Did the Charlotte Hornets make a big mistake in their roster construction?
The Charlotte Hornets are looking to put the outright disaster that was the 2022-23 season behind them as they prepare for the upcoming campaign. After enduring a campaign that saw anything and everything go wrong, the Hornets are hoping that a fully healthy roster with the returns of some key players could result in a better record for this upcoming season. But could an oversight in their roster configuration have put them behind the eight-ball before the season even begins?
There is one area on the roster that does not have a certified star or established player on the depth chart, which makes their lack of attentiveness to it a bit puzzling. This position? Center. This is not to say that they should have gone out and swung for a star big man, but at least bring in a big with experience beyond what the Hornets’ current group possesses.
Charlotte currently employs Mark Williams, Nick Richards, and Kai Jones to take up minutes at the center position. The longest-tenured player would be Richards (3), followed by Jones (2) and then Williams (1). There are only 31 career starts between three of them over 243 games played. This averages to just 5.2 over 40.5 when averaged out over their years in the league, not exactly a whole of experience to draw from.
One would think that the Hornets would have sought out a veteran big just to add to their mix as someone their young group could draw from. Someone who does not even have to play a whole lot but would be capable of taking on a decent chunk of minutes if needed. The fact that they completely ignored this while they were looking to build the foundation of their franchise could be a big-time omission by the decision-makers in Charlotte.
Banking on the trio of Williams, Richards, and Jones to handle the duties of the center position is a risky proposition, considering how little experience the group has in total. Should this strategy backfire, the decision-makers in Charlotte will have no one to blame but themselves.
