The Charlotte Hornets have done it again.
Many young teams, especially those that have been wandering in the lottery wilderness for as long as the Hornets have, would get ahead of themselves. After a fun season in which they nearly made the playoffs last year, Charlotte could have pushed the chips in to try and take another small step forward.
Instead, the front office made the decision to play the long game. Their success last season was largely propelled by their young stars, Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller. They will be fully in their primes in a couple of years, so Charlotte is putting the pieces together to ensure the best version of their team hits then, not now.
That meant they were willing to move on from LaMelo Ball in a blockbuster deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, even if it meant giving up their second-best player from last year's team. They sent Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns and took on extra salary, likely making their team a little worse next season. Both transactions brought back high-upside future draft picks that instantly became two of the best assets any team is holding.
The Hornets made a brillian trade
Charlotte made it a trilogy on Friday, agreeing to take on the contract of veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith at the cost of three second-round picks. Once again, the Hornets kept the future in mind, even if it cost them something in the present.
In all three deals, the Hornets took advantage of the pressure teams are feeling in the Western Conference. With the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs looming over everyone, other teams are motivated to make trades right now to introduce variance and give them a chance to make a run.
The Rockets have yet to make their move, but they needed financial flexibility to do so. Now they have it, giving up draft picks to move off of a contract they signed just last summer. They are no longer pressed up against the first apron, and have the option to either avoid the luxury tax entirely this season or to make a seismic trade between now and the trade deadline.
What the Hornets did was receive draft picks for a player who was thought to be a great signing last year. Occasionally, a year will make clear how shortsighted a signing was. More often, however, teams overreact to one year of data. That could be the case with Finney-Smith.
The Hornets are playing the long game
Charlotte can give "DFS" space to get healthy, then play him meaningful minutes over the course of the season. As he proves that he is healthy once more, teams will begin to remember just how much they need players who can defend at an elite level and also knock down shots. Suddenly, he is a wanted man on the trade market, and the Hornets trade him for positive value.
That sort of transactional brilliance was pulled off again and again by Thunder GM Sam Presti, and he built a dominant contender through that brilliance. Copying Presti is an awfully good idea, and the Hornets have been nailing their offseason thus far.
Armed with a massive trade exception from the LaMelo Ball trade and plenty of room under the tax themselves, taking advantage of the rest of the league on the trade market can continue. And in the process, the Hornets are laying the foundation of a really good team -- just not right now.
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