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Hornets Michael Jordan, Owner: Not even technically gone, he's still around as "alternate governor" and all his cronies (Assistant GM / former roommate Buzz Peterson, President / former agent Fred Whitfield, various family members on the business side) still clog up the front office. Jordan needed to sell the team to someone who was going to massively revamp things, but instead he just passed the baton to two guys who have been part of the recent Hawks ownership clusterfuck (one of whom managed to lose billions of dollars on Gamestop stock). Feels like MJ just shaved off a few percentage points of his ownership share so people would give him less poo poo about being one of the worst owners in sports Steve Clifford, Coach: Honestly one of the better outcomes after the Kenny Atkinson fiasco while still being both funny and depressing. Clifford will wring the juice out of a team that's gunning for the play-in, and he and Mark Williams seem like a match made in heaven. LaMelo Ball (PG), Star: Last year was such a lost season for the team that it was hard to see growth from Melo, even though some of his per game stats ticked up a bit. Didn't help that he was in and out of the lineup and only made it to 36 mostly futile games. Have a nagging worry that he's already near his peak due to his just ok athleticism (he really struggles to finish at the rim) and non-traditional path to the league, and slowing his game down a bit would probably help. Looking forward to seeing a little development on his pick-and-roll set play now that he has a giant lob threat in Mark Williams. Still a great player and obviously a positive on the floor despite some limitations. Miles Bridges (SF/PF), Pariah: Even though they haven't cut him I don't think he'll play this season. Once he has his court date over the new allegations in Nov., the league will likely throw down a new, longer suspension. They should still cut him though Brandon Miller(SG/SF), Rookie: Spent the entire pre-season talking about how he wanted to fit in, and his game reflected that. Took open shots but mostly deferred and moved the ball, played hard but just ok on defense. Really struggled from three-point range in the exhibition games but I'm not worried about that at all. Not great one-on-one due to his shaky handle and mediocre first step, which leads to a lot of ugly turnovers. The team would probably be best served starting him and letting Gordan Hayward run the bench unit but I'm not sure if GH would go for that. I like Miller's long-term potential but think he'll probably need a few seasons to cook. I hope the non-stop comparisons to Scoot don't get him down too bad. Mark Williams (C), Sophomore: Just irrationally excited about this guy, since the Hornets have rotated through centers year after year for literal decades now. (Cody Zeller is the best center in franchise history by win shares.) Big body, lob threat, shotblocker, vacuums rebounds, covers ground well for his size, scores at a good enough clip. Steadily improved throughout the season and finished really strong, looked extremely comfortable next to the starters. The defense actually looked coherent in their preseason games (Celtics game aside) and that's mostly due to him. Can't wait to see what a full season with him looks like. PJ Washington (PF), Variable: PJ gives you consistent flexibility on defense and a total crapshoot on offense. That's mostly due to matchups, since he's a 6'7" (generous) PF, but he can also just take over or disappear on the court seemingly depending on his mood. His efficiency took a nosedive last year as he was asked to fill in for Miles Bridges (and produce with half the roster out). Has added a teardrop and refined his funky post game over the years. They'll probably regret only locking him down for three years this summer, but I think that has more to do with how hard it is to attract talent to Charlotte and less with PJ quietly being a hidden star. Happy to be proven wrong, and there's definitely the potential there if he can reach a higher level with his three-point shot. Terry Rozier (PG/SG), A Mixed Bag: Another player who suffered from having to do way too much last year. Seemed particularly motivated this offseason. Probably a little underrated by Hornets fans since they despise him for what he isn't. His kind of shotmaking ability is rare even at the NBA level, and that's useful on a team that can struggle to get anything going in half-court sets. His size will always be a limitation even playing next to a big point in LaMelo. He's constantly being forced into running the second unit due to poor roster construction and injuries, which is frustrating for everybody. If the season goes south, I could see him being traded to a contender and the team moving forward with a LaMelo / Miller / Washington / Williams core. Probably for the best but they'd miss his spark. Gordon Hayward (SF), Playing Out The String: Another trade candidate, though a buyout is maybe more likely since his contract is so big. Still effective when he plays, able to grind out some offense with crusty old-guy fadeaways, but there's a hard 50-game cap on what he can give you. His signing was ultimately a failed experiment since A) I don't think he was the best vet to bring Melo along, B) he couldn't get them to the playoffs, C) it doesn't look like he'll actually get them anything in a trade, but in the end it's hard to complain too much about Melo's development curve and it's not like he actually stopped them from bottoming out. Cody Martin (SG/SF), Question Mark: Nobody knows what's going on with him right now. Missed the first half of last season with a knee injury, then played six games in January before reaggravating it. He's still working his way beck more than 10 months later and the team is being very vague about his timetable. Underrated three-and-d guy when he's healthy, and especially crucial on a team that's very thin after its top six. Nick Richards (C), NBA Player: Very happy Richards got a second contract. Just beats people up inside, grabs rebounds, finishes plays, surprisingly good shotblocker. It'd probably be better if the team had a backup center with a different look from Williams but just committing to somewhat interchangeable bruisers probably isn't the worst strategy either. Frank Ntilikina (PG/SG), Patient: Broke his leg in the fourth quarter of the team's final preseason game, which is great. Was in line to play way way too much as he's the exact type of player that Clifford gloms onto and usually gets the most out of. His injury leaves the team without a pro-level backup point guard right now, which is also great. Hopefully he can still make it back for ~50 or so games and get that next contract. JT Thor (SF/PF), NBA Player?: The team has done a decent job of coaching up their second-round picks over the last few years, mostly out of necessity, and Thor is going to be pushed into the Jalen McDaniels role this season. His three-point shot looked significantly improved in pre-season, and it's been getting praise out of camp, which would help his prospects a lot. Will be getting too much time with Miles Bridges likely out for the season, but he's the kind of weird gangly freak that you don't mind seeing on the court even if they're playing over their head. Bryce McGowens (SG/SF), Minutes Sponge: Played nearly 800 minutes last year despite not being close to replacement level, and might play more this year. Not hard to see why the team likes him, though. Makes quick and usually smart decisions with the ball, which is something the team desperately needs. Attacks the rim. Good positional size. Young. A good fit for the roster if he pans out. Nick Smith Jr. (PG/SG), Machine Gun: Hornets fans are excited about Nick but I don't see it. Wants to do way too much on offense and I can't see it working at the NBA level. Even if he claws his way out of the G League this season he's the complete opposite of a guy Clifford will want to play. James Bouknight (SG), Future PBA All-Star: Honestly never seen a lotto pick do less with their opportunity than Bouknight. Doesn't do anything particularly well on the court, visible lack of effort, off-court stuff is a bummer. Hurt to start the season. In a year when the team could desperately use a pop from one of their young guys I haven't seen anyone anywhere talk about Bouknight as a potential boost to this team. Feels like he and the team are just playing out the string until they can decline his option. Edmond Sumner (PG/SG), Dunno: Late camp signing so I don't know a ton about him. Apparently looked solid for the Nets last year as a big defensive combo guard, which means he'll probably get like 20 minutes a game for the first few months of the season given all the injuries. Theo Maledon (PG), Amari Bailey (PG), Leaky Black (SF), Two-Way Guys: Maledon is the only one of note and he might actually play a fair bit. Clifford seemed to trust him last year and I thought he played pretty well in spot minutes. Needs to develop a three-point shot if he's going to stick in the league. morestuff fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Oct 24, 2023 |
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Oct 24, 2023 19:58
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 03:56 |
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