The 2023-24 NBA season was always going to be a tough one for the Charlotte Hornets. Even though there was some level of optimism internally regarding their chances of contending for the postseason. However, the most probable outcome for Charlotte was always going to be falling very short of playing beyond the regular season and finishing as an also-ran. With that being said, this season has gone much worse than anticipated, and it could perhaps lead to the Hornets making some major changes to their roster.
Charlotte's struggles have seen them lose three times more frequently than they win games, and with that, it was not a surprise to see the Hornets being recently named as one of five NBA Teams That Must Blow It Up This Trade Season by Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz. This is a team that is the living embodiment of Murphy's Law, seeing anything and everything go wrong. Charlotte is somehow experiencing the same bad injury luck as last season, a seemingly unimaginable scenario.
Even if the Hornets were full strength, they are so far behind the teams in the mix for a spot in the Play-In Tournament, making it completely unrealistic to expect them to contend for play-in or actual postseason play. It is not the lack of competitiveness on the court, as there is another factor at play that could impact their long-term future.
Swartz would go on to point out that not only would the Hornets be a sacrificial lamb for a team actually good enough to contend, but it is the fact that their first-round draft pick in 2024 would go to the San Antonio Spurs should they qualify for the postseason. With the number of issues this roster has, they simply cannot pass up the opportunity to add another potential blue-chip player into the mix, and unnecessarily making the playoffs this year would cost them exactly that.
"There's no point in chasing the 10th seed and final play-in spot just for the right to get swept by the Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and lose their 2024 pick."Greg Swartz on the Charlotte Hornets
What it all comes down to is the Hornets needing to acknowledge the situation they are in and how they should move forward. Charlotte needs to trade the few players of value they have on their roster who will not be on the team after this season and look to plan for the future. A different approach would be justified if they were anything resembling a relevant team, but that is not the case for the Hornets. The sooner this team does a reset of the roster, the better off they will be. Clearing roster clutter will help this organization get on the path that it needs to be taking while showing some level of understanding of where they are as a franchise. The longer the team continues to operate in its current manner of delusion, the less hopeful everyone should be about this team doing things correctly. Taking the route of multiple trades would lead to the fanbase being able to confidently say that this team is headed in the right direction.