NBA Summer League action is heating up in Las Vegas, and your Charlotte Hornets are a perfect 3-0 heading into Thursday night's matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. While Hornets fans wait for the action to resume, they can get even more excited for next season upon hearing Collin Sexton's latest words. One of the newest guards in Charlotte gave some insight into how his chemistry with LaMelo Ball has already been growing.
"Melo and I have been working out these last couple of weeks together and just playing off one another and trying to learn, 'OK, LaMelo likes his shots here. How can I get him open? How can I get a few easy ones?" Sexton said in a recent interview with Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
This is certainly an exciting comment to hear from a guy who is expected to contend for a starting spot come next season. On draft night, many were high enough on Kon Knueppel to expect that he might become a day-one starter as a rookie. But since the arrival of Sexton, it seems he might be angling toward taking that starting two-guard spot.
But don't tell Sexton that he's a two guard. As far as he's concerned, it's all the same. "At the end of the day, the NBA is whoever gets it, brings it up; it's not a '1' guard, a '2' guard—it's [LaMelo and I] both out there," he said. "On defense, you have to help one another, and on offense, you have to help one another as well. You've got to make sure you get the guys in the right situations. I'm super excited."
Sexton is already working out with LaMelo Ball
Bringing together Ball and Sexton in the same backcourt is truly an exciting proposition. LaMelo hasn't always had high-level and tenured shooting guards playing off of him, and now he'll get the opportunity to be in that position. There's certainly a world in which the skill sets of these two guys really amplifies their collective output.
"Just helping him take pressure off—if he ever gets into the paint or I need to pick up," Sexton said. "I need to be able to pick up on defense and just being there for him. We talk so much about how we can help one another, and I feel like watching film is going to be a really big thing."
This is truly what you love to see if you're a Hornets fan. Collin has only been a member of this organization for a few short weeks, and he's already engraining himself into the team and being intentional about growing and bonding with his teammates.
These are the kinds of developments that are beginning to be the norm for this franchise. Charlotte continues to bring in players who embody the idea of 'Hornets DNA,' and Collin Sexton's already showing he means business.