The Charlotte Hornets needed another big man one way or another this offseason unless they had planned on rolling with Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner once the regular season starts. They found one during the first day of free agency, although it's likely not what fans expected. Only a few probably had a Hornets reunion with Mason Plumlee in their bingo card.
What has made it worse is that more serviceable big men were taken earlier, and the contracts they agreed to with their new teams were pretty affordable.
For instance, Brook Lopez, who Charlotte could have targeted to spite the Los Angeles Lakers, is going to the LA Clippers on a two-year, $18 million deal. Also, Luke Kornet, who has been an analytics darling and would have fit seamlessly with the Hornets because of his floor-spacing and rim-protecting abilities, is now unavailable. The former Boston Celtics fan favorite joined the San Antonio Spurs on a contract that would pay him an average of around $10 million per season.
Other pivots who have joined new squads include Clint Capela, Kevon Looney, and Luke Garza. All of them also signed relatively cheap contracts. Suffice it to say that Charlotte might have run out of options.
Mason Plumlee does not move the needle for Hornets
Considering how well Hornets president Jeff Peterson has fared so far in the offseason, whiffing on ideal free agent targets shouldn't be an indictment on him. Maybe dealing with the reality is that Charlotte is hardly a prime destination for free agents worked against him. Charlotte could have offered a higher annual salary to some of their targets and still have gotten spurned, especially since it doesn't exactly have a glowing reputation around the league.
Still, the Hornets have one of the most promising rosters. As long as the core pieces are healthy and are right on track in their development, it's not far-fetched to imagine the team striking fear into the heart of its opponents, even those fighting for the top seeds, as early as next season.
Perhaps the squad is high on Diabate and Kalkbrenner being ready to play heavy minutes at the center position, with Plumlee serving as the third-string big man.
After all, the "Moose" has proven to be an elite rebounder and a high-energy guy on defense. His offense has a lot of room for improvement, but if he becomes at least decent in pick-and-roll situations, he could be the perfect screen man for LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Collin Sexton. Meanwhile, Kalkbrenner is an incoming 23-year-old rookie, so inexperience is unlikely to be an issue. He is also a four-time Big East defensive player of the year, giving the Hornets a potentially solid interior defender.
What would be wild is if Peterson and the coaching staff treat the starting center position as Plumlee's to lose. Even though he has plenty to offer in the rebounding and playmaking departments, he just doesn't move the needle for the squad. If that was the plan all along, it makes the Hornets' failure to add a better player more regrettable.