The Future of the Charlotte Hornets: Can the momentum continue?

One thing that I love about sports is being a fan of an awful team. Now, you might be thinking, “Is he insane? Being a fan of a crappy team and mismanaged franchise is the worst thing that I could imagine.” In some respects, you would be totally right.

If I was a fan, of say, the Cleveland Browns or Sacramento Kings, I would have no hope whatsoever for the future. However, I am a fan of two up-and-coming franchises in the world of sports, the Carolina Panthers and the Charlotte Hornets.

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As a fan of both of these teams, I have had to suffer through the awful Panthers squads led by Jimmy Clausen, Matt Moore and Brian St. Pierre. Being only 18 years old, all I can remember watching in the realm of Charlotte professional basketball has been terrible teams.

I’m too young to remember watching the old Hornets play at the Charlotte Coliseum, and I grew up on a steady diet of Sean May, Bernie Bickerstaff and not winning in the playoffs. Just like the Panthers, the Charlotte Hornets are now very good, and it is extremely satisfying to watch this squad.

Now, back to my original point about savoring the bad times. I believe that the lows that myself and fellow Charlotte sports fans have had to endure have made the highs of today even more sweet. Gone are the days in which Charlotte professional sports are looked down nationwide and viewed as a joke.

The city of Charlotte is growing and becoming a metropolis and our beloved teams are rising with the city as well. Hype for the Panthers has never been more present in the Queen City, with it being hard walking around and not seeing Panthers merchandise or some Charlottean dabbing in the street.

With the Charlotte Hornets, it has been a different story. This team isn’t viewed in the same way as the Panthers, with a more niche following, mainly due to the terrible teams of the past. Currently, the Charlotte Hornets are quickly becoming a buzzing topic in Charlotte, with people actually talking about the team.

For the future, the Charlotte Hornets front office should have one, and only one focus: keep Nic Batum. Immediately following the Hornets’ trade of Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson in return for Batum, there were fans who were disgruntled with the move.

This is a baffling view, at least in my opinion. Batum is a proven player, who, although he had a bad 2014-15 season, still can put up very good numbers in the Association. For Rich Cho and the rest of the Hornets staff, inking Batum to a contract that keeps in the Queen City is a must, and if not, the team will return to the dark days of Mike Dunlap and Paul Silas.

To those Charlotte Hornets fans who firmly believe that Steph Curry will be returning home to Charlotte and play for his hometown team, I have to break the bad news; it is never going to happen. Call me negative or pessimistic, but there is no way that Steph is going to return to the Queen City.

With this out of the way, we can now focus on realistic possibilities for the future of the Charlotte Hornets. Along with re-signing Nic Batum to a contract, the Hornets will also be able to go after some free agents this summer. The Hornets aren’t going to go after many big name free agents, and will probably stick with signing veterans who can come in and make an impact.

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Many Hornets fans could be looking to sign a player like Hassan Whiteside, who is a local product from Gastonia, but who comes with a lot of question marks. Whiteside sounds like a guy similar to Lance Stephenson, who utterly failed in his time in Charlotte.

Two guys who I could see the Charlotte Hornets go after are Ryan Anderson and Festus Ezeli. With Marvin Williams possibly being on his way out, the Hornets are going to need a player who can come in and shoot from the 4 spot. Frank Kaminsky will be that guy in the future, but not next year. This is where Anderson comes in. Although his defense is questionable, he can really shoot the rock, which is something that this Hornets team requires. Ezeli, on the other hand, is known for his defense and lack of offensive game. Big Al Jefferson is surely leaving Charlotte, and Ezeli could come in and start for the Hornets and provide a defensive attitude that the Hornets are lacking at the center position.

When I look back at my experience as Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats fan, I remember the bad times of the Mike Dunlap era rather fondly. At the time, those games sucked and I hated my life, but now, I realize that all those bad teams led up to this current Hornets team.

As I was watching the Charlotte Hornets play the Brooklyn Nets, I realize that Charlotte could have followed Brooklyn’s path. They traded away future picks and assets and gave boatloads of money to older free agents, so that they could have short term success. The Nets’ success lasted 2 seasons, and now, they are already in rebuilding. On the other end of the spectrum, the Hornets have recently been very responsible with their draft picks, free agency signings and trades, and this team is built for sustained success.

Maybe this team isn’t going to be at the level of a Golden State or Cleveland, but the Charlotte Hornets are going to be good for the next 5-6 seasons. The key for Charlotte is to remain responsible. They don’t need to reach on free agents like Lance Stephenson or make silly trades.

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To be honest, they need to build like the Panthers. Hit home runs on draft picks, get good free agents for cheap, support their coach, and keep their stars in the Queen City. Who knows, maybe in the next few years we’ll see two parades in the Queen City, one with Cam Newton leading the charge and the other with Nic Batum. A boy can dream, right?