NBA insiders know the Charlotte Hornets’ biggest problem. It isn’t a cheap fix
His team is among those that have already clobbered the Charlotte Hornets, taking them apart with precision and ease in a double-digit victory.
So he’s more than qualified to offer up his take, given it’s a requirement on his job description to be as knowledgeable about the personnel scattered throughout the league as possible. Perhaps in a cheery, festive holiday mood, the high-ranking Western Conference team official didn’t dump on the Hornets when asked for his thoughts on their roster.
“They will be fine,” he wrote in a text. “They are just young.”
Led by a 20-year-old rising star point guard in LaMelo Ball and a mostly youthful supporting cast headlined by high-riser Miles Bridges, the Hornets are indeed thin on experience. They are exciting. They are talented. They have assembled some solid pieces to build around and push themselves into more relevancy.
But taking an in-depth look at their ills, there seems to be a serious flaw. Something is lacking.
To get a gauge on where things stand with the Hornets, The Observer asked experts and officials within the league for an answer to one particular question: What is Charlotte missing that is holding the Hornets back from becoming a truly serious threat and a tough out in the postseason?
The consensus focused on the position they have struggled to fill adequately for years now: Starting center. Upgrading to a legitimate rim-protecting scoring threat has to remain a priority because the answer isn’t currently on the roster. The Hornets need someone to assist in erasing mistakes caused by dribble penetration. Ball and Terry Rozier comprise a smallish backcourt and Rozier is typically defending taller shooting guards, causing a chain reaction that’s often catastrophic.
Acquiring Mason Plumlee from Detroit via trade in July was viewed as a stopgap move, a placeholder of sorts. Nick Richards, the second-year University of Kentucky product, is raw, untested and not ready to be thought of at that level.
Neither has championship-level appeal and both have struggled against front-line centers and backups. That didn’t change on the Hornets’ recent road trip. Whether it’s yielding 68 rebounds to Utah — 22 coming on the offensive end — or allowing Phoenix reserve big man JaVale McGee to go wild, the glaring discrepancy in talent at center becomes more apparent by the game.
“I think obviously having that modern-day kind of like ‘5’ man that can protect the rim puts pressure on the rim, has some versatility on the perimeter, I think that’s a major issue for them,” said one NBA scout who’s studied the Hornets’ roster closely. “Imagine having LaMelo with like DeAndre Ayton. So from my perspective, that’s one of the areas I feel like they can definitely upgrade if they want to really take the next leap in terms of competing in the Eastern Conference and beyond. That’s a major area for them that stands out.”
Might as well put those words in an echo chamber.
“I think you’re lacking the center position,” said one agent whose firm has a client with the Hornets. “And that power guy that if something goes down, protects Melo and everybody else.
“They have everything else but that — the guards, the wings. They’ve got everything else, so that’s what they are missing right now.”
In order to enhance their depth at center, the Hornets may have no choice but to scour the trade market and see who is willing to wheel and deal. Mitch Kupchak, Charlotte’s general manager, will undoubtedly work the phones leading up to the Feb. 10 trade deadline and it’s a sure bet augmenting the position is at the top of his wish list.
“The Hornets are really in the mode of, ‘How do we go get a starting center?’ ” one league source said. “That is the next move the team needs right now.”
WHAT IT WOULD TAKE
Goodbye assets.
Since his arrival in 2018, Kupchak’s meticulous approach involves controlling the Hornets’ draft picks, mostly because that’s how they have built their team. It was the only true method they utilize since Charlotte has never been considered among the premier free-agent destinations. The signings of Gordon Hayward and Kelly Oubre in each of the past two offseasons can assist in slowly breaking that stigma, and their arrival is one of the reasons why it’s closing in on the time to begin parting with some bargaining chips.
Any package probably begins with P.J. Washington. Maximizing his value now is a wise decision. He’s a talented, young player who can be plugged into the starting lineup or brought off the bench on a deeper team. He’s still on his rookie contract, making him cost-effective, and his fourth-year option has been exercised. The Hornets have also shown they can go super small by giving Bridges spot minutes at backup center, rendering Washington expendable.
Depending on the player they would be trying to trade for, throwing in additional pieces could be a must in order to get it done. Another player and/or a first-round draft pick probably have to be included to satisfy the desire of the trading partner. The Hornets have plenty of youth already in the rotation — or patiently waiting outside of it — and don’t need to add another to the mix in the immediate future, meaning they could easily package a draft pick or two to make the right move.
Bottom line: Flush with young players and draft picks, the Hornets have the ability to do it if they want.
POTENTIAL TARGETS
There are two levels of players the Hornets could decide to go after — high-caliber ones or those who are vast improvements but may not quite have the same headline-grabbing appeal. Be bold and do whatever they can within reason to satisfy an insatiable need.
Or remain methodical.
It’s a fascinating decision because the route they opt for is going to be a major determinant in their 2021-22 success. The first tier of potential targets would cost more in assets.
Tier I types include Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, Sacramento’s Richaun Holmes and Portland’s Jusuf Nurcic.
Among the Tier II candidates could be Houston’s Christian Wood, New York’s Mitchell Robinson, Washington’s Thomas Bryant and New Orleans’ Jaxson Hayes.
WILL THEY DO SOMETHING?
Despite everything they’ve been through during the season’s first two months, the Hornets have clung tightly to a potential playoff berth in the log-jammed Eastern Conference standings and hovered around .500.
Consider the kind of a lift that acquiring a center with the ability to control things on both ends of the floor could provide. Undoubtedly, it would give the Hornets enough of a boost to at least vault them ahead of the seventh seed, guaranteeing avoidance of the play-in tournament. That’s why many believe the Hornets will make some kind of move.
They can’t afford not to. Otherwise, their growth would be stymied.
“I think it’s important that they have to figure out a way to get that piece,” the scout said. “You look on the perimeter, I’m good with the perimeter. They’ve got a good-shooting ball club, they’ve got some versatility ‘1’ through ‘4’ and they can match up with a lot of teams.
“But then you look at that one piece and that’s when you start to wonder, ‘How would we fare in a series against a (Joel) Embiid or a Giannis (Antetokounmpo)?’ And I think that’s when the questions start arising.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2021 at 6:30 AM.
