Despite a solid offseason, the outlook for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2025-26 season still doesn't appear bright. Zach Lowe doesn't just think they won't reach the postseason, but he ranked them in the bottom three of the East. His reason? The Hornets have done nothing to bolster their defense, which he believes will rank one of the eight worst in the league.
Lowe's assessment may be a bit harsh, considering that he grouped Charlotte into the same tier as the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets. It's tough to imagine a squad top-billed by LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel might not be significantly better than those two teams.
However, the well-respected columnist did bring up a valid point about the Hornets' defense. He emphasized that they don't have any center worth allotting "NBA minutes" to. He did apologize to Moussa Diabate, but stated that the young big man's only true strengths are that he hustles hard and grabs a lot of boards.
Maybe Ryan Kalkbrenner can defy expectations and turn into an immediate contributor. A lot of pundits are not bullish on the idea, though, with the fact that he had to spend more than two years in college believed to be an indicator that he isn't a starting-caliber center.
We don't even have to talk that much about Mason Plumlee, who may have been brought in by the Hornets to essentially fill the presumably departing Taj Gibson's role as a veteran voice.
Hornets refused to address their obvious weakness
Experts like Lowe probably won't be pessimistic about Charlotte's playoff chances next year if the franchise had taken measures to make sure its defense holds up against tough competition once the regular season starts.
Acquiring a reliable interior defender should have been at the top of the Hornets' priorities. The draft presented limited solutions in that area, as they were intent on selecting Knueppel at fourth overall, and there were virtually no options for them at the No. 29, 33, and 34 spots.
Free agency could have been a good avenue for them to find reinforcements. However, they whiffed that opportunity, as some affordable bigs went to different homes. The Hornets might not have gotten a choice in the matter, though, as most high-value targets don't typically line up to join Buzz City.
Lowe presented an interesting theory, saying that Charlotte could still be viewing everything with a "long lens." If that were the case, it makes sense why the team was not aggressive in seeking as many solutions to its possibly weak defense as possible.
Unfortunately, that could mean many more losses than wins again in the 2025-26 campaign.