Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.
Here is the first look at a “beehive” alternate logo for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game which will be held in the Queen City. (Twitter/ @ConradBurry) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets’ biggest draft question, if the team should launch a full-scale rebuild and if Steve Clifford should return next season.
Charlotte’s biggest draft question (BleacherReport.com)
"Will the Hornets use Kemba Walker and/or Dwight Howard as trade chips to move up? ANSWER: Hit the reset button and try to trade up or add another lottery pick."
If the Hornets end up with the No. 10 or No. 11 pick, they may be just on the outside of getting a game-changing type player. Trading up into the top-five or even top-eight would almost ensure that they would get an immediate starter and a potential all-star prospect. Still, getting a top pick would come at a steep cost.
It would likely take trading Kemba Walker to move into the top-five. As for Dwight Howard, I’m not sure how many lottery teams would be looking to take on his massive salary. I think Charlotte should take a wait and see approach in the draft. They should keep their pick and hope that a prospect falls to them like Malik Monk did or that they can get the steal of the draft with the 10th or 11th pick like the Utah Jazz did last year.
Should the Hornets launch a full-scale rebuild? (HashtagBasketball.com)
"Michael Jordan and Kupchak are staring down the barrel of one of the hardest decisions that an NBA team ever has to make. Down one path is intentionally tearing apart a team that at one point looked like a legitimate threat in the East. Down the other, either success or losing everything with no return."
Launching a full-scale rebuild would mean trading almost every player with value. That includes Kemba Walker, Dwight Howard, Jeremy Lamb and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Ideally, Charlotte would like to move their bigger contracts like Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams but they wouldn’t get good value for either of those players or they would receive little to no interest.
To me, the hiring of Mitch Kupchak makes the Hornets’ direction pretty clear. They will try to get better and continue to attempt to compete in the Eastern Conference rather than tank. I could see them re-tooling not rebuilding. The decision of whether or not to trade Kemba this summer will dictate the team’s direction.
Should Steve Clifford return next season? (CharlotteObserver.com)
"Let me answer it this way: I hope he does, but I bet he won’t. New GM Mitch Kupchak will probably want his own guy as coach. Team owner Michael Jordan hates to lose but has done an awful lot of it. He may well be ready for a change at coach, too, in addition to the one already made at GM."
One thing that may be in Clifford’s favor is that he has a link to Mitch Kupchak as he was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2012-13 season while Kupchak was the GM in LA. Although, after back to back disappointing seasons where Charlotte’s missed the playoffs, Steve is on the hot seat. Clifford said that he would understand if he’s fired this summer.
Next: Rumor: Hornets leaning heavily towards coaching change
Even though Michael Jordan likes Steve Clifford and he’s one of the most respected head coaches in the league today, it may be time for the team to go in a different direction. It will most likely be up to Mitch Kupchak if a head coaching change is made this offseason. After getting a new general manager, cleaning house may be the right move for MJ.