NBA post-free agency power rankings
21. Charlotte Hornets
No team has failed to understand the damning nature of NBA mediocrity like the Hornets over the last half-decade.
Armed with a legitimate All-Star in Kemba Walker and a smart general manager and coach, Charlotte botched the entirety of Walker’s second contract, making the playoffs once and failing to win a single playoff game. They now face the likelihood of his departure of 2019, and seemingly have not digested that reality fully enough to trade him.
Once again, financially restricted to the point of being a non-factor in free agency, the Hornets swirled the cocktail rather than do anything drastic to set themselves up for the future. They acquired three second-round picks by taking on Bismack Biyombo and his extra year of salary in exchange for Dwight Howard. Nearly the same exact roster will return.
In the draft, Charlotte got two more second-rounders to move back one spot in the first round, from 11 to 12, and still got their guy in Miles Bridges. They then used two seconds to move up in the second round and nab Devonte’ Graham in hopes of finally plugging their backup point guard hole.
Seeing it all laid out, there is no franchise whose momentum more closely resembles the monotonous act of walking slowly on a treadmill than Charlotte.
This marks the second consecutive draft the Hornets have ended up with a player many perceived to have wrongfully fallen out of the top 10. They will move forward with Bridges and Malik Monk, hoping one of them pops.
If not, it will be a long road back to the playoffs for Michael Jordan’s team.