A Charlotte Hornets rebuild will be challenging compared to Oklahoma City’s
Tonight’s opponent, the Oklahoma City Thunder, may have the brightest future in the NBA, something the Charlotte Hornets could only dream of.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are in town tonight, as the Charlotte Hornets will have the first-hand chance to salivate at the future of a franchise that once had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all in uniform.
After making the playoffs in nine of the past ten years, the Thunder had to move on and build towards the future. They traded Russell Westbrook and Paul George during the off-season, acquiring a future Hall of Famer in Chris Paul, a young star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a boatload of draft picks.
In fact, Oklahoma City has accumulated a whopping 16 (!) draft picks over the next six NBA Drafts. Think about that for a second. That’s incredible.
We haven’t even yet mentioned the fact that Oklahoma City is the seventh seed in the difficult Western Conference, sitting with a record of 15-15. They have a roster that can compete with anyone while building towards the future at the same time.
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If only things could look so promising for the Hornets. Don’t get me wrong, things are going fairly well in Charlotte, as the Hornets are a surprise team 33 games into the season. They’re also competing for a playoff spot and have some exciting young talent.
But still, Charlotte’s future is nowhere near as promising as Oklahoma City’s. For any team looking to go into a rebuild, they should use Oklahoma City’s method as a blueprint. They’ve set themselves up with a ton of assets that can be used to further strengthen the roster assembled.
Sadly, Charlotte never got the opportunity to turn a star (Kemba Walker) into a profit. He wouldn’t have gotten the return that Westbrook and George got, because he was on an expiring contract, but it would have been something, which is better than nothing.
It’s impressive to see how the Hornets have rebounded after losing their All-Star in free agency. We figured they’d be one of, if not the worst, team in the league this season, but they’ve played very hard and won over the hearts of the fans.
With guys like PJ Washington and Devonte’ Graham, the Hornets have some young building blocks. They aren’t on the level of OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but they do have great potential. If Mitch Kupchak can keep hitting and finding steals in the draft, they’ll be in good shape.
In the end, Oklahoma City has gotten off to a perfect start with their rebuild. Not every team, like Charlotte, is going to have the opportunities that the Thunder had, which will only put more pressure on them to succeed and make the right decisions.
In year one without Walker, things have been so far, so good for the Charlotte Hornets. Things aren’t going to get any easier, though, so they must keep their guard and look to keep adding future assets.
Next. All-Star voting has opened for Devonte' Graham. dark
The future is bright for the Charlotte Hornets, but no future is brighter than the Oklahoma City Thunder’s.