BrandHIM Miller: The Brandon Miller Thread

[NCHeels2008]

Brandon is mature beyond his years. If you've watched and listened to him this season I question your judgement if you don't come away impressed by him.

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Its almost like he was tanking his perception, between the gun thing, the inept tourney appearance, the PG is my GOAT it just seemed like he was naive at best, a moron at most

[fatlever]

Watching them force feed wemby was tough to watch. Just constant turnovers and bad offense.

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[Rich4114]

Watching them force feed wemby was tough to watch. Just constant turnovers and bad offense.

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He had 5 turnovers in like 11 mins. That’s a turnover almost every time he had it for more than 3 seconds.

G leaguers were definitely trying way harder tho

[JustBuzzin]

My only complaint with Miller is he hates going for rebounds. I have noticed this trend all season and that's the only negative I can see in his game as a rookie.

I think playing him at guard is probably the best move for these next few years. Would love to see us draft one of those wings with our lottery pick.

[lmcguir15]

My only complaint with Miller is he hates going for rebounds. I have noticed this trend all season and that's the only negative I can see in his game as a rookie.

I think playing him at guard is probably the best move for these next few years. Would love to see us draft one of those wings with our lottery pick.

The hope would be that he improves as he gains muscle. Miles is the high flyer wing that gets a lot of the boards that the bigs don't get, so it's not like we have a gaping hole as a team.

[wilson115]

He averaged 8.2 boards per game at Alabama. It's the only thing that hasn't panned out in most people's evaluations of him going into the draft. (Other than going to his mid-range game a whole lot more in the NBA.) Maybe it's the adjustment or Steve's game plan, but a lot of draft heads swear rebounding always translates so I'm sure it will once he puts more meat on them bones.

[-Ian-]

I think this article by Tony Jones flew under the radar.

The Charlotte Hornets actually have reasons to be optimistic

The kid is all right

Brandon Miller, in my opinion, is the single biggest reason for optimism that the Hornets have. Obviously, LaMelo Ball is an All-Star level point guard, and one of the best young guys at his position in the league. But, even as a rookie, I think Miller is the best player on the roster despite Ball’s counting stats being superior to Miller’s.

When you watch Miller for an entire game, every single possession, you grow an appreciation for everything he does to affect winning. And a lot of those things don’t show up on a stat sheet. It could be a defensive rotation here, a hockey assist there, or a subtle tap on an offensive rebound that gives the Hornets an extra possession.

Miller affects almost everything on a court. He can shoot. He can handle and pass the ball. He’s an excellent and impactful defender. He’s a versatile and smooth offensive player. At 6-foot-9, he has the jumbo size for a shooting guard. When I watch Miller play, I see a younger version of LA Clippers forward Paul George.

As controversial as this will sound, I would trade Ball and build around Miller. The Hornets already secured multiple assets at the deadline with the moves they made. Trading Ball would be selling high on a terrific talent who has had issues staying healthy. He played just 36 games last season and has been limited to appearing in just 22 of the Hornets’ 56 games this year, but his star power and upside would garner enough assets to truly build around Miller. Ball finalized a five-year max contract extension last July worth up to $260 million.

The Hornets are already tracking towards a top-five pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, which should allow them a real opportunity to land a nice talent to go with Miller. I think Miller has emerged as a top three player in the current rookie class. I also think Ball’s injury issues have allowed Miller the runway to take ownership of the current roster. It’s clear that he’s the guy you want to build around.

You want to shape a franchise around the people who affect winning. Brandon Miller affects winning.

[KembaWalker]

LaMelo Ball also affects winning. There’s literally no reason not to build around both of them, they both complement each other perfectly, they’re on the same timeline. The article disingenuously implies we could “sell high” on LaMelo like the rest of the league is oblivious to his health. Trading LaMelo right now might not be rock bottom value that we’d be risking one or two more major injuries from now but it’s also very far from “selling high”

[Bassman]

Very good article, and yes his take on trading Melo now doesn’t acknowledge his lowered value due to all the injury time away. BUT, I understand the general direction he is implying. As a rookie, Miller is bringing the whole package to this team, including maturity and emerging leadership, which are qualities Melo still lacks.

I’d like to see what these two can do together when everyone is healthy. Frankly I’d not complain if they shut down LaMelo the remainder of this year IF that is the best way to get him fully healed. Bigger issue; Ball has got to get off his current path and get serious around training. He needs more strength to support his long term problem ankles condition and to be a better defender/all-around player.

Next season would be the best gauge on where he’s at, what he’s been willing to do, and if he’s going to take the game and team seriously. Frankly it’s time for LaMelo to be a pro, to work at it, put aside the bling and fling. Can he do that? If so he and Miller could indeed carry us to heights never known. If he’s not willing or able, consider dealing him.

[JMAC3]

TLDR, Charlotte has a new young good player, it's bad for the NBA to have 2. Please trade LaMelo to a major market now instead of building around both. Thanks.

[Rich4114]

TLDR, Charlotte has a new young good player, it's bad for the NBA to have 2. Please trade LaMelo to a major market now instead of building around both. Thanks.

This narrative must go away

[SWedd523]

LaMelo Ball also affects winning. There’s literally no reason not to build around both of them, they both complement each other perfectly, they’re on the same timeline. The article disingenuously implies we could “sell high” on LaMelo like the rest of the league is oblivious to his health. Trading LaMelo right now might not be rock bottom value that we’d be risking one or two more major injuries from now but it’s also very far from “selling high”

Argument being that he's never available to play.

Doesn't matter how much he affects if he's never on the floor to effect that affect.

We have to come to the realization that Melo is quickly approaching damaged goods territory at this point and needs some serious attention with medical, physical therapy, or weight room/diet.

If the team wants to grow, they need to be able to depends on guys to play, because that greatly affects roster moves.


It's not just Melo either. Mark is approaching that point himself as a big dude with a back problem.

The frustrating thing is if they both get past the injuries then everything is golden for a trio with a ton of potential to grow into a long term contender.

[LofJ]

Echoing that last statement we are the only below 500 team that has beat the Celtics all season. It was one of the few games when LaMelo, Miller, and Mark all played. It sucks that it was so short lived, we really need to go all in to do whatever it takes to get them both healthy.

[JustBuzzin]

TLDR, Charlotte has a new young good player, it's bad for the NBA to have 2. Please trade LaMelo to a major market now instead of building around both. Thanks.

Nobody is pushing this narrative. Most people don't even view Melo as that kind of player. Hard to get noticed when you are injured most of the time.

[JMAC3]

TLDR, Charlotte has a new young good player, it's bad for the NBA to have 2. Please trade LaMelo to a major market now instead of building around both. Thanks.

Nobody is pushing this narrative. Most people don't even view Melo as that kind of player. Hard to get noticed when you are injured most of the time.

I am saying that is what National Media would prefer happens.
Nobody is actually rooting for Charlotte to be good.
They want the Hornets to be bad, LaMelo to get traded to Lakers for 3 firsts to play with AD and LeBron or some other bs situation that does nothing to make Charlotte better.

There is no world where trading a 22 yr old allstar because you have a 21 year old rising star makes sense.
Especially if your other main rotation players are also 22-25 yrs old and you have a surplus of draft capital in the future.

[JustBuzzin]

TLDR, Charlotte has a new young good player, it's bad for the NBA to have 2. Please trade LaMelo to a major market now instead of building around both. Thanks.

Nobody is pushing this narrative. Most people don't even view Melo as that kind of player. Hard to get noticed when you are injured most of the time.

I am saying that is what National Media would prefer happens.
Nobody is actually rooting for Charlotte to be good.
They want the Hornets to be bad, LaMelo to get traded to Lakers for 3 firsts to play with AD and LeBron or some other bs situation that does nothing to make Charlotte better.

There is no world where trading a 22 yr old allstar because you have a 21 year old rising star makes sense.
Especially if your other main rotation players are also 22-25 yrs old and you have a surplus of draft capital in the future.

I can't blame the Nat'l media for not taking us serious when we have been one of the worst ran franchises in the league for quite some time.

New ownership can help turn this around. MJ is gone and we should feel excited about the future. Melo will not be traded just because. If we are trading him it's likely because he wanted out.

I'm excited to see how Ball/Miller backcourt leads us. We deserve it quite honestly.

[luciano-davidwesley]

The author comes across as a Melo hater.

[JMAC3]

The author comes across as a Melo hater.

I legit don't think half of the national media even knows how young LaMelo is. Not even saying because he will get better, which he obviously will... but the fact that despite him being in 4th year he still is on the same time table as our rookie.

If LaMelo is healthy his contract is a bargain. Yes, a bargain. Pretty much all the rookie max contracts are because they are still cheaper than the Vet Max guys who are usually on the wrong side of their prime.

[JustBuzzin]

The author comes across as a Melo hater.

I legit don't think half of the national media even knows how young LaMelo is. Not even saying because he will get better, which he obviously will... but the fact that despite him being in 4th year he still is on the same time table as our rookie.

If LaMelo is healthy his contract is a bargain. Yes, a bargain. Pretty much all the rookie max contracts are because they are still cheaper than the Vet Max guys who are usually on the wrong side of their prime.

The few times I have seen Charlotte brought up was on ESPN NBA Today and TNT. They were clowning us in both situations.

For whatever reason we are a joke Nationally. They don't even discuss Miller when they talk rookies and he was the #2 pick in the draft! They simply don't watch us or care to watch us.

The only way we can make them talk about us is win games. We have the core moving forward to do just that. I haven't been excited about the Hornets future since I became a fan. We really got something to build with. Adding a top 5 pick will also help.

Melo/Mark just have to get healthy because they can really take us to another level.

[Snidely FC]

Brandon remains at #3 on the NBA.com Rookie Ladder

After being named the East’s top rookie in January, Miller has been the busiest so far in February. He leads NBA newcomers this month in total minutes, points, buckets, shot attempts, 3-pointers made and 3-pointers taken. He has scored 10-plus points in 45 of his 52 appearances.