2016-17 Finish: 35-47

Season Highlight:

Dat moment when hoarding picks and valuing nothing but picks for the past 2-3 seasons pays off! The Hornets began to see some of their high draft pick investments bear fruit in 2016-17, as Kristaps Porzingas and Myles Turner continued to blossom into potential stars. The twin towers are arguably two of the best three big men in the league under 22, are incredibly athletic and long, and Charlotte absolutely has one of the very best frontcourts in the NLL.

Ingram, Payton and a surprisingly good Thon Maker all got lots of beneficial minutes and although Gary Harris was barely in the rotation for what feels like the entire season (???), he, too, looks like a very good prospect moving forward based on what he has shown in the NBA. The core is very young and consists of a bunch of top ten picks. A ten-year window of playoff appearances seems very likely to commence, soon.

Charlotte charged towards the post-season in 2017, looking likely to scrape into the playoffs and give the very young team its first taste of post-season competition. Likely, being the operative word, and by no means concluding that the rising Hornets would make the playoffs…

 

Season Lowlight:

Let me preface this in saying ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ and ‘never let the truth or facts get in the way of a good story’. With a few weeks to go until the playoffs, and Charlotte finding their peak chemistry and in turn, their best stretch of form, were on track to fly up the standings and make the playoffs. They just had to fight off the ‘yard sale’ Wizards and the rudderless Magic. The Hornets, were able to snatch lottery from the jaws of playoffs and the rest is history. Fans were disappointed, Charlotte brass were, according to sources, ‘shocked and delighted’.

 

Best Trade:

Hornets send Shumpert to the Lakers, Lakers send Tyson Chandler to the Heat, Heat give Charlotte a first round pick.

While firsts can be wildly overvalued, they at times are undervalued just as severely. As one of the final nails in Miami’s coffin, proid acquired a 35-year old Tyson Chandler for a future first, with just top 3 protection on it. If the 2018 pick is inside the top 3, Hornets receive the 2019 first. Whichever pick they do end up with, it is going to be a very, very high lottery pick. The Miami carcass stinks to high-hell (sorry, breece) and it will take 4-5 years for the Heat to rid the halls of that ‘no foresight, no responsibility, re-draft league mentality’ smell that proid doused it with right towards the end of his reign. 

Shumpert, 7 gms for a top five pick. Wow. These pick hoarding teams are just too good at these kind of deals. Kudos. Huge win for CHA.

 

Worst Trade:

It is hard to pick a standout worst trade, as this GM is very cautious and has no inclination to complete a deal if it’s not exactly what he and his franchise would benefit from most or if it isn’t extracting the absolute most value they can from the deal (PICKSSSSSSS!!!). If I had to choose one, I would go with:

Charlotte trades Dirk Nowitzki, Bruno Caboclo for Evan Turner, Trevor Booker and a second rounder.

This isn’t even a bad deal, some would even say they won the deal. But, imo, they lost the best player (albeit a very old one), financial flexibility for 27 million dollars of committed contract on two average players. Still, they are handy contributors, but that Turner contract is ugly, and reduces their chance to make an impact in FA.

If this is ‘bad’, it just shows you how efficient this team is with trading. Never in a hurry, rarely makes a mistake. Good work.

 

Other Notable Trades:

It was genuinely a quiet season for Charlotte in terms of transactions, prioritising organic growth of their young players over bringing in more talent. Charlotte did most of its pick hoarding prior to the 16-17 season. 

Free Agency:

They will have over thirty million dollars in salary cap, which is massive in today’s NLL financial climate. Whatever big fish get through the re-signing net, Charlotte will be front of the line to snap them up. Possibly a Paul Millsap, or a Rudy Gay. They don’t have any real positions of need, they should just be aiming to acquire more value and talent.

 

Star:

Kristaps Porzingis – The Unicorn – The Latvian Banger:  22.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.2 bpg, 54%/48%/74%

 

Porzingis, at just 22 years of age, has already become a 20-10 player in the NLL. He still is yet to get anywhere near his ceiling, and should continue to grow and blossom into one of the most unique and talented players in the NLL. Standing at 7’3” with incredible length and decent athleticism, he perhaps has the most ‘talented body’ in the league. He can shoot, he can finish, he can rebound and has great defensive timing. He is one of the most tantalising prospects we have ever seen in terms of all the things he can do within the game. Zingas’ shooting percentages are already at elite levels (besides his FT), so if he can make some more free throws and continue to get stronger, he will blossom into one of the best in the NLL, along with his Hornets team.

 

Goat:

Gary Harris – regressing in his third season, one in which I had him pegged to breakout, his regression meant that the Charlotte bench was quite then, which may have been the reason for the late-season capitulation that cost them Playoffs. Hopefully Harris re-discovers himself over the summer and puts in the work.

 

Draft Grades (from the draft insiders):

 

Round 1:  Pick 13 - Harry Giles

 

Round 2:  Pick 35 – Frank Jackson, Pick 38 – Ike Anigbogu, Pick 41 – Anzejs Pasecnlks, Pick 46 – Mathias Lessort

 

Grade:  C+ (merencio grade), B best case/F worst case (nenjabin grade)

 

The Future:

The future is now. The core of 7-8 lottery picks over the past few seasons are no older than 24-25, so they have plenty of time to grow organically together. This roster has 2-3 potential future all-stars and an all-NLL type in Porzingis. They still have a few wings waiting in the wings who will be pushing for more playing time, and they five rookies still to sign. The future is bright. Another winning portfolio for the pick hoarders!

 

Upcoming Free Agents:

JJ Redick (UFA) – Redick is looking for massive money and it likely won’t be at Charlotte, who do not value guys over 25. He will look to catch on with a rebuilding team with lots of cap space.

Willie Reed (RFA) – Reed was solid last season and Charlotte hold his rights. He won’t garner a lot of attention on the market so expect him to return to the Hornets.