Who will be the Charlotte Hornets’ most improved player?
Many of the players on the Charlotte Hornets last season performed well below expectations, who will improve the most this upcoming season?
The Charlotte Hornets did not have a successful 2016-2017 season. I don’t think this is because a lack of talent on the roster, most guys just didn’t seem to play up to their full potential. Luckily, that also means there’s plenty of room for many of them to improve this season.
Kemba Walker is excluded from consideration for obvious reasons. However, there are numerous guys that we know can play better and have seen play better. Here are the three Hornets players most likely to be the team’s most improved player:
1. Nicolas Batum
Last season Nic Batum averaged 15.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 5.9 APG. Those are great numbers that prove he was statistically the second best player on the team. As most fans realized, though, it didn’t always feel that way.
He had a team leading 2.5 TOPG, which isn’t awful, but they always seemed to come at the worst times. Whenever the team desperately needed a basket down the stretch in a close game, that’s whenever it felt like the majority of his turnovers were.
More from Swarm and Sting
- Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
- Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
- Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
- Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
- Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?
For a guy that recently signed a five-year $120 million deal, the team needed much more from him. His stats were better than they were his first season in Charlotte, but he wasn’t the second option on offense then. Often times when he was on the court in the ‘15-’16 season, he was the third and even sometimes the fourth option. This season he was almost exclusively the second option but didn’t flash the will to score that a second option needs to.
A logical reason for Batum’s limited success last season may also be attributed to his positioning. Batum played the two guard spot throughout the entire season, but he’s much better as a three.
It’s at no fault of his that he plays primarily the two of course. Unlike the previous season when the team had Jeremy Lin or Courtney Lee, they didn’t really have anybody like that on the roster this season. So this is just another reason to get excited about the Hornets drafting Malik Monk.
Monk will not start right away, but he will play big minutes. Whenever Monk is in and Batum is at the three, his play will be reminiscent of his first year with the team. He isn’t going to improve from last season because his game is going drastically improve. He’s going to improve from last season because the addition of Malik Monk will allow his situation and role to change more so to fit the style of play that makes him comfortable. He will once again be the all-around facilitator that is generally going to be the third or fourth scoring option.
It also doesn’t hurt that he skipped playing with France over the summer to work on his game for the team.
2. Michael Carter-Williams
Sure, MCW wasn’t on the team last year, but that doesn’t mean he can’t improve right?
In 2014, he won Rookie of the Year. An honor like that generally indicates that a player is going to have a great career.
Things haven’t necessarily worked out like that for MCW. Every year since his rookie season he’s regressed. His rookie year he averaged 16.7 PPG, and just three seasons later he has seen his PPG plummet to 6.6. Yes, he was on an awful Sixers team, but those are still impressive numbers nonetheless.
At 25, the former Syracuse man’s regression likely isn’t explained by him aging. Being in a system that doesn’t fit his play style, having teammates he’s not compatible with, or just simply not working hard enough are much more realistic reasons.
If MCW can put borderline All-Star numbers as a rookie, there’s no reason he can’t become a great backup point guard in his mid-20’s. Coming off the bench he’s never going to get back to those Nic Batum-esque stats from 2014. However, he can still improve off of last season’s stats to fill a giant void for the Hornets.
His physical stature has always been one of his biggest advantages, he just needs to actually take advantage of it. At 6’6″, he’s much bigger than the majority of backup point guards in the NBA. This height advantage allows him to see over defenders easier and spots passing lanes.
Passing is really where MCW should improve the most. He’s never going to be a great shooter, but he won’t have to be. In the second unit, Williams will be surrounded by Malik Monk, Jeremy Lamb, and Frank Kaminsky. All three of them are good shooters and scorers overall that should allow him to pile up assists.
We’ve seen what MCW is capable of. All the hype around him is now gone. The chance to be a starter is gone. For a guy that practically hit rock bottom last year, this may be the best thing for him. In Charlotte, the pressure is off of him to some extent. If we’re being honest, he can’t get much worse than he was last year, but it’s impossible to not realize that he has the potential to greatly improve.
3. Frank Kaminsky
Despite his critics, Frank Kaminsky has had a solid start to his NBA career. He made a blatant improvement from his rookie to sophomore year in spite of still not shooting a high enough clip from three. His defense will always be below average, but he’s certainly not alone in that regard in the NBA.
The only way Frank will have a chance to improve more than anyone else on the team is if he moves into a starting role. This isn’t to say that Marvin Williams’ job is in serious jeopardy necessarily. He’s still a seasoned veteran that is easily one of the best leaders on the team. It’s also unclear if Coach Clifford would try to play Cody Zeller at the four before Frank.
Live Feed
Sir Charles In Charge
Aside from that, the stats prove that Frank would significantly improve if he were to become a starter. In February last year, Frank averaged 18.1 PPG, the most in a month in his career by far. Why is that? It’s because in the 11 games he played that month, nine of them he started.
Sure, it’s easy to assume most players have better stats whenever they are in a starting role. With Frank, though, it was different. He stepped up big time in Cody Zeller’s absence. He showed that he was the second best scorer on the Hornets.
Even if you broaden your time frame outside of February, Frank made big strides towards the end of last season. Post All-Star break, he averaged over three more points per game. If he can up his percentage from beyond the arc, I see no reason he can’t consistently average 15 PPG.
There’s always going to be the fans that judge Frank based off of how a guy like Devin Booker is playing, given the fact that the team drafted him at ninth in 2015 and Booker fell to 14th. It’s somewhat of a fair assessment because Booker is well on his way to NBA stardom. Just because Frank’s ceiling isn’t as high as his fellow NBA counterpart doesn’t mean he’s a bust.
It’s clear that given enough playing time, Frank can be a good player. It wasn’t until his third season at Wisconsin that he really took humongous strides in his career. Will the same be said for his NBA career? That remains to be seen.
Honorable Mention: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Year after year, MKG could find himself on a list like this. At times, it feels like he has all the potential in the world. He shows flashes of being a double-double machine. Until he proves to us that his shot takes drastic steps in the right direction, we can’t assume he’s going to significantly improve.
Next: Hornets have to win on the road to be successful
Out of the three players I mentioned, I firmly believe Michael Carter-Williams will be the MOST improved player on the Hornets. Similarly to Nic Batum, we’ve seen just how high his ceiling is. Then similarly to Frank, he has the advantage of youth on his side. Kemba Walker himself vouched for MCW. He won’t let the captain down.