Charlotte Hornets: Time to Shut It Down
Now that Kemba Walker has had surgery and will miss at least the next six weeks, it’s time for the Charlotte Hornets to shut it down.
First off, just to be clear, I’m not advocating for the Hornets to tank. It’s almost impossible to tank in the Eastern Conference anyway. Just look at the Boston Celtics, they’ve traded away the majority of their team and are still only a couple games out of the playoffs.
What I mean by “shut it down” is that Charlotte needs to just accept how the season has gone.
The big offseason free agency signing of Lance Stephenson didn’t work out and 10 out of 15 Hornets have missed at least one game because of an injury or suspension. On top of that, the ninth overall draft pick, Noah Vonleh, has yet to earn meaningful minutes.
No matter how good a team is or how high expectations are, that’s a lot to overcome.
The best thing Charlotte can do at this point is to make sure they don’t compound these unfortunate events. Trading away future assets is something the Hornets cannot afford to do.
Even with Kemba Walker, Charlotte was barely clinging to the eighth seed in the lowly Eastern Conference; granted, Al Jefferson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist combined have missed a good portion of the season to this point.
The point is, it does no good to trade away young guys or draft picks for someone that will help you limp into the playoffs only to be swept in the first round.
Only four times in NBA history has an eighth seed upset a No. 1 seed (and only twice since the first round was bumped up to a seven-game series), and I highly doubt that’s happening against the Atlanta Hawks this year no matter who their opponent is.
I don’t want to say it any more than you want to hear it, but at some point it’s time to be realistic and look toward the future. For a franchise that has been stuck in rebuilding mode for years, that’s a tough pill to swallow; nevertheless, it must be done.
It’s not all negative, though. There are silver linings if you look hard enough.
Sometimes, a season like this can help a team get out of the dreaded gray area of the NBA. More so than in any other professional sports league, in the NBA, if you aren’t competing, you’re better off losing.
Take a team like the Utah Jazz, for example. For years, they’ve never really been that bad (with the exception of last season), but they’ve also only made the playoffs five times in the last 12 seasons. That hinders a team’s free agent appeal and keeps them from getting a high draft pick.
For a small market city like Charlotte, it’s already difficult to attract big-time free agents, which makes improving through the draft all the more important.
The Hornets really do have a lot of young talent on this roster. Many of these guys, like Cody Zeller and Bismack Biyombo, are finally starting to repay us for our patience and are showing us that the future is bright in the Queen City. Add to it a lottery pick (as opposed to the 15th or 16th pick following a playoff sweep) and the Hornets would be one of the more promising teams in the league.
Trust me, I know it’s tough, but the best thing that Charlotte Hornets fans can do at this point is just stay patient and realize that better days truly are ahead.