Charlotte Hornets expectations for the 2019-2020 season
By Luke Tucker
The Charlotte Hornets will get their regular season underway on Wednesday night when they host the Chicago Bulls.
It has been almost 200 days since the Hornets last played a game that counted, but that will all change on Wednesday. The Hornets are scheduled to tip off their regular season at home against the Bulls. Charlotte suffered through a tumultuous offseason as it parted ways with both of the team’s top-two scorers from a year ago. Despite the key losses, there remains some optimism surrounding the Hornets’ young core. With that being said, here are some things you can expect to see from James Borrego’s squad in the upcoming season.
The young core will play early, often, and then some more
The 2019-2020 campaign will be all about seeing what the Hornets organization has in terms of its young players. Players such as Miles Bridges, PJ Washington, and Malik Monk will be given key roles this season, and depending on their performances, it could determine their future with the franchise. For players such as Dwayne Bacon and Devonte’ Graham, who weren’t nearly as touted prospects, that holds to be even more true.
If the preseason is any indication, Borrego will field a starting lineup of Terry Rozier, Bacon, Bridges, Washington, and Cody Zeller. Of those five, Zeller is the oldest, having just turned 27. None of the others are older than 25. It’s possible that Nicolas Batum draws a starting position, but it’s worth noting that he started only two games in the preseason, and also ran with the second unit in the Purple and Teal scrimmage last Friday night. Regardless of whether or not he is in the starting lineup, the youngsters will be given every opportunity to shine.
Guards Monk and Graham will likely mostly be in a bench role this season, although they should both, Monk especially, still receive significant minutes. Rookie twins Caleb and Cody Martin both made the regular-season roster, but could see time with the Hornets’ G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. Another candidate to spend time with the Swarm is rookie forward Jalen McDaniels. Young players on two-way contracts include Robert Franks and Kobi Simmons.
The veterans need to step up
As mentioned in the previous section, much of the 2019-2020 season will revolve around the younger players. With that being said, the Hornets also have several veteran players who are in important years themselves. Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Bismack Biyombo are all in contract years. For purposes of their own free agency values, they need solid seasons. MKG and Biyombo may be playing for their careers, while Williams hopes to prove that even at 33, his defense and shooting ability are enough to make him a valuable role player.
If those three can put up good numbers, it will obviously help the team, and would take pressure off of the younger players. Other veterans, such as Zeller and Batum are also key veterans on Charlotte’s roster. Not only do the vets have important seasons ahead for their own value, but they also will be important factors in helping the younger players to develop. If that means nothing more than teaching the youngsters how to be a pro, then so be it. However, it’s likely that they can play a much more hands-on role, especially guys like Williams and Batum who have been around for more than a decade and are chock-full of NBA experience.
Charlotte isn’t in full “tank mode”
Despite popular opinion, it doesn’t appear as though the Hornets organization is actually prepared to tank this season. There’s no questioning that the team has a lack of talent compared to the rest of the association, however, aside from Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb, the rest of the roster remains relatively unchanged. That’s not to say that the Hornets are going to contend for anything meaningful in the near future, but it’s fair to assume that the Hornets just haven’t really suffered a major drop-off in talent this past offseason.
Perhaps the most obvious indication of tanking in professional sports is when a franchise trades away its cornerstone players in return for quality draft picks. Now the Hornets did technically deal Walker away in a sign-and-trade deal, however, the only acquisition in that deal was Rozier, who is expected to be a key contributor in Charlotte for at least the next three seasons. It’s also worth noting that Charlotte is giving Rozier $56.7 million over the next three years, a commitment that tanking teams wouldn’t normally make. Other signs that Michael Jordan’s organization isn’t tanking is that it hasn’t traded players like Williams, Batum, or Kidd-Gilchrist–all players who could harvest decent trade returns.
The Hornets’ brass has repeatedly denied that the team is in a rebuild, much less attempting to tank for high draft picks. While it certainly seems possible that Charlotte winds up having a high draft pick, it doesn’t seem to be by design. There’s no doubt the Hornets roster is currently viewed as having sub-par talent, however, the organization doesn’t currently seem ready to completely start from scratch.
The eighth-seed is the ceiling for this team.
By just about all forecasts, the Hornets are going to be faced with a lot of losing this season. As mentioned several times earlier, the Hornets simply don’t have the talent to compete with the top teams in the conference, much less the NBA as a whole. In the worst-case scenario, Charlotte ends up at the bottom of the league standings and is in the running for the top pick in next summer’s draft. The best-case scenario seems to be the Hornets fighting for the eight-seed and the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
It’s unlikely that the Hornets will make the playoffs, however, there are teams like the Cavs, Knicks, and Wizards who are in similar situations and have the makings of rough seasons as well. If the Hornets’ young core plays well and exceeds expectations, it isn’t crazy to think that they could compete for a final playoff spot. After all, it is what they have done with a similar roster for the past several seasons.