Development is great, but Hornets stuck in a rut until they land a true star
There is no lineup change that fixes this: The Charlotte Hornets don’t have a go-to scorer, and until that changes they can’t be much.
Saturday night was a poignant example: They totaled 63 points in the first three quarters against the Brooklyn Nets to fall behind by 25. That was at home, and it broke a three-game winning streak.
Every time this team gains some traction — it led the NBA in defensive efficiency in those three victories, allowing 0.937 points per possession — something like this reminds it what it’s not.
Leading scorer Devonte Graham has gone 1 of 17 from the field in his last two games, totaling six points. Opponents double-team him unrelentingly because there isn’t a lot else that worries them. While forwards Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington score in double figures, and Malik Monk has had an uptick off the bench, this team doesn’t have what most NBA teams do:
A guy the Hornets can reliably ride through quarters when everyone else is missing shots.
“Most teams in general, they have one or two guys they can play through,” coach James Borrego said following the 115-86 loss.
“If one is not on for one night, there is another one there. We’re trying to figure that out...Right now, we’ve gone a little dry.”
Helper bees
The players in Charlotte’s rotation belong in the NBA. Graham has made a major leap from his rookie season. Washington has done well for a rookie. Bridges, Monk and Terry Rozier are all solid.
However, there is no one on this roster who looks like the best player on a team that could advance deep into the playoffs. General manager Mitch Kupchak must address that. He’s going to have a high draft pick and at least $28 million in space under the salary cap. This summer or next it’s imperative he finds a primary scorer, because the answer isn’t on this roster.
I’m confident Kupchak understands that. He’s made some good draft picks since arriving in the spring of 2018 and he’s finally months away from a player payroll that isn’t out of control with cumbersome contracts. It’s remarkable, actually, how much has changed; only five players who Borrego’s predecessor, Steve Clifford, coached are still here and just one of those — center Cody Zeller — starts.
That means most of this team’s roster assets are on affordable rookie-scale contracts. The salary cap situation will actually improve in the spring of 2021 when Nic Batum’s five-year, $120 million contract comes off the books. The problem won’t be circumstance. The problem will be finding a star.
A Luka, a Trae
It’s cool that Graham, Bridges and Washington were all selected for the Rising Stars game at All-Star Weekend. But that’s not the same as Dallas’s Luka Doncic and Atlanta’s Trae Young both being selected as All-Stars in their second NBA seasons. That’s the level of player the Hornets must find, and Memphis’s Ja Morant isn’t far behind those two.
Gotta get one, and the avenues are there. Maybe it’s finally lucking out in the draft lottery and taking Georgia’s Anthony Edwards. Perhaps its later in the draft, and someone like Israeli pro Deni Avdija blossoms.
Borrego has done great this season at sticking to a plan of developing young talent that is here. Trouble is, all the development in the world isn’t going to turn one of these guys into That Guy.
That Guy is out there somewhere. Kupchak put the challenge well in a Wednesday interview:
As Kupchak said, it’s nice that everybody’s feeling good, but feeling good isn’t his job. Getting something done is his job.
Somehow getting That Guy is the job.
