As the Charlotte Hornets prepare for a future led by LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, they should do everything in their power to put the best possible team around those two guys.
Hiring Charles Lee was a great start, as the well-respected assistant has been in the mix for head coaching gigs for years, but now, they must turn their attention to the roster.
There should be some intriguing names available (or perhaps gettable) on the trade market this summer, and Charlotte shouldn’t hesitate to make moves if the right one comes up.
Hornets should throw everything at Nets in trade for Mikal Bridges if he becomes available
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, and Utah Jazz are all eyeing Mikal Bridges, and the Hornets should be in on that sweepstakes, too.
Bridges is the perfect player to pair with Ball and Miller. He’s probably best suited to be a secondary or tertiary scoring option on a great team, and defensively, he would help transform everything the Hornets are doing on that end of the floor.
Charlotte could roll out a giant lineup of Ball, Bridges, Miller, Grant Williams, and Mark Williams. That would be a huge leap defensively from the teams they’ve run with in the past.
All that being said, the Nets have shown zero interest in trading Bridges in recent months. They are determined to keep him around and build with him moving forward. But he’s already 27 years old. He needs to help a team win now.
If Bridges does end up becoming available, and even if he’s not externally, the Hornets should be willing to throw a mega-offer at the Nets to try and steal him.
The only players who should be off the table are Ball and Miller, as they would have to be around in order to capitalize on the talent of Bridges. If the Nets are in love with guys like the Williamses or Tre Mann, so be it. The No. 6 pick should even be on the table.
Bridges and Ball would be an elite backcourt, and adding Miller into that mix would make the lineup even juicer heading into the future.