Hornets look to the future after another failed season

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

The Charlotte Hornets were one of the NBA’s worst teams at 19-63, but forward Miles Bridges was the most productive player with 1,300 points (20.3 ppg) and 7.5 rebounds per game.

The Charlotte Hornets’ third straight losing season is over.

Charlotte finished 19-63, the fewest wins for the franchise since 2011-12 when the then-Bobcats went 7-59. It was not the season Vice President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson envisioned for his first season, but he is pleased with how the team handled a season with numerous injuries and starting lineups. 

“It was certainly challenging to evaluate the roster just because of [those factors],” Peterson said. “I looked yesterday, and I think we had 45 different starting lineups. … Again, it is not ideal to be able to evaluate in any scenario. 

One of the things we talked about coming into the season was establishing a culture, one of guys being together, hard work, being prepared and just daily improvement. By all accounts I think we achieved a lot of that. The record doesn’t necessarily indicate that but if you look at the goals we made when we set out, there was progress made. I know we have a long way to go, but I am pleased with the way our group handled the season.”

For coach Charles Lee, while the results weren’t what he had hoped for, he is thankful to be in the position he is in. He is ready to continue to work to get the franchise going back in the right direction.

“I am just thankful to be in this position,” Lee said. “I definitely do not take it for granted the trust that Jeff and the ownership bestowed on me to lead this team in year one. I think of a vision to just be able to build sustainable success. The goal the whole year was to build standards of competitiveness, daily improvement and an environment of togetherness. … It’s hard not to be optimistic when you come to work with great people. … There are so many good things to take from the season, no matter what the results were.”

LaMelo Ball played the most games this season (47) since 2021 where he played 75. He averaged the most points per game of his career with 25.1 per game and feels his health is moving in the right direction despite being shut down at the final two months for wrist and ankle surgery.

“Health-wise I have already been starting to trend the right way,” Ball said. “I am happy with that. I am going to go see my mom and pops and then when I get back, I should be able to work out and start doing everything for the next season. So, I am happy with all of that.”

Lee said Ball playing more games is “encouraging,” from a coaching perspective as well. 

On Jan. 23, forward Brandon Miller was ruled out for the remainder of the season. Miller was one of the bright spots in his second season, averaging 21 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game when he was injured.
Miller echoed Lee’s assertion that the team was diligent in improving.

“The season didn’t go the way we wanted it to,” Miller said. “But the thing I take out of this season is we all came in with the mindset of getting better every day. I think we stayed consistent with that mindset. As far as me being engaged, I think that is just me being a young leader. Everyone has a job around here and I think everyone listens to each other. [On the court] I can always put my few inputs in, but always staying positive and keeping everyone engaged and staying bonded together. I think that is going to help us over the summer and into next season.”

Peterson said that he and the Hornets’ leadership team are being diligent in not skipping steps in trying to turn the franchise around.

“The goal is always to be able to build something sustainable,” he said. “This was just year one and a lot of it was the evaluation process. I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but I can’t emphasize enough that when you try to skip steps or you go overpay a free agent or make a trade that completely jeopardizes your future, it can handicap you and you will be stuck for a long time. So, I would say we are still in the premature stages or the infancy stages to build this thing the right way.” 

The Hornets now await their draft position. Charlotte, Utah and Washington all have a 14% chance to win the draft lottery.

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