With the 2020-21 season in the rearview mirror and the NBA draft lottery complete, the focus for the Charlotte Hornets now shifts to what the roster will look like for the 2021-22 campaign. With some promising young pieces in place and some solid veteran contributors, the Hornets will look to fill out the roster to build on the positive momentum from the past season. Two areas in need of improvement are the center position and shooting. Charlotte finished the year in the bottom half of the league in total rebounding, defensive rebounding, and blocks, areas that they will need to shore up heading into next year. They also struggled in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and scoring, finishing in the bottom half of these categories as well.
With ten players currently under contract for next season, Charlotte is projected to have roughly $21 million in cap space, which would be the eighth-most in the league. Due to using the stretch provision on Nicolas Batum’s contract to sign Gordon Hayward from the Boston Celtics last offseason, Charlotte has approximately $9 million of dead money counting against the cap. The team is also hard-capped from the Hayward sign-and-trade, meaning that they cannot exceed the NBA luxury tax apron, which will be $138,928,000 for 2022. Charlotte currently holds three selections in the upcoming NBA draft, with selections at 11th, 56th, and 57th overall (the latter two acquired via trades with the Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets, respectively). Charlotte has done well in the draft under the leadership of current General Manager Mitch Kupchak, with Miles Bridges, Devonte’ Graham, P.J. Washington, and LaMelo Ball all being acquired during Kupchak’s tenure. All things considered, Charlotte has the flexibility to make some moves and position itself well heading into the 2021-22 season.