According to general manager Mitch Kupchak, the Hornets have no immediate plans to blow up their roster. As Steve Reed of The Associated Press writes, recently appointed head coach James Borrego will approach his first season with the team under the assumption that there is no dramatic overhaul right around the corner.
“I’m excited about that current group as it stands right now. I think our biggest room for growth is the internal development piece,” Borrego said. Given the Hornets’ lack of financial flexibility – they have $120 already tied up for next season – they may not have any other choice.
There were several calls for dramatic action last season as a short-staffed Hornets team limped its way to a second consecutive lottery appearance. In fact, things were so dire that mid-season the club’s previous executive team even said the franchise would consider trading star guard Kemba Walker.
Among the young players that could be developed by Borrego and the rest of the Hornets staff in 2018/19 are 2017 lottery pick Malik Monk, as well as other established rotation players like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 24, and third-year big man Frank Kaminsky.
There’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards signed forward Otto Porter to a four-year, $107MM contract last offseason. With that increased salary has come increased scrutiny, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post writes. Porter excelled as a three-point shooter in 2017/18 but was criticized for lacking aggressiveness in the fourth quarter.
- Veteran Heat big man Udonis Haslem hasn’t made a decision about retirement yet but he does know that when that time comes, he has no interest in coaching. He would, however, be open to serving in Miami’s front office, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes.
- Some Magic fans have contemplated the idea of bringing back former head coach Stan Van Gundy. David Whitley of The Orlando Sentinel writes that a reunion with the bench boss who led Dwight Howard and company to the Finals back in 2009 would not be a good idea.
Charlotte needs to move Walker, you will not be getting out of the East anytime soon with Boston and Philly ready to dominate it for the next 7-10 years. Develop Monk and HernanGomez and load up on more picks. As for Van Gundy, absolutely the wrong coach to bring into a rebuilding situation in Orlando. I don’t know why Orlando does not go after a coach like David Blatt who is a defensive minded coach and can help make Isaac an elite defensive dynamo.
So they should just stop trying for 7-10 years because it looks like Boston and Philly are going to be good?
Lol yeah every team in the east should just trade away all their best players since Boston and philly will be the best.
Not stop trying but rebuild. Try and get a top 5 pick the next 2 drafts.
SVG was suppose to be rebuilding Detroit, and look what happened. He left them in terrible shape, with the Blake Griffin trade, and the contracts of Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond. Not to mention his terrible drafting. SVG should hang them up.
How did he leave them in terrible shape? Blake Griffin is a franchise player and Drummond is still young, Reggie just needs to stay healthy and they’ll be a playoff team.
Walker is a flawed player and will never lead a team to the title. He’s a second or third option in the NBA. Trade him. That said, I’m afraid Monk is too small to succeed. Hernangomez is a role player. The Hornets are stuck in NBA mid-level hell.
Monk is too small? Watch him average 20 next season if Borrego gives him the starting nod.
If you think Kemba is at best a 2nd or 3rd option you are sorely mistaken. He’s proven time and time again he deserves a place among the top PGs in the league. He might not be at the level of a Curry or Westbrook but he is definitely in the top 10.
He’s more like a second option. Not a first though, too small. He just doesn’t have the cast around him to be a 1st option and lead this team anywhere. Dwight had one of his best years and they still missed the playoffs with him and Kemba in the lineup. Their ceiling is 43-44 wins with this current roster, not worth it. Kemba and Dwight should be traded somewhere they can compete for a ring, if San Antonio is thinking about retooling they should move Leonard for Kemba,Dwight, and the Charlotte pick.
Acquiring Kawhi wouldn’t necessarily be a rebuild but it gives the team new life. Kawhi wasn’t there for his team so why appease him by trading him to the Lakers,Sixers, or Cavs? Let him play the year out in Charlotte and maybe he even re-signs.
Charlotte wants/needs to dump salary. They only have Kemba and the 11th overall pick as assets. No one is giving them a draft pick for Batum, Howard, MKG, or Williams in any trade. They need to hit the reset button clean house, basically look toward 2 or 3 years down the line – not 7 or 10.
If they flipped Kemba Walker for the Cavs pick they could target Wendell Carter. Then at 11th Colin Sexton or Zhaire Smith.
They are stuck with Batum more that likely. Need to get rid of MKG and Williams 2019-2020 salaries. If they could dump Zeller that would be ideal too. They cannot surrender a future 1st in any trade. I’d include Monk if it made a deal happen, completely expendable.
Outside the box trades that free up 30M in 2019-20:
MKG + Williams for Carmelo Anthony
MKG + Williams for Wesley Matthews
MKG + Williams for Faried & W. Chandler
They would have 47.3M in salaries if they did this in 2019-20. They could even attempt to bring Kemba back they would certainly have the money.