Charlotte Hornets: 3 Offseason moves the Hornets might regret

3 Offseason moves the Hornets might regret: Complicating their ability to trade for a second star

Finally, the Hornets may regret keeping their powder dry this offseason and not trading for a superstar to pair with Ball. Charlotte was able to get lucky in the lottery last year and move up to the third pick in the draft, where they drafted Ball. He has surpassed all expectations his first season, thanks in large part to his shooting being better than anticipated, his incredible playmaking, and incredible shooting from every rotation player on the team not named PJ Washington.

Ball plus shooters was dangerous last season and, if comparing him to the other great Rookie of the Year winners, looks to be a blueprint for a top 5 offense for years to come. That is why the Hornets should be quick to pounce on the next available star who asks out. This is easier said than done due to what happened on draft night by committing to youth.

The main thing here is Charlotte traded a protected first-round pick for Kai Jones. Not a bad trade, as the likely first in the future will be about the position Jones went this season. The issue here lies with the protections and how the Hornets cannot move a first for a star like Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum, or Karl-Anthony Towns without first getting the Knicks’ permission.

To keep it short, the NBA will not allow the Hornets to trade a first-round pick in advance unless it is their 2028 first, thanks to the protections on the first sent to New York. This means that to get the firsts necessary to trade for an All-NBA player, the Hornets would have to agree to the trade with the star’s team, and then go to the Knicks with assets and ask that they remove protections on the first so that it is sent to the Knicks ASAP, so the Hornets have firsts to trade for an All-NBA player.

It’s not a great position to be as the Knicks can always say no because why should they help a rival improve dramatically? So, this likely means the Hornets are stuck trading for guys like Myles Turner or Buddy Hield instead of the true difference-makers like Beal.

Again, this isn’t to say focusing on the youth is a bad idea, but if Ball turns out to be an all-star this season, it makes building a talented team around him that much more difficult as we are not a big cap space team, thanks to the Rozier and likely Brides’ extensions, and do not have picks to trade for a star. This may be the biggest regret of the offseason, especially if Jones takes a long time to be playable.