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NLL Insider - Team by Team: Charlotte Hornets

by laddas, updated on Wednesday, October 19 2016, 10:19 pm EST



2015-16 Finish:
 34-48

Season Highlight:

The kids impressed. The Hornets are veeerrrrrry young, and its true what they say, you don’t win anything with kids, but in saying that they did finish with a decent enough record of 34-48 when you consider the average age of their starting line-up is 21.2 years of age! Yes, as a unit they’re only just old enough to drink together as a team. The present isn’t really the priority for the Hornets though, they draft well, really well and when the time comes when all these guys have developed they’re going to be scary good. The past is tough, the present is hard but the future…. The future is very bright.



Season Lowlight:

Still no playoffs. It’s been almost 9 years since they last experienced playoff basketball and despite being close by finishing 9th in three of those years, they’re never really considered a contender by many across the NLL platform. At least for once though, they now have a direction under GM Digeze. They drafted brilliantly last season and again this season, picking up some exciting talent. The team will continue to be up and down, that just comes with young players and they won’t make the playoffs again this season, but things are looking up, it’s just going to be painful along the way.



Best Trade:

The Charlotte Hornets send Alec Burks to the LA Clippers.

The Charlotte Hornets send a 1st-Rounder (Pho) to the LA Clippers. The LA Clippers send a 1st-Rounder (LAC) and 1st-Rounder (LAC) to the Charlotte Hornets.

Now, it’s not a horrible trade considering Burks ability, but he played just 25 games last season, and only 17 the year before. The Hornets landed Brandon Ingram with the LAC pick and have another pick coming in 2018. At the time, if Burks played the majority of the season, you can’t really fault the Clippers on this one, but in hindsight, Brandon Ingram has legit 2-way star potential and he lands with the Hornets instead of the Clips, Good deal for the Hornets.


Worst Trade:

The Charlotte Hornets send Gerald Henderson to the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs send Beno Udrih to the Charlotte Hornets.

The San Antonio Spurs send a 2nd-Rounder (Hou) and 2nd-Rounder (SA) to the Charlotte Hornets.

I don’t think this is even that bad, but it’s the worst of the bunch imo. Henderson is a solid baller but has always been hindered by the lack range on his jump shot and his inconsistency with his play, he kind of has an old school game, but surely he’s worth more than an over the hill vet and 2 2nds? I get why the deal was made, Gary Harris is this teams Sg and they still have Shumpert and Hezonja just drafted, just maybe could’ve got a bit better value. Again, not terrible, but not great either.



Other Notable Trades:

The Charlotte Hornets send Steve Novak and Kosta Koufos to the Golden State Warriors. The Golden State Warriors send Nene Hilario to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Golden State Warriors send a 2nd-Rounder (GS) and 2nd-Rounder (LAL) to the Charlotte Hornets.

The Charlotte Hornets receive 6 GM points. The Golden State Warriors trade -6 GM points.

A healthy Nene is the best player in this deal, then throw in 2 2nd rounders on top as well and this is not a bad deal. The negative is Nene is likely to leave in free agency and koufas is signed up for the next 3 years potentially. Still, not a bad deal for a team that needed some salary and landed 2 future assets as well.

 

The Charlotte Hornets send Eric Gordon to the Utah Jazz. The Memphis Grizzlies send Jonas Jerebko to the Charlotte Hornets. The Utah Jazz send Tarik Black to the Boston Celtics. The Utah Jazz send Mike Dunleavy and Gerald Henderson to the Charlotte Hornets.

Rights to Washington's 1st rounder 2016 going to the Charlotte Hornets.

So the Hornets landed 3 players and a potential top 5 pick for Eric Gordon? Great work. Gordon is a good scorer and decent enough defender when he’s healthy, but that is exactly it, when healthy. Digeze gave up on relying on his fitness even though he was producing over 30ppg when he played. Gordon was the best player in this deal but you can’t be mad at Digeze for selling on him. The pick turned out to be Jamal Murray after a complete draft day mess up and let’s be honest, Murray looks to be almost a clone of Eric Gordon. Nice job Charlotte.



Best FA Signing:

Kosta Koufas

The Hornets had a lot of little minor signings along the way and did actually get Cory Joseph to commit to a contract but only for the Nets to match. Koufas ended up turning into Nene so he gets the best signing by default. Koufas is a solid big and gets the job done. I guess Burks resigning could be viewed as the best as it landed Brandon Ingram, but returning FA’s don’t really count now.


Worst FA Signing:

Lance Thomas

There’s a few, but I’m going to go Lance Thomas in mid-season. He lasted a day before he was waived again after just being claimed.


Star:

Kristaps Porzingis

Zinger had a great rookie season, only just being pipped by Russell for roty honours, an argument could’ve been made for either to win. Now not normally a rookie would be seen as the star player on a team, but when you drop 17 and 10 with 1.6bpg and shooting 37% from three, it goes along way, even for a veteran. He struggled with efficiency to start the season, but once he settled he was a wrecking ball and dropped some big games along the way. Porzingis is the pillar of this team and has already made a mark on the NLL. Can’t wait to see what he produces over the next few seasons.
 
Surprise:

Elfrid Payton

Wait, what? Ok now hear me out, Elfrid isn’t know as much of a scorer, but he dropped 15.6ppg, improving on his rookie season stat of 10.3ppg. Me personally, I thought he’d take a step back, but he picked up in assists, rebounds and steals as well, albeit with an uptick in minutes. He could’ve got star of the season, but I think Porzingis impact was greater. Being a surprise isn’t a knock on Payton’s talent, but more of personal opinion of how I thought his season would go. Shumpert was close to this honor and would’ve been Gordon if he wasn’t moved.



Goat:

Carl Landry

When you’re the 2nd highest paid player on a team, you probably should be doing a bit better than 3.3ppg and 3.6rpg. Yeah, he only averaged 11mpg, but to be honest the Hornets didn’t to many terrible players, even the rooks and second year guys were better.



Draft Report Card:

The Hornets had picks 2, 3(through trade), 10 and 11. Wowee, 4 picks in the top 12 is a great way to add to an already talented squad. The Hornets grabbed potential stud Brandon Ingram with pick 2, Drafted Jaylen Brown (only to be traded on for Jamal Murray) at pick 3, project Thon Maker at 10 and maybe reached at pick 11 with Dejounte Murray, but when he goes into a setup like the Spurs in the NBA, you can’t blame them. When you add this bunch to Porzingis, Harris, Turner and Payton the Hornets have probably had the best back to back drafts in NLL history. A++ for me and not just for this draft, but for last years too. I shudder to think of the monster this team will be to deal with in 2-3 years, hopefully the Hornets can afford them all.



Looking to the Future:

Potentially the brightest in the NLL? Clippers are doing good things as well and the Thunder always have assets, but I don’t see any better squad in 2-3 year’s time. A frontline consisting of Porzingis and Turner, Ingram and Hezonja on the wing and Payton, Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Dejounte Murray in the back court? The potential is tantalizing. I guess the big question is, can they afford to pay all these guys when they hit their strides? Also, will they all develop into the studs we expect? It will be up to the Hornets coaching staff and GM Digeze to keep these guys motivated and healthy to give them every chance at doing so. If it all comes to fruition, we could have a new contender at the top of the East. Look out Philly and Boston!



Upcoming Free Agents:

Nene Hilario (FA) – Nene is not expected back. He’s a solid big man when healthy, but probably not worth the 90 odd points it would require to guarantee a return. Expect to see Nene in a different uniform next season.

Brandon Bass (FA) – Same as Nene really, solid big, not quite as good, but solid. Again he’s an F loyalty and it will take a big amount of GM’s to get him to return. He’s gone.

Willie Reed (RFA) – Willie is a decent rim protector and a hustle and energy guy, he will be restricted and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Hornets to match an offer. He’s not going to win you championships, but he’s good to provide a bit of energy in a smaller role.

Christian Wood (RFA) – Another restricted player. Wood is actually a solid talent and most in the know around the league are surprised he hasn’t latched on somewhere. His ceiling is higher than Reed’s and I expect the Hornets to match any offer and bring him back, should be a nice rotation player when it’s all said and done, just needs that chance.

Xavier Munford (FA) – Doesn’t have a team in the NBA and is likely not going to be in the league come free agent time. Expect him gone.

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