A New Chapter

In spite of finishing last season with a 21-61 record, the Charlotte Hornets (and their fans) should be optimistic about the immediate future.

A golden opportunity to usher in a new era of Hornets basketball lies at the feet of newly hired EVP of Basketball Ops Jeff Peterson and new head coach Charles Lee.

It had been apparent for quite some time that significant change was needed in the Queen City. Those changes happened in the form of new ownership, new management, a completely refreshed coaching staff, and different players donning the purple and teal. This upcoming season is the genesis of the post-Michael Jordan Charlotte Hornets.

New Hornets head coach Charles Lee just won his second championship as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. His first championship ring came as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 under head coach Mike Budenholzer. So far, Lee has said all the right things since agreeing to come to Charlotte.

Interestingly, Lee will also be coaching the Hornets summer league team, which speaks to his hands-on and relationship focused approach.

Strengthening developmental prospects, implementing a system early, and building rapport between coach and players helps establish a strong foundation that hopefully results in success.

Last off-season, the Hornets landed the #2 overall pick and selected Brandon Miller. A year after Brandon Miller’s superb rookie campaign, Charlotte owns the 6th overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft. This is an important opportunity to add new elements and talent to a young roster that contains plenty of potential.

This year’s draft has more raw players and question marks than anything else. Sitting at 6 overall with a young and unsettled roster, Charlotte has flexibility. The Hornets will have a chance at nearly the whole field of prospects and opportunities to make a trade on draft night if the front office isn’t in love with the prospects available.

In this particular draft, favoring someone with known skills that will translate to the NBA level makes sense. If Charlotte finds a player that can improve the team immediately and fits in age-wise with LaMelo Ball, draft night will be considered a success.

Ultimately, a lot of what the Hornets will be able to achieve on the court next season is still going to depend on the health of LaMelo Ball. It’s to a lesser extent, but the same thing could be said for Mark Williams as well. The three surefire members of Charlotte’s “core”, Brandon Miller, Ball, and Mark Williams have barely seen the floor together.

Of note: The Hornets core is still very young. LaMelo and Mark Williams are 22 while Brandon Miller is 21. Taking an older prospect who’s a little more polished might allow him to slot into a role and mesh with the group quickly, though draft junkies will caution against that especially with the pick being so high.

With so many new Hornets operating together for the first time, this season marks a new beginning for a franchise in desperate need of winning basketball and relevancy. If this roster can get healthy and rally around their new coach, Buzz City should have something to celebrate soon.

Thank you for reading.

Additional nuggets: Hornets players Aleksej Pokuševski and Tre Mann are 22 and 23 years old, respectively. In addition to the 6th pick, Charlotte also owns the 42nd pick in the upcoming NBA draft. The Hornets have a positional logjam at point guard with LaMelo Ball, Vasilije Micić, Tre Mann, and Nick Smith Jr. (last year’s 27th pick) all on the roster. Micić and Pokuševski have been named to the preliminary roster to represent Serbia in the 2024 Summer Olympics.