The Charlotte Hornets' acquisition of Collin Sexton was widely seen as a clever move, as it gives the team a needed jolt on offense. Of course, some folks are not fans of the decision. For instance, Fred Katz of The Athletic labeled it as a "WTF move" during a recent appearance on Zach Lowe's show. While his bewilderment is based on some valid points, it just goes to show that not everyone understands what the Hornets have been struggling with.
According to Katz, Sexton's skill set just isn't valued that highly across the league. There's also the argument that Charlotte now has several players who need the ball in their hands to be effective. The reporter wondered if the Hornets consummated the deal solely to secure the second-round pick that the Utah Jazz inexplicably sent their way in the Sexton-Jusuf Nurkic swap.
Even Lowe agreed that it was a strange move for both Charlotte and Utah, positing that another trade might be coming later this season after Buzz City raises the value of Sexton, who is also on an expiring contract.
What the media personalities may have seemed to miss is that the 2018 eighth overall pick can become a commodity for the Hornets because of what he can bring to the table as a reliable shot-creator and fringe playmaker.
Hornets' offense requires plenty of reinforcement
Last season, Charlotte placed last in average team scoring (29th in offensive rating) and 26th in team assists. No one outside of LaMelo Ball, who suited up just 47 times due to various ailments, was able to create shots for himself and his teammates consistently. However, he ended the regular season with a rather high usage rate and a laughably low scoring efficiency because of injuries to several key Hornets players.
Regardless of whether Sexton starts or not, the club should see a significant improvement in its offense. Perhaps the only reason things don't go as expected is another year of the injury bug stinging its key pieces.
Some might still argue that the Hornets already have a glut of guards on the roster. To counter that point, it's hard for the organization to put its complete faith in any of Tre Mann, Nick Smith Jr., KJ Simpson, Kon Knueppel, or Liam McNeeley developing into a consistently productive offensive piece alongside Ball right at the onset of the regular season. On the other hand, Sexton is already a proven scorer and secondary playmaker, having averaged 18.8 points and 3.7 assists per game in his first seven seasons in the NBA.
If there's a Hornets move that should raise some eyebrows, it's the decision to add Spencer Dinwiddie a week after they acquired Sexton. Then again, maybe the front office just wants to make sure there will be no shortage of shot-making like in the 2024-25 campaign, even if injuries pile up anew or some of the players mentioned above underperform.