The Charlotte Hornets have once again failed to make the playoffs after being a Play-In team for the second season in a row. To make matters worse, the Hornets were blown out in both of their Play-In games these past two seasons. After another season with no playoffs, what will Micheal Jordan and the rest of the front office do to bring this team back to the postseason?
How the Charlotte Hornets can improve this offseason
Well, the first thing they should improve is the defensive side of the ball, as the Hornets have one of the league’s worst defenses. So if they need to get rid of players such as Kelly Oubre Jr. to bring in an elite defender, they should 100 percent explore that.
Also, if you have Mason Plumlee in your starting lineup, you should be looking to improve. The Hornets made a move this season to bring in Montrezl Harrell to help out both defense and the center position.
The Hornets also should try and extend All-Star LaMelo Ball as soon as possible. Why this is an issue is because there are rumors that LaMelo wants to go out West and play for his hometown team the Los Angeles Lakers. However, this has only been said on TV shows, so you can’t trust the sources. But maybe Jordan should start talking about an extension.
The Hornets also should look to get rid of the Gordon Hayward contract. Hayward makes 30 million dollars a season. It also does not help Hayward is also an injury-prone player ever since his horrible injury as a member of the Boston Celtics in 2018.
Charlotte should also try and develop young talents such as James Bouknight and Kai Jones. Bouknight barely played this season, only averaging around 10 minutes a game. Bouknight also only appeared in 31 games.
However, both Bouknight and Jones both played very well in the G League. Bouknight averaged 25.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while Jones averaged 17.6 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
If the Hornets can develop their first-round talent in Bouknight and Jones, that will be a huge lift for the team in the coming years. The Hornets will also have their first-round pick transferred back to them after the Pelicans made the playoffs, so that will also help the franchise.
The Charlotte Hornets will be looking to break through the Eastern Conference and make the playoffs in 2023.