Old North Banter
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Charlotte Hornets: A Critical Off Season Begins

By John Woodcock

May 1, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (right) greets Charlotte Hornets guard Nicolas Batum (left) after game seven of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 106-73. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
May 1, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (right) greets Charlotte Hornets guard Nicolas Batum (left) after game seven of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 106-73. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Charlotte Hornets may be looking at another season of major roster turnover.

So the Charlotte Hornets season came to an end in Miami in Game 7. This was the likely result when the Hornets could not pull out Game Six at home. The Hornets had offered just about everything they had during this series and were not expecting the Goran Dragic showcase that broke open the final game.

The result for the season was better than things had been for the Hornets. They had 48 wins on the year and took a first round playoff series to seven games rather than getting swept. Sweeps had been the last two attempts the franchise had made in the playoffs.

The tough thing to look at is how the Hornets will build from this. The guys who are guaranteed to be back next year are Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (if healthy), Jeremy Lamb, Spencer Hawes, Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminsky, and that is about it. Everyone else is a free agent or could potentially opt out of their deals (Jeremy Lin).

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The lack of committed money means the Hornets will have lots to spend, but it does not seem likely that the Hornets will be keep all of Al Jefferson, Marvin Williams, Nicolas Batum, Courtney Lee, Lin, and others based on their combined contract demands.

Of all the guys who are free agents, Batum would be the most valuable guy to bring back. His combination of shooting and distributing were key to most of Hornets success during the year. The problem will be that Batum will likely shoot for a max deal as will most big free agents under the raised cap.

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Williams fit really well in the system where his job was play the four spot and shoot from outside. If he is not brought back, he will need to be replaced in some way for the system to work. Kaminsky is probably the long term solution to that position, but the Hornets will have to carefully evaluate whether Frank the Tank is there right now.

The Hornets will also be interested in improving post defense down low to anchor their free flowing offense. They could do that in the draft or they could target a big like Dwight Howard to fill that need. Again a lot will depend on the cap room available. Jefferson is not quite that guy.

Lin proved that the Hornets could use a secondary ball handler. The best solution would be to bring Lin back, but another team might throw a starter role at him. In any event, the Hornets will need more than two million next year to bring him back.

Next: Charlotte as Howard Landing Spot

In fewer words, there is lots for general manager Rich Cho to do in what will be a crucial off season for the history of the franchise.

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