Charlotte Hornets to the NBA: We’re dealing

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Tuesday's trade of Terry Rozier to Miami for a 2027 first-round draft pick and Kyle Lowery opens the door to a roster overhaul by the Charlotte Hornets.

From plans to be a surprise team in the Eastern Conference to staring down a second-consecutive top-five draft pick, the Charlotte Hornets are sellers at the trade deadline after a tumultuous, injury-riddled first half of the season.

It seems like just yesterday the Hornets opened the season with such optimism, beating Atlanta in LaMelo Ball’s return from injury, seeing No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller’s double-digit debut, Terry Rozier’s crunch-time reliability, Mark Williams’ nightly double-double potential, and knowing there were just nine more games until Miles Bridges’ suspension concluded.

Fast forward three months and 40 more games, and the Hornets’ opening night optimism has faded, moving on from Terry Rozier and dropping 31 games, including an 11-game skid - which at one point was the longest active losing streak in the league.

The Hornets enjoyed just two games with their ideal starting five (Ball, Rozier, Miller, Bridges and Williams), scoring consecutive victories over Boston and Washington.

Injuries have hit repeatedly, and Charlotte has utilized 19 different starting lineups through 41 games without a single player appearing in more than 35. Ball has missed 21 games, Williams 22, Gordon Hayward 16, and key reserve Cody Martin 30.

With the Feb. 8 trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Hornets have decisions to make. Hayward, Bridges and Rozier have all been mentioned as possible trade targets for contenders across the league, with the latter being the first domino to fall on Tuesday.

Rozier, who is averaging career-highs of 23.2 points and 6.6 assists on 46% shooting from the field, was shipped to Miami for a 37-year-old Kyle Lowry, who hasn’t scored more than 20 points in a game since November and 10 total points in his past five games.

“He made a great impact on this organization, on the court and off the court,” Kupchak said of sending Rozier to Miami. “This morning, in my call with him, he thanked us for bringing him to Charlotte. He feels he has become more professional and a better person (in Charlotte).”

The trade pairs Rozier with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and budding star Jamie Jaquez under the guidance of Erik Spoelstra, one of the best coaches in the league. Rozier gets another chance to contribute to winning basketball at an ideal destination where he has a summer home.

The enticement for Charlotte is Miami’s 2027 first-round pick (protected) as the Hornets look to build around the backcourt duo of Ball and rookie guard Miller.

Lowry is a candidate for the buyout market as his $29.6 million contract expires at season’s end, but under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement rules, title contenders, including Milwaukee, Boston, Denver and Phoenix, can’t acquire him as his salary far exceeds the mid-level exception threshold.

Kupchak said Charlotte would be active up until the trade deadline and stated that Lowry likely would not appear in a game for the Hornets prior to the trade deadline “out of respect for him.”
With the Hornets showing their hand as sellers, it opens the floodgates with multiple expiring contracts on the books.

Who’s next?

Hayward’s $31.5 million contract expires at the conclusion of the season, and the buy-out market is an option for the 14-year veteran. Hayward has yet to play more than 50 games across four seasons in Charlotte and is on pace to continue that streak this season, playing in just 25 games.

Bridges, who signed a $7.9 million qualifying offer to return following his 92-game suspension for domestic violence, has also been a trade target linked to Phoenix, Dallas, and Detroit, according to reports. The sixth-year wing seems content in Charlotte, but a big payday is in line as Bridges is averaging career-bests in points (20.9), rebounds (7), and steals (1) per game.

Although P.J. Washington just signed a three-year, $48 million extension over the summer, the fifth-year forward is also receiving interest in the trade market.

For Charlotte, all signs point to the prioritization of building around the trio of Ball, Miller, and Williams.

Room to maneuver

According to a league source, Rozier “dribbled the air out of the ball” in his time in Charlotte, and it’s a “very exciting (time)” for the Hornets, who opened $24 million of cap space and added a future first-round selection.
Rozier’s exit opens the door for Miller and Nick Smith Jr., Charlotte’s late-first-round selection in the 2023 draft. Although Ball commands the offense when healthy (33.6 usage percentage), Rozier was Charlotte’s secondary ball-handler, with a 22% usage rate with Ball on the court and 28% with Ball sidelined – which he has been for half of the season.

Miller will garner a portion of that responsibility, and following sprained ankles and non-Covid illness, has hit stride with three consecutive 23-plus point games. Miller has played the most minutes of any Hornet this season with 1,067 at a usage rate of 21.7%.

Smith has been a rotational piece for much of the season, appearing in 26 games and playing over 30 minutes just once – in a home overtime loss to Chicago. He is a pure scorer who is still looking to develop the other aspects of his game and had been taken under his wing by Rozier. Although Clifford doesn’t view Smith as a point guard, the 6-foot-2 rookie from Arkansas has ample opportunity to command more minutes on a nightly basis, sharing the backup ball-handling responsibilities with veteran Ish Smith.

Silver linings

Although a fan favorite is off to compete for a championship in Miami, Charlotte still has multiple bright spots for the future.

Ball has returned to All-Star form, averaging 24.7 points, 8.1 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. And the face of the franchise loves playing alongside Miller.

“It speaks for itself. Six-foot-9, athletic, can defend, shoot, run, get out,” Ball said. “Whenever you have that, you’re going to feel it. So, just having (Miller) back…smooth.”

Maybe the best outcome of the Rozier trade is Charlotte’s front office and ownership making the decision to look to the future. After multiple trade deadlines and free agency periods with little to no movement, it’s clear that the Hornets have accepted that the current roster fit, both injured and healthy, isn’t built for long-term success.

While the return haul for Rozier is less than ideal, at least Charlotte has started what could become a fire sale to off-load expiring contracts and players who do not fit the Hornets’ timeline.

“When our record is what ours is, nobody is untradeable,” said Kupchak, adding that there are multiple players that would be difficult to trade.

The bottom line

While this season felt like it could be a turning point for the franchise, Charlotte is punting yet again – likely extending its playoff drought to a league-leading eight seasons.
“It’s definitely not a rebuild,” Kupchak said. “We think we’ve got a foundation of players in place.”

Injuries have derailed Charlotte’s early-season plans for a second-consecutive year, and Steve Clifford’s record in his second stint as head coach is 37-86 through a season and a half. Charlotte exercised Williams’ third-year option prior to the 2023-24 season, meaning that the Hornets have at least one more year with the trio of Williams, Miller and Ball – with the latter inking a $260M deal to keep him in Charlotte until 2028.

With a $215 million arena renovation beginning in May of 2024 and concluding in September of 2026, adding young talent around Ball and working towards becoming a formidable team in the Eastern Conference is step one to filling the 2,500 additional lower-level seats, as the Hornets currently ranked 29th out of 30 teams in attendance this season (an average of 16,538 fans per home game).

While the 2024 draft class isn’t highlighted by a household name like Victor Wembanyama, fans will soon know the name Zacchaire Risacher – and with the Hornets sitting in fourth in the current draft lottery, maybe even in Charlotte.  

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