The Charlotte Hornetsofficially agreed to termswith Boston Celtics assistant Charles Lee to become the organization's new head coach, ushering in a new era as Charlotte hopes to return to prominence.
Lee has a lot of work to do. Teams don't go 21-61 on bad luck alone, so sweeping changes should be coming throughout his tenure to build around LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, whofinished thirdin the NBA's Rookie of the Year race.
We already know thatsome players are unlikely to be back, but others will start feeling pressure in the near future too. Let's look at three Hornets on the chopping block following Lee's hiring.
1. Davis Bertans - SF/PF
Davis Bertans is a fine rotational player, having averaged 8.8 points per game on over 37% shooting from beyond the arc. However, he's owed $16 million in 2024-25, the second-highest mark on the team, and represents an albatross of a contract at that value.
It's unclear whether Charlotte's ownership is willing to dip into the luxury tax. If they're not, the Hornets are currently more than $8 million over the cap entering the offseason. That doesn't include draft picksorany potential additions through free agency. For one of the worst teams in the NBA, that's truly a disastrous position to be in.
Thus, Bertans becomes an obvious trade-or-cut candidate. This is the last year of his contract and he's likely not part of the Hornets' core who could eventually become part of a contending team, thus, he's expendable.
I am choosing to look at Davis Bertans’ time here in a positive light.
— Mavs Film Room 🐴🎥 (@MavsFilmRoom)June 25, 2023
Without his contract, we don’t get the trade exception that helped us get O-Max.
At the end of the day, his contract turned out to be a positive value for us.
🎥@BiasedSlightlypic.twitter.com/E9Y3rFxty0
Bertans is a reliable shooter and makes a ton of sense as a complementary player or a depth piece on a contending team. The Los Angeles Lakers could've certainly used him this postseason, for example, and I could imagine other playoff teams being interested in a tall, reliable shooter.
Regarding the current Hornets' construction though, Bertans does not make sense at his current price. Expect the organization to strongly consider moving on from the 6'10" sharpshooter.
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