How A Warriors' Championship Hurts Charlotte Hornets

Start rummaging through your closets to find your 2008 LeBron James jerseys, Charlotte Hornets fans, because if you know what’s best for your franchise, that’s who you’ll be rooting for in this year’s NBA Finals matchup.

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After 1230 regular-season games and three rounds of playoff basketball, the final seven-game series of the 2015-16 season will feature exactly who everyone thought it would since day one: LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors.

What a surprise…NOT (in Borat voice).

While this projects to be a historical matchup — the league’s long-time (self-proclaimed) king vs. this year’s MVP and rising star — it could have immediate implications, and not just for Curry or James. It could drastically alter the future of the Charlotte Hornets.

Stephen Curry is a lights-out shooter, an elite ball-handler, an MVP-talent, and just about as clutch as they come. But there’s one trait that makes him such an attractive piece for Hornets fans: Charlotte is Curry’s hometown.

His father, Dell, played for the Hornets when Steph was growing up, so Steph frequently attended Charlotte games as a child. Dell, a former Sixth Man of the Year, is the Hornets all-time scoring leader, tallying just under 10,000 points with the team. He’s been retired for a number of years, but is still present within Charlotte’s organization; Dell has been color-commentating Hornets games for the past six seasons, and this week, he was named one of the team’s official ambassadors.

His role is only expanding within the newly branded Charlotte team, and that’s been enough to incite some speculation that Curry could eventually consider coming home to the Queen City. Early in the season, one reporter asked if Curry would consider playing for the Hornets, and the results were quite encouraging for Charlotte-faithful (per InsideBayArea.com):

"Curry raised some eyebrows in August when he told CBS Sports Radio he “always had thoughts about playing at home, what it would be like.” LeBron James, the four-time MVP, had made it a reality by signing again with Cleveland and going home.“I’ve always thought about it, but who wouldn’t want to play in front of the fans and family that watched me grow up?” Curry, who’s in the middle of a four-year, $44 million contract with the Warriors, said this week.“Charlotte means a lot. That’ll never leave me.”"

Considering that LeBron James returned to his home-state Cavaliers last summer and that Kevin Durant is expected to join his hometown Washington Wizards (according to Basketball Insiders), Curry coming to Charlotte wouldn’t be that far-fetched. Still, it’s far from a guarantee, and if he wins a championship this year, his relocation to Charlotte could easily become a pipe-dream.

No matter where he goes, Curry is going to get a maximum contract. He’s probably the league’s best offensive player, and is so elite on that end of the court that his shoddy defense is near-negligible. For him, it’s not the money that’s going to speak; it’s the potential to boost his legacy.

Too frequently has the league seen great point guards go most — if not all — of their careers without winning a championship. John Stockton was the trailblazer when it came to ringless floor generals, Steve Nash followed suit, and now, it doesn’t seem likely that Chris Paul raises the trophy either. These were all pass-first guards, mind you, but Allen Iverson — arguably a bigger scoring threat than Curry — also retired without a ring. It only makes sense that the 27-year-old MVP, already one of the best shooters in history, would look to solidify his legacy and his hall-of-fame spot with at least one championship.

It’s pretty selfish to say, but the 67-win Warriors taking this year’s crown and then having another offseason to improve makes them one step closer to establishing a dynasty, which would almost surely lock Curry up for the next six or seven seasons (his current contract has two remaining years).

There is, of course, the argument that Curry hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy would let him rest easy and test the market when his deal expires in a few seasons, the way LeBron James did after winning two rings with the Miami Heat, but Charlotte doesn’t have the guilt-factor on its side like Cleveland did last year. And hopefully, two years from now, Charlotte will have acquired or developed a star or two that could entice Curry, who will be 29 when he can next test free agency waters.

It’s all speculation, of course, but Steph has given the city of Charlotte some hope.

Although it sounds strange, the best thing to do now is to root against him.

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How A Warriors’ Championship Would Hurt Charlotte Hornets

By Jon Shames | May 28, 2015

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