Hornets News: Leaked court design, Lowe’s Hornets outlook, Fantasy targets

One of the most anticipated parts of the 2024-25 NBA regular season is the In-Season Tournament, which has been rebranded into the NBA Cup. Not only did the tournament's inaugural edition add a different flavor to the competition, but it also featured different court designs, most of which were surprisingly pleasing to the eye.

This year, the court designs were unveiled, providing fans with an early, albeit premature, look at where the 2024 NBA Cup games will be held. Among the finest works of art is the Charlotte Hornets'.

Hopefully, that will just be one of the many positive things the Hornets will face this season, as a renowned analyst offered an interesting forecast about the squad for the 2024-25 campaign.

Hornets' NBA Cup court design is fire

Last year, the games Charlotte hosted during the In-Season Tournament saw a floor transformed into a bland combination of two shades of teal and gold accents.

This time around, though, the iconic honeycomb pattern will make an appearance, and there are more teal hues that constitute a bullseye. Suffice it to say that the design definitely hit the mark.

It's just a shame that the Hornets crowd will only get to see the court twice, as the team will host just two NBA Cup matches. The opponents would be the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.

It might be wishful thinking, but advancing past group play with a high enough seeding could allow the court to see the light of day again. After that, the NBA Cup semifinals and championship game will be played in Las Vegas.

Hornets will be fun to watch

There isn't much optimism for Charlotte this season to take a step closer to a playoff return. That may be intentional, though. It has already been established by various outlets covering the franchise that not rushing its rebuild would be the wisest decision. Otherwise, the front office would have made win-now signings and trades.

Still, the Hornets look like they would be an enjoyable bunch to watch in the 2024-25 campaign. Zach Lowe said as much during a recent episode of his podcast, "The Lowe Post" (starting at 37:39).

According to the ESPN analyst, Charlotte's projected starting five and bench rotation could be good enough to lift the team to a play-in tournament appearance. In addition, he called Hornets' very own Eric Collins the "most excitable play-by-play announcer in all of sports" and praised the squad's uniforms, courts, and mascot.

All those elements will surely provide the Hive with plenty of entertainment, even if there is a high likelihood that wins will be very scarce.

Hornets have high-value NBA fantasy targets

With the regular season opener coming soon, NBA fantasy participants are already neck-deep in preparation for fantasy drafts — if they haven't happened already.

It might be a good idea for them to target a couple of Hornets to bring into their roster. Three ESPN fantasy basketball experts suggested as much, with Andre Snellings and Eric Moody valuing LaMelo Ball highly and Jim McCormick including Brandon Miller on his wishlist.

Ball will probably be able to outperform his average draft position (ADP), although the possibility of him missing contests due to injuries remains very real. The star point guard also has the potential to tank a fantasy team's field-goal percentage and turnovers, but the upside in every other category should cover those weaknesses.

As for Miller, some pundits see him as a reincarnation of Paul George, who once was a fantasy darling. If the incoming second-year pro can improve his numbers and continue to limit his turnovers despite the relatively high touches, he can turn out to be a draft steal in many fantasy leagues.