The Charlotte Hornets have their offense for the future. With LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, and Gordon Hayward each signed for multiple years, the Swarm have offensive firepower in spades. Possessing the fourth-ranked offense and the 26th-ranked defense in 2021-22, Charlotte needs to go after solid defenders either in the draft or in free agency this offseason.
From the free agency standpoint, there is one wing defender that could make his way to the Hornets for the 2022-23 season: Robert Covington.
RoCo has spent the past few seasons bouncing from team to team. This is not because he is a lackluster player. It’s actually quite the opposite. For his impressive defensive talents, he signed an incredibly moveable contract, and he has been traded from one contender to another for the better part of the last four seasons.
Now that he is coming up on free agency, there should be plenty of teams interested in acquiring the multi-positional defender. The chief among these teams should be the Hornets. Despite a plethora of capable wing players on the roster, Charlotte lacks a truly elite “3-and-D” type of player.
Covington is just that. For his career, RoCo is averaging 2.2 triples per game, 1.6 steals per game, and 1.0 blocks per game. Even with his age (32 next season), his defensive prowess has never halted at any point in his career. This season he averaged 1.8 triples per game, 1.5 steals per game, and 1.3 blocks per game while making a hair under $13 million.
If the Swarm can sign him for a comparable contract (maybe a two-year, $25 million deal), they should be able to keep enough room in the budget to re-sign the ever-improving Miles Bridges. If they are unable to sign Covington in free agency, then a sign-and-trade could work if they include Kelly Oubre, who is making $12.6 million next season.
Either way, Charlotte needs to shore up their defense before the 2022-23 campaign, and Covington would be the perfect piece to add this offseason.