Charlotte Hornets: Rebuilding from a fan perspective

Charlotte Hornets: Rebuilding from the fan’s perspective

The 2020-21 Season

INKLINGS OF FUN! Miles Bridges TS% SKYROCKETING, OH YEAH! Gordon looks like an All-Star when he is on the floor! Terry continues to improve his all-around game! PJ scored 40 one time!

And Lamelo… Our young king, Lamelo. Watching a 19 year-old speedrun your team’s rebuild with 90-foot passes and no-look alley-oops is cathartic. I hope everyone can experience that sensation someday.

At this point, the Miles Bridges pick, the PJ Washington pick, and the Gordon Hayward signing all appear to be fantastic moves, intended to immediately surround the new franchise cornerstone with real talent early in his career. Seeing a Hornets front office that makes moves with the future in mind just about breaks my brain.

The Hornets finished last season 33-39 and I’m writing 2,000 words on how bright the future looks. I will not know how to act if Lamelo gets any better and this team sees real success. And I think he will get better. A lot better.

The 2021 NBA Draft

Ending up with two players who weren’t projected to be available at their respective spots is an objective success in any draft. The Hornets snagged James Bouknight at 11 and Kai Jones at 19 via a trade with the Knicks. We were so spoiled last year with Lamelo contributing from day one that we will likely expect immediate production from ‘Bouk and Kai also, but patience is the key with these two. Getting to be patient with two talented rookies, while letting them develop in a (hopefully) winning atmosphere instead of just throwing them into the fire? Sign me up!

Devonte and Malik Leave

Sad. l will be a full-time resident of Monk Island until I die. Watching him and Devonte both depart this summer was an undeniable bummer–I really wanted both of them to be around when things start going really well. But Devonte got paid and Malik gets to help a championship contender this year, so I am happy for both of them on their new journeys. I wish them the absolute best.

Plus, as weird as it sounds, being forced to part ways with talented, young players is often a sign that your rebuild is progressing, because it means a team simply can’t afford to keep all of the young talent on the roster, which points to your team having… A lot of young talent!

Kelly Oubre Signs!

That’s pretty cool! He’s got a great Instagram profile, is very handsome, and can provide wing depth that the Hornets have always seemed to lack. I’m also confident in saying that he boosts the Hornets to the #1 team in the league that I would love to go clubbing with.

The Terry Rozier Extension

The tone around the Hornets (and the league as a whole) when Scarrence Terrence signed his 4 year, $97 million extension is the polar opposite to the reaction when he signed with Charlotte initially. Keeping Terry around for the next five years is how the F.O has shown the current locker room that if you earn it, you get paid. Additionally, it shows future free agents that taking a chance with the Hornets could be a phenomenal career choice.

This is by far the most positive piece I have ever written about the Hornets. Feels weird.

The Present

So there you have it. Happiness, sadness, excitement, shock, awe, nihilism, longing, regret, all mishmashed into a cauldron, stirred up, and thrown onto Hornets fans. After what feels like a constant state of flux for the last 27 months, moves like extending Terry and signing established veterans gives me the feeling that this front office loves the core of players they have, and is ready to settle down and work with the pieces acquired in the last few years. It certainly helps that those pieces are all pretty darn good at basketball.

I’ve never had to fight for Miles Bridges validation, because he goes viral weekly throughout the season. Terry is an electric factory, and has become one of the best shooters in the league. Lamelo’s play speaks for itself, and I don’t have to defend it, ever. Quite the opposite actually–people who I haven’t talked to in years text me just to praise him! And justifying the Hornets first round draft pick used to be a perennial late-summer tradition, but I haven’t been forced to justify much recently because … it looks like Mitch and Mike are making the right picks? KAI JONES IS A PERFECT BIG MAN TO FIT NEXT TO LAMELO IN THE MODERN NBA BRO YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING AB– shoot, sorry. That’s kind of a force of habit at this point.

The Future

I’m really hoping that in three years, this article doesn’t look foolish. Actually, if anyone reads my article three years after publication, then I must be saying something pretty important. Or stupid. I don’t really care which one. In that case, let’s get really wild. Charlotte Hornets, 2024 NBA Champions.

Folks, I’m ready to have some… What was it called? Fun? Yeah, let’s do it.