With the Charlotte Hornets’ playoff hopes dwindling by the game, it is time to embrace the tank effort for the remainder of the season.
I will admit it… I was a believer that this 2019-2020 Charlotte Hornets team could exceed everyone’s expectations. I was one of the few believers that actually thought a playoff spot was open for these young Hornets.
Today, I realized I was wrong. Terribly wrong.
Now that the Hornets have lost seven games in a row, counting Monday’s loss to the Orlando Magic on MLK day, the Hornets displayed to anyone interested that they just don’t care.
Terry Rozier scored a whopping four points and Dwayne Bacon didn’t score at all in 16 minutes of play. Malik Monk and PJ Washington had good days however, scoring 19 and 20 points each.
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Marvin Williams did not play but he was the only one on the Hornets bench standing up and cheering on his team. Just out of respect, Charlotte should trade him away to an actual contender, if they are actually serious about trading him like they say they are.
At 15-30, the Hornets currently sit as the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference, behind the Pistons, Bulls, and Wizards. The way this team is struggling as of late, it’s hard to stand behind the idea of them scrapping together enough wins for the playoffs, especially considering the fact ownership refuses to make any type of trade.
There has been no serious discussion of trades since settling for Terry Rozier this summer when Kemba Walker decided to walk away.
The last time the Hornets made a trade in the middle of the season, player for player, was February 2, 2017, when the Hornets traded Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes for Miles Plumlee with the Milwaukee Bucks.
They made similar trades around that time and since then, most of them involving a second round pick, but nothing special. It makes you wonder if owner, Michael Jordan, or General Manager, Mitch Kupchack even care. It seems like they do the bare minimum job wise and it shows.
Stuff like this doesn’t sit well with fans, as the Charlotte Hornets are 29th in the league in attendance for home games. Tanking this year for a top draft selection like James Wiseman could change that.
Wiseman would be my top pick for this team as they could finally address the center position that has been lacking.
Up next, the Charlotte Hornets will take on the team with the best record in the league, The 39-6 Milwaukee Bucks. The game will be played in Paris on Friday at 3:00 ET. Expect the French native, Nicolas Batum, to start for Charlotte in front of his home crowd. Batum is averaging 3.5 points a game, so this one could get ugly quickly.