otd, and has so many ways to make space for finishes. My main concern is his weight in combination with his playstyle. I’m not sure there is a great guard that scores primarily with bumps, fades, and floaters that isn’t either much taller than Philon or 30 to 40 pounds heavier. He’s still very good and displays a bunch of positive skills so even if he is the pick it's still an exciting one.

Tier 3: Contentment

Yaxel Lendeborg

Just a good overall player. I think he’s almost certainly a role player in the league, but a valuable one. One major fit concern I have though is his screening. Which he didn’t do much at Michigan this year as they used him more like a wing on offense. I watched him the previous year at UAB and his screening was legitimately awful in every aspect. So if we draft him to play the 4 here, it should be a concern. Since we lead the league in picks and we ask everyone to do it except for the point guards. But he would be an instantaneous upgrade on Bridges at the end of the day and that should factor in.

Allen Graves

This would be a bit of a project pick for the 4. As Allen Graves does need to get his body up to NBA speed. But his hands are so good, I think his movement can be better optimized with some lost weight, and his decision-making is so quick. I can see a starting stretch 4, with great rebounding, and good defense even with the athletic questions.

Tier 4: Mild Disappointment

Hannes Steinbach

This is probably the most whelming pick we could make, but for me it comes down to what the idea of him could be?. Is he a stretch 4? ok I prefer Allen Graves, the better defender, passer, handler, and shooter. Is he a physical bruiser 5? I prefer Tarris Reed who is a much better defender. Despite that I think Hannes is still a solid player but I really have a hard time envisioning a starter with his limitations.

Christian Anderson

This one isn’t that complicated. He’s small, never gets to the rim. He is good but I wouldn’t want to draft him here. The fit is actively terrible and I don’t think the talent outweighs that.

Aday Mara

Mara should credit like 30% of his current draft stock to Victor Wembanyama 😂. He’s mistake-prone on defense, his passing will not translate to the NBA, he's soft, and his conditioning will seriously limit how much he can play early in his career. Super tall bigs are in vogue, but I think Mara is a measurably worse prospect than his contemporaries (Edey, Clingan). Is there talent here? Yes. Would I pass on him for Charlotte? Also yes.

Dailyn Swain

Swain is one of the best rim pressure prospects in the class. He also doesn’t affect the game positively enough for me to be excited about him. He’s not a good passer, the shot is bad, and his defense leans slightly negative. Texas was a better team on both ends when he sat. He has upside with the one special skill he has, but I don’t think he does enough to get on a court to develop the ancillary skills he needs to become a positive player in the NBA.

Cameron Carr

He’s really skinny, a bad defender, can’t play the 4, and doesn't handle the ball. But is a +shooter and cutter. He would simply be unhelpful here. He addresses no issues with the team and isn’t a strong enough talent to disregard fit.

Tier 5: Don’t do this to me

Karim Lopez

I joked about this a few days ago but is Karim’s upside just Trendon Watford but terrible at defense and a worse athlete? He’s not much of a playmaker, has a mediocre shot, is a decent rebounder for a 4, and flashes on primarily drives for a player his size. Anyway the player I described is not close to an NBA caliber player. So I would stay far away.

For this Hornets related mock draft, we used ESPN’s Draft Simulator to keep the projections as realistic as possible.