Would trading for Kevin Love make sense for the Hornets if they’re deadline buyers?
Could the Charlotte Hornets back into a playoff spot this spring? More importantly, should the Hornets take steps to back into a playoff spot this spring?
They have been a little more competitive, record-wise, the first third of the season than many fans anticipated. Should that change anything about front-office strategy? For instance, any chance they should be “buyers” as the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaches?
That leads your questions for this week’s Hornets mailbag:
IF THE HORNETS HANG AROUND THE PLAYOFF PICTURE, COULD YOU SEE THEM BEING BUYERS AT THE TRADE DEADLINE?
“Buyers-and-sellers,” as it refers to the trade deadline, is terminology that started in baseball: The idea that some teams vying for the playoffs will beef up their rosters for the short term — like adding to the bullpen — and give up minor-league prospects to make a trade happen. It’s been adopted to NBA chatter of late.
If I were Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak, I wouldn’t trade a draft pick or young player if what’s coming back would be of value only in the short term. Being the eighth seed, and inevitably getting clobbered by the Milwaukee Bucks, isn’t worth sacrificing a long-term asset.
(A caution: There are veterans the Hornets could acquire that would be of value now and in the future: I’m not against any and all trades for veterans).
Frankly, I think it’s a remote possibility this is an actual decision. Rough as the Hornets’ schedule is in January, I doubt they will look like a serious threat to end up eighth in the Eastern Conference in a few weeks.
WOULD TRADING FOR KEVIN LOVE MAKE ANY SENSE?
Not to me. Cleveland Cavaliers big man Love is owed more than $90 million beyond this season and will be 34 when that contract expires in 2023. I understand the desire to find a star, but is Love the best player on a team set up to advance in the playoffs? I don’t think so.
It would be odd to not pay what it would have taken to retain Kemba Walker in his prime, and then months later trade for Love, a player who has been injured, is aging, and just isn’t as good right now or plays as important of a position as Walker does.
That doesn’t even factor what the Cavaliers would want in trade. In their situation, they’d want some combination of draft picks, young prospects and expiring contracts. Why do that?
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CODY MARTIN AND MICHAEL KIDD-GILCHRIST?
I understand the nature of the the question: They are both primarily mid-sized defenders who, so far, are offensively limited. So why is Hornets coach James Borrego finding use for Martin, while seldom playing veteran Kidd-Gilchrist?
In a rebuild, Martin has upside. A third of the way through his rookie season, Martin has started looking more confident offensively. There hasn’t been much difference in how MKG plays offensively over his eight seasons in Charlotte.
Borrego was transparent in September that he intended to view playing time this season primarily as an investment in developing young players. So there is a legitimate difference between how he’s using Martin and MKG in that context.
WHO IS MORE LIKELY TO BE A HORNET IN THREE YEARS: MALIK MONK OR MILES BRIDGES?
Excellent question, in that for contrasting reasons, it’s a close call. Bridges is redundant to rookie P.J. Washington; they are both best suited as small-ball power forwards. Monk has yet to show enough consistency to be viewed as a potential starter at shooting guard.
It wouldn’t stun me if either one was traded over the next year. But if I had to guess, I’d say Bridges is more likely to stick around longer because he’s been here less time and could be seen as more of a developmental player.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR OVER/UNDER ON THE HORNETS WINNING A FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF SERIES?
The spring of 2023. If in three seasons they aren’t safely within the top eight in the Eastern Conference and vying for home court advantage in the first round, then they’d likely have to start rebuilding again to some degree.
Hornets owner Michael Jordan has often said the intermediate step in building a sustainable winner is being good enough to have home court advantage in the first round. If you’re not in contention for that the last month of the regular season, then it’s unlikely you win a round.
YOU RECENTLY CALLED DEVONTE GRAHAM AMONG THE MOST PLEASANT SURPRISES IN HORNETS HISTORY. WHO WOULD YOU CALL SOME OF THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS?
I’ll limit this answer to since the NBA returned to Charlotte in 2004: I’d say using the third overall draft pick on Adam Morrison in 2006 and hiring Sam Vincent as coach in 2007.
The 2006 NBA draft wasn’t strong, but how much better off would they have been selecting Rudy Gay or Brandon Roy? Morrison was incredibly self-conscious; he couldn’t handle the pressure that came with being a high draft pick. He let the expectations so consume him that he was significantly worse in home games than on the road.
Vincent, a Dallas Mavericks assistant, wasn’t ready to be an NBA head coach (I question if he ever would have been) and had a quirky personality. It took just weeks for the players to lose faith in him. He lasted a single season.
