Looking Ahead: What Johnny O’Bryant Can Bring to the Charlotte Hornets

By signing Johnny O’Bryant to a multi-year deal, the Charlotte Hornets show that they have faith and see something in the young big man going forward.

Now that the Charlotte Hornets have signed Johnny O’Bryant to a multi-year deal, we can look ahead to his impact on the team going forward. Currently dealing with an injury, it is unlikely that he makes that big of a difference this season. Going forward he could not only be a contributor but maybe even take a role in the rotation away from another player on the roster.

And by that, I mean he could overtake Miles Plumlee‘s backup center position with the team next season. While that might not seem likely because of the money the Hornets have invested in Plumlee and what they gave up to get him this year but just by looking at their numbers with Charlotte this season, there is a case to be made for O’Bryant.

Rich Cho and Steve Clifford clearly want Miles to be the backup going forward with a Cody Zeller type of play style but he was underwhelming while on the court. The 28-year old was constantly out of breath, which speaks to his lack of conditioning, and when he did play, he was relatively quiet.

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Although it would mean admitting defeat on Plumlee after such a short period of time, having O’Bryant outplay him could be better in the long run for the Hornets. After this season, Charlotte’s still on the hook for three-year, $37.5 million of Miles’ contract as his deal runs until the 2019-20 season with $12.5 million per year. That’s a lot of money for an underperforming big man.

If Johnny is able to overtake the backup center role next season, that would mean that the Hornets could try their best to cut ties with Plumlee and his nearly untradable contract. But maybe, just maybe, they can find another team willing to take on his contract much like Charlotte did this year.

One main reason as to why Johnny could pass up Miles in the rotation is because of his work ethic. Despite not being signed to an NBA deal at the start of the season, O’Bryant stayed in game shape and was ready to play when called upon. As for Plumlee, he was out of shape even though he was with the Milwaukee Bucks prior to being traded. That speaks to work ethic and being prepared.

Johnny is also younger which means that he has a bigger upside than Miles. Although the 23-year old isn’t quite the rebounder or shot blocker that Plumlee is, he does offer the Hornets a different look. He gives them athleticism and versatility at the five spot and he has also shown the ability to stretch the floor.

If nothing else, fans can expect O’Bryant to work hard and battle for a spot on the team’s final 15-man roster for next season. But looking beyond just his play on the court, the possible repercussions with the roster and with Plumlee is the bigger deal.

Stats with the Hornets This Season:

Plumlee – 5 Games, 3.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.6 BPG, 72.7% FG

O’Bryant – 4 Games, 4.5 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.0 BPG, 53.3% FG/ 33.3% 3P/ 50% FT

While their numbers are similar, a closer look at when they got their minutes will show that Johnny made the most of his opportunity while Miles just flat underperformed. In two of his four games, JOB played under five minutes. In both games that he played regular backup minutes, he had one good (breakout) game and one meh game.

In his breakout game, O’Bryant scored a career-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds. Those 15 points, in only 15 minutes, almost matched Plumlee’s 16 points for the Hornets in five total games combined. And in four of those five games, Miles was getting 10+ minutes.

Maybe that one game was a fluke but maybe it was just a glimpse of things to come for Johnny. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten an extended look at O’Bryant because of his ankle injury. The unknown is one of the main reasons as to why Charlotte kept him past his second 10-day contract.  They need a longer look at him during summer league, training camp and preseason until they make a final decision.

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Regardless of if he is the backup center or just an emergency big man, O’Bryant will always bring hustle, heart and energy when on the court. He is a hard working player that battles for everything while in games. Keep a close eye on the Charlotte Hornets’ frontcourt situation going into next season because it is far from concrete.