Hornets lack of free agency moves reveals promising truth

The Charlotte Hornets didn’t have a ton of room to make significant moves in free agency, and they didn’t. In fact, Charlotte still hasn’t signed a single player on the open market.

That doesn’t mean they’ve been idle, though. The Hornets got involved in the sign-and-trade that saw Klay Thompson leave the Golden State Warriors for the Dallas Mavericks, landing Josh Green in the process.

Other than that, the only other additions the Hornets have made have been in the coaching room. Charles Lee is their new head coach, he brought in a great group of guys, and franchise legend Kemba Walker is joining the team as a player enhancement coach.

But while the Hornets have chosen to remain relatively quiet in free agency, it has revealed a significant fact about where Charlotte is heading next season.

Hornets lack of free agency moves signals desire to focus on developing current young talent

Considering the Hornets haven’t added anyone in free agency and have brought in a new, young head coach, it’s clear that Charlotte is focused on developing the young players they have on the roster rather than immediate improvement.

LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Mark Williams, and No. 6 pick Tidjane Salaun is the team’s young core, and guys like Green, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski, Grant Williams, Bryce McGowens, KJ Simpson, and Nick Smith Jr. are all intriguing projects, too.

That’s a pretty good place to start.

Ball has made the Play-In Tournament twice, and if the Hornets wanted to bring in some win-now talent, they could probably push to earn a top-10 seed in the East next year, but that’s probably not where they want to go.

From the looks of it, the Hornets want to take their time, see which young pieces fit where, and focus on the potential long-term success of the team with Ball and Miller leading the way.

Plus, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Hornets (and Detroit Pistons) are open to taking on bad contracts in exchange for assets. That screams rebuild.

Hornets fans may be frustrated with how bad the team has been for so long, but they seem more set on a direction than ever. And while it may sound counterintuitive, their lack of free-agency moves shows that.

Charlotte is focused on helping their current group grow, and that’s a good thing.