2. Have A Direction
This sounds obvious. But the Hornets have often tried to develop young players while simultaneously trying to compete for a playoff spot, and the on-court results are seldom pretty. The 2018-19 Hornets are a perfect example of this; Kemba Walker had a superstar season and single-handedly carried the team to multiple victories, but young players like Dwayne Bacon, Malik Monk, and Miles Bridges were all fighting for time as well.
The problem was thus: none of the young players were good enough to justify regular playing time if the team was legitimately trying to win, but the team was also still clinging to hope of competing, by giving veterans like Jeremy Lamb, Marvin Williams, and Tony Parker lots of minutes.
Last season, the Hornets committed to a direction, making their intention to win now crystal clear. And while the playing time of youngsters like James Bouknight and Kai Jones suffered because of that declaration, Charlotte drew a clear line in the sand, and refused to teeter between player development and a win-now attitude. This is a promising sign, even if not seeing a young lottery pick like Bouknight play regular minutes (understandably) disappoints some fans.
The Hornets plan for playing time should look similar next year; if a player’s development directly hinders the team’s on-court success, they should play sparingly.