Charlotte offseason in review (HW/Slava/cl2117/bondom34/pacers33granger/MotorKeepsGoing/Mystical Apples)
Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 3:13 pm
Charlotte Offseason Review
Key Losses:
Losses:
Christian Wood
Ramon Sessions
Miles Plumlee
Marco Belinelli
Briante Weber
Brian Roberts
Draft:
#11 Malik Monk
#31 traded for and then traded away
#40 Dwayne Bacon (traded for)
#41 traded away
Trades:
Miles Plumlee, Belinelli and #41 for Dwight Howard and #31
#31 for #40 (Bacon) and 1.8m cash
Free Agency:
Malik Monk rookie scale
Dwayne Bacon 3/3.8m
Michael Carter-Williams 1/2.7m
T.J. Williams min nongtd
Isaiah Hicks min nongtd
Marcus Paige two-way contract
Mangok Mathiang two-year two-way contract
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Kemba Walker, Michael Carter-Williams, T.J. Williams
SG: Nicolas Batum, Malik Monk, Treveon Graham
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, Dwayne Bacon
PF: Marvin Williams, Johnny O’Bryant, Isaiah Hicks
C: Dwight Howard, Frank Kaminsky, Cody Zeller
HartfordWhalers wrote:HartfordWhalers Review
Key Losses:
Christian Wood
Ramon Sessions
Miles Plumlee
I still hold out hope for Christian Wood, in the irrational way that looks at his upside and acknowledges what is holding him back while also disregarding that importance. After all, for a 15th man -- or even a 17th man now a days -- it should be about having that upside.
But Sessions is a key loss. Charlotte's bench was incredibly weak last year and giving up known production for the crapshoot that is MCW is a potential weakening of an already weak point. Granted, Sessions was part of that incredible weak bench and his addition to the Knicks didn't make me blink twice in assessing the Knicks. A subpar backup is a subpar backup. But not even having a subpar backup is an issue.
Plumlee was a horrible contract to the point that losing him is a key loss.
Losses:
Marco Belinelli might have rebounded from his horrific year in Sacramento, but he was never playing at a level that justified his purchase price of a first rounder. That trade was as inexplicable as the Vasquez for a first from Milwaukee, and now the Dwight Howard trade. You can 'solve' two of those by assuming that Beli is really just worth that much, and perhaps years from now NBA historians will reach that conclusion as they try and minimize trade absurdity. But trade absurdity is a thing (Wallace for the Lillard pick), and Belinelli wasn't worth that in either trade. Nor was he a key loss, as Monk even as a rookie should be able to offset the loss. The rest was filler.
Draft:
I would have been okay with Monk as a stretch but filling a need for Philly at #3, assuming no trade down was available and ignoring Isaac's potential. So, getting Monk at #11 is a huge win in my book. He also is a perfect fit in terms of his skill set -- shooting and floor stretching. There is some question as to his defense. For Philly there was the possibility of cross matching on pg's while playing with a 6'10" Simmons as the pg, and while kKemba does not offer that same possibility it does exist in the second unit with MCW. The downside is this is again relying on MCW.
I would have greatly prefered Charlotte stay at #31 once securing the pick from Atlanta's largesse. At #31 they could have added a few players I am more intrigued with than Bacon, who is already fairly old and has shot questions. The upside of a player as young as Frank Jackson (or even Jawun Evans) for a team that needed a backup pg seems a good sell, or if targeting that backup sf I will again profess an admiration for Semi-Ojeleye. But the draft is all about Monk at the end of the day, and that he fell to Charlotte looks great for them.
Trades:
As mentioned, I'm not a fan of the trade back from #31. But the other trade was such a fleecing that it is hard to miss too much an improved 2nd rounder that Charlotte had no right to ever own. Upgrading Plumlee to Dwight was amazing. More has been said before on it, but Charlotte just seriously upgraded and got compensated to do it, which is quite a feat.
Free Agency:
MCW and then nothing? For a one year flier it will make me flag the importance of having a Sessions type that can give you playable backup pg minutes which isn't a guarantee with MCW. So, I'm not fully enthralled with this, but there is some intrigue in playing MCW with either Monk cross matched, or Kemba as a scoring guard offensively more off ball. If Charlotte hadn't done more elsewhere this area would really drag them down but it also has some intrigue. It would be easier to like with a team option. Or if Charlotte had signed the China bound Brandon Jennings to compete with MCW and provide more assurance about the position.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Kemba Walker, Michael Carter-Williams, T.J. Williams
SG: Nicolas Batum, Malik Monk, Treveon Graham
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, Dwayne Bacon
PF: Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, Johnny O’Bryant, Isaiah Hicks
C: Dwight Howard, Frank Kaminsky,
I moved Zeller to backup pf for balance, but also see additional thoughts. Dwight/Zeller/Kaminsky seems likely to have minutes spillover to pf and that won't be Dwight.
Needs:
More bench strength and a consolidation trade if possible. Health.
Additional Thoughts:
I think MKG should be transitioning to being a full time pf. If Monk is a starting sg, then Batum can be the starting sf and it works with no bench depth. If Monk cannot assume that role, a starting sg/sf is still needed. But ultimately I see a team that will need more depth 1-3 as counting on MCW and Lamb is tricky as well.
Projected Win/Loss: 44-38 I'm moderately bullish on this team, which means extra wins in the middle morass of the East.
Off-Season Grade: A I had to hold off the minus even. There was enough small things mentioned but the big things (Monk/Dwight) were so right, and so much better than expected that it had to stay an A.
Slava wrote:Slava’s Charlotte Offseason Review
Losses:
Christian Wood
Ramon Sessions
Miles Plumlee
Marco Belinelli
Briante Weber
Brian Roberts
Only player from this cohort to have played significant minutes and cracked the top 8 of the rotation is Belinelli but he kind of becomes redundant when you consider who they drafted and what he fetched in trade.
Briante Weber and Christian Wood are intriguing prospects who should catch on to end of bench roles for the one or two skills they bring.
Draft:
Getting Monk at #11 makes it a very good draft for Charlotte. Even if he doesn't start right away, he will be a very good rotation piece for them in the backcourt and might end up closing out games alongside Kemba, Batum and Williams in a 1-in 4-out offense. He makes the rotations very intriguing.
Bacon reminds me of a slasher in the Mo Evans mold who might end up having a decent career if he can improve his shot and his rebounding translates to the NBA level but he has a big adjustment to make from being a 30% usage guy in college to being a role player with spot minutes at best in the NBA.
Trades:
I’m not sure who Dwight Howard pissed off so much in such a short time in Atlanta to be traded with incentive for what is essentially a poo platter. He does seem to have a gift for burning bridges it so it doesn’t entirely come as a surprising outcome. Even if he is not the same caliber of DPOY talent, Howard is still a very good defender and with some humility might thrive in a spread pick and roll offence that Clifford is looking to build here. This is exactly the kind of volatile high variance chances a team like Charlotte would need to take so I have this as a very good trade for them.
Considering the shallow depth in the backcourt I would probably not have traded down from #31 as there is a good chance of getting some end of the bench talent there but somebody has to pay for MJ’s cigars and distressed jeans.
Free Agency:
None too exciting but I would have liked for them to push harder for some quality at back up guard spots.
Current Depth Chart:
PG: Kemba Walker, Michael Carter-Williams, T.J. Williams
SG: Nicolas Batum, Malik Monk, Treveon Graham
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, Dwayne Bacon
PF: Marvin Williams, Frank Kaminsky, Johnny O’Bryant, Isaiah Hicks
C: Dwight Howard, Cody Zeller
The starting line up is good and Monk/Lamb/Frank/Zeller is a decent headliner for the 2nd unit but I’m not entirely sold on MCW and a min contract guy as the back ups at PG. Monk might be able to run some point but the SG depth is also very weak and Batum/MKG are susceptible to injuries so this team can sink or swim based on health.
Needs:
Back up guards
Good health for MKG, Batum
Additional Thoughts:
Charlotte were statistically a bang average team last season (14th in ORTG, 14th in DRTG) with nearly neutral SRS and a projected win/loss of .500 team but underperformed by 6 wins. Zeller’s injury might be the culprit (3-17 without him) but I’ll wait for someone who actually watches them regularly to explain it better.
The addition of Howard and Monk makes them an intriguing team and they have the continuity in front office, ownership and roster to be quietly good in a barren eastern conference this season.
Projected Win/Loss: 44-38
Off-Season Grade: B+
cl2117 wrote:cl2117’s Charlotte Offseason Review
Key Losses:
Marco Belinelli
He's easily the best player they've lost this off-season, which I think is a really positive thing for them. I hated the trade they originally made to get Marco, I just didn't think he put them over the top and really didn't like the price, but he was solid and they ended up using him to win a different trade. So I really like how they turned that around from where they were with the first trade.
Losses:
Christian Wood
Ramon Sessions
Brian Roberts
Briante Weber
Miles Plumlee
Outside of Marco I don't see much else of significance gone from the roster. Sessions and Roberts are nice vets, but they really didn't produce. Plumlee never did much and was just filler from the Hibbert/Hawes dump. Woods/Weber were undrafted pickups.
6 guys feels like a lot, but in the grand scheme of things they didn't lose much more than dead weight.
Draft:
They get an A from me. Monk is an absolute steal at #11. Love his upside. The fact that he can shoot so well right out of the gate should give him a really nice floor and I think his scoring could become elite. I think he could fit well next to a lot of guys so there's flexibility there for the future.
I hated their trade out of #31 to get Bacon and $1.8m. I know it's incredibly easy for me to chastise the organization for moving down 9 spots for $1.8m, but that's what we're here to do.
I think I'd have less of a problem if I liked Bacon more, but I don't. I just think there were a handful of other guys I'd rather have taken a flier on (admittedly all similar level dart throws). More importantly though there are at least 5 guys who were still available at #31 that I thought were great value or fits and they went for the money and a lesser propsect (I liked: Rabb, Ojeyele, Frank Jackson, Frank Mason and Anigogbu at #31 for either value or fit for CHA).
Really not that big of a deal though after having Monk fall to them. That's the important bit.
Trades:
I LOVE the Howard trade for them. The gave up virtually no value to reunite Clifford and Howard and given their lack of other options to similarly transform the front-court I think it's an A+ deal for them. Howard's deal may be a salary dump from Atlanta's side, but for Charlotte I think they're still upgrading their roster and his contract really won't be too prohibitive for them down the line.
When they get competent play from the Center position Charlotte can be really good. When healthy Dwight can still provide that and then some.
I question the fit given MKG's offensive shortcomings and now you bring in a total non-spacer in Dwight, but again at the price they paid to acquire him and given the potential upside of his addition it's a worthy gamble. Monk will add some of the much needed shooting to the roster and given that his defense is likely what limits his playing time to start his career he should benefit from having a safety net like Howard in the paint.
Great deal for them that will make them interesting to watch, push them towards the playoffs and cost them virtually nothing. It's even better given that they managed to use Marco to get it done after I was so critical of the deal that brought him to town in the first place.
Free Agency:
I like the MCW signing. Not that I really expect all that much out of him, but at least with him there is potential for him outperform very low expectations. I think Roberts and Sessions are solid vet options, but this team can use whatever lottery/scratch tickets they can get. At that price I'd count him as one. Also with his size I like the MCW/Monk pairing as a 2nd unit.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
It's a solid roster. Hopefully they'll have a fun playoff chase. I don't see the talent for them to challenge anyone really, but they should be fun to watch. They're in a bit of a no-mans land, but I see a 2 year path where they're staying competitive with Dwight and then have the option to swing for the fences with plenty of cap space or go full rebuild if the pieces they've drafted/cultivated aren't showing enough promise to provide depth or be a draw to FAs.
Needs:
Health (or not)
Shooting
Playoff Berth
Last year the Hornets looked pretty damn good when they got decent play from their frontcourt. If Dwight can stay healthy for the majority of the season I can see Clifford's Hornets turning in one of the better defensive seasons of the 2018 season. If he doesn't they'll be a lottery team. So in my eyes you either want him to play 7 games or 70 games.
If they're going to be running lineups with MKG and Howard out there at the same time they're going to need 3 other guys who can shoot the lights out to compensate for them. I think the Monk addition helps and with guys like Kemba, Frank and Batum they should be able to put together some versatile lineups.
I don't think they need one, but I think they deserve one. They made the bold Belli move last year but fell short and then with Dwight this year I think they're in line to challenge for one. I'd like to see them get there this year. I think it'd be a good opportunity to assess how far away they really are and give them a better idea on what their plan should be for after Howard leaves. I think it could result in them being a lottery team again, which is why I want another playoff run for their fans beforehand.
Additional Thoughts:
Overall it was a really nice offseason. Great draft, a really fun/good value trade for Dwight and no mistakes in FA. Can't complain on that front.
I still question the roster fit and how they expect to make everyone mesh together. I think that holds their grade back a bit, just because I don't think it's readily apparent how they can make the rotations maximize their new talent.
Projected Win/Loss: 42-40
Between the Howard addition and the East taking a further step back, they end up as the 7th seed.
Off-Season Grade: B+
Love the value of most of their moves, but fit holds the grade back a bit (MKG/Dwight). Monk gives them the potential for this to be an A+ in retrospect and the value they got on the deals gives them a really good floor for our future 20/20 hindsight reviews.
bondom34 wrote:Bondom34's Charlotte Offseason In Review
Key Losses:
None
Losses:
I'm more tempted to call Bellinelli a key loss than anyone, but I don't really think any of these guys are that big a deal.
Draft:
Boy talk about your guy falling to you. If there was a guy in the top 10 Charlotte could have used it was probably Monk, and here we are with him falling to 11. I didn't love trading 31 as I think Jackson would have been a good get given the PG situation behind Kemba and I don't have a strong view on Bacon right now.
Trades:
I was in utter shock when the Dwight trade happened. Dwight has his issues for sure and I won't pretend he's a perfect player but he had some pretty good years and a coach like Clifford feels like one who can get the best from him. Not only that but they gave up less than nothing to get him, as I'm not sure many or any teams would take Plumlee/Bellinelli/41 for cap space alone. This is an upgrade in player while moving up in the draft from 41 to 31. Later swapping out from 31 I didn't care for but the initial move was a grand slam.
Free Agency:
After the draft all was pretty quiet and I kind of like MCW there. He's not great but I'd take him over Sessions and for that price is a decent get All else was pretty quiet.
Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Kemba Walker, Michael Carter-Williams, T.J. Williams
SG: Nicolas Batum, Malik Monk, Treveon Graham
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, Dwayne Bacon
PF: Marvin Williams, Johnny O’Bryant, Isaiah Hicks
C: Dwight Howard, Frank Kaminsky, Cody Zeller
Needs:
I'd still like to see a better backup point guard here which is a reason I think Mason would have been better than trading 31. Hoping Williams returns to 2016 form would be huge, and other than that if Batum bounces back a bit they could be a really fun team out east. I think I have them 5th or 6th out east but could see as high as 3 or 4 if things break right.
Additional Thoughts:
I really don't have any here, just a fantastic offseason. This to me was the single best offseason in the Eastern Conference.
Projected Win/Loss: 45-37
Off-Season Grade: A- Would be an A but trading 31 for cash got me.
pacers33granger wrote:pacers33granger's Review
Key Losses:
None. The only rotation players lost were Belinelli and Sessions, both of which probably should not be rotation players.
Losses:
The only loss I have any issue with is Briante Weber and it's super minor. Clearly he is nothing special, but Charlotte could use some end of the bench prospects. They got some in free agency, but Weber seemed like he had some modest potential and I think they gave up on him a bit too early. The rest of the losses probably fall into the addition by subtraction category.
Draft:
Charlotte had a great draft. They got an absolute steal in Monk. He could be a very good longterm fit next to Kemba or he could be the piece in a star trade. I know nothing of Bacon so won't comment on him.
Trades:
I still have no idea how they got Dwight this cheap. They moved up in the draft. dumped Plumlee's horrid deal, and chopped a year off that deal as well. All at the cost of Belinelli. That is a clear negative value package and, even with his warts, Dwight has much more of a chance to make a difference than anything going out. Worst case scenario, Charlotte still cut a year off Plumlee's deal.
Free Agency:
MCW is a decent gamble. I'm slightly worried relying on him as an actual PG, but I assume the plan is to use Batum more and Monk as creators behind Kemba. I think Clifford could help remake MCW on the defensive end. The rest are minimum signings that I know little of.
Current Depth Chart:
PG: Kemba Walker, Michael Carter-Williams, T.J. Williams
SG: Nicolas Batum, Malik Monk, Treveon Graham
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, Dwayne Bacon
PF: Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, Johnny O’Bryant, Isaiah Hicks
C: Dwight Howard, Frank Kaminsky
Needs:
Health and another reliable wing. MKG can't seem to get healthy so Charlotte will likely be relying on Monk and Lamb to provide solid wing play. Having a veteran wing could help a lot.
Additional Thoughts:
Charlotte went in the offseason with little flexibility but somehow ended up getting Howard, Monk, and MCW while dumping Plumlee. It's not an incredible haul. However, it is better than I think most would have thought they could do. The idea was that last season was a string of bad luck and they were stuck so it made sense to try it again with largely the same roster. They definitely upgraded on the court and improved their assets (big part of that was Monk falling to them) and that's better than most teams.
Projected Win/Loss: 48-34
Off-Season Grade: B+
MotorKeepsGoing wrote:MotorKeepsGoing's Review
Key Losses:
None. I can't stress enough how much the players we let go sucked.
Losses:
Miles Plumlee
Briante Weber
Brian Roberts
Christian Wood
Ramon Sessions
Marco Belinelli
Chad Buchanan (front office guy)
Patrick Ewing (assistant coach)
Not many people realize how dire our bench situation was last season. Bellinelli, Roberts, and Sessions were all among the worst defenders at their positions, and Sessions in particular was an unmitigated disaster on offense too. Wood, Weber, and Plumlee were never able to contribute- Wood almost never saw the floor, for reasons unbeknownst to us, Mr. $37.5M was injured almost his entire tenure here, and Weber was just too erratic on both ends. By the way, this is after we jettisoned Hawes and Hibbert at the deadline, also two of the worst backup centers.
So just getting rid of all these guys while trading no member of our top 7 or any promising youngster is a job well done by Rich Cho. Major props.
Chad Buchanan, who came on board in 2014, left the Hornets for Indiana this offseason. Not sure how to feel about it, but it's a thing that happened.
Patrick Ewing has, by all accounts, been a pretty good assistant coach and deserved the HC job for Georgetown. He's the only piece in this whole list we'll miss even a little bit.
Draft:
Monk is the find of the offseason for the Hornets. Few people expected Monk to fall here, and he fills a huge need as a potential lights out shooter and all-around scorer. Monk has the potential to be the Klay Thompson/Bradley Beal/Zach LaVine/Devin Booker scoring wing we seem to pass on year after year, but so desperately need. You're not going to find many draft picks in franchise history that Charlotte fans across the board were happy about at the time, but this was likely one of them.
Bacon seems to be a wild card, capable of a lot of different things on the wings but a master of nothing. It's hard to see him being in the rotation this year, as we have 4 definite rotation players on the wings, Treveon Graham possibly being ahead of Bacon in the pecking order due to the way he played in brief minutes last year, and the likely prospect of giving MCW minutes on the wings as well.
Trades:
Regardless of how you feel about Dwight Howard, he's an upgrade over what we had at backup center. Howard's rebounding and overall paint presence will help us a lot against the likes of Hassan Whiteside, DeMarcus Cousins, etc who simply manhandle Zeller in the paint. Dwight will likely start, but split center minutes with Cody Zeller. I don't foresee either one playing more than 27-30 minutes or playing more than about 10 minutes together. Howard's got his quirks, but I guarantee every Hornets fan is thrilled to not have to sit through 20+ minutes of Plumlee/Hibbert/Hawes at center every night.
As if that wasn't enough, Howard's contract expires a year earlier than Plumlee's, adding $12.5M in cap space in the 2019 offseason. He becomes a free agent the same year that Kemba, MKG, Marvin , Lamb, and Frank all become free agents and we'll need the cap space. The pick swaps ended up being a wash, we picked up a minimal amount of cash considerations to go from #41 to #40.
Free Agency:
Current Depth Chart:
Starters / Rotation / deep bench reserves
Kemba Walker / Michael Carter-Williams / Julyan Stone
Nicolas Batum / Malik Monk / Dwayne Bacon
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist / Jeremy Lamb / Treveon Graham
Marvin Williams / Frank Kaminsky
Dwight Howard / Cody Zeller / Johnny O'Bryant
(not including the two-way players or non-gtd contracts)
Looking solid overall. Most Hornets fans are happy that the starting five from last season is all still here. Of all 1,974 5-man units that played at least 25 possessions together last season, Kemba/Batum/MKG/Marvin/Zeller ranked 8th in +/- (behind only lineups from GS, CLE, HOU, LAC and WAS), while that same lineup with Hawes instead of Zeller ranked 1,968th, and no other Charlotte lineup even cracked the top 100. That unit just clicked, and anytime we had to bring in player past #7 in the rotation last season, things would go south QUICK. We patched that issue the best we could, bringing in necessary depth at all positions.
Needs:
-upgrade at backup PG
-third string PF/SF
In all likelihood, we're done making moves this summer since we have a full roster, we're inches away from the luxury tax, and I do not foresee us crossing that line. But a more proven backup at PG would've been appreciated. We are basically looking at two years of full on win-now mode with this unit after which everyone important becomes a FA short of Batum, Monk, and Zeller, so I wouldn't expect anything too drastic.
Projected Win/Loss: 52-30
On paper, this team is better than the 2015-16 team that won 48 games and tied for the 3-6 seed in the East. Kemba has made another leap. Howard is an unquestionably more impactful player than that version of Al Jefferson and Spencer Hawes. Zeller is a better defender than he was two years ago, and there's no reason to believe Batum and Marvin can't replicate their 2015-16 outings. Frank is better than he was as a rookie as well. Our best defender in MKG will hopefully play a lot more than 7 games (he played 81 last season), and even if he did get hurt again, Lamb is much more suited to step in that role than PJ Hairston ever was, as is Treveon Graham. We're missing a backup PG of Lin's caliber, but with a much deeper bench than year's past (MCW, Monk, Lamb, Frank, Zeller/Howard), we will not be relying on MCW for scoring- only for his defense.
I'll catch some flack for this prediction, but I think this is the year the Hornets actually start to show who they really are. 52-30
Off-Season Grade: A-
We didn't pull off a trade for an all-star or anything like that, but Cho has pulled off his best offseason in his 6-year tenure here. Adding a second starting caliber center at the expense of Miles Plumlee's bloated contract, and letting go of five players that don't belong in any decent team's rotation, while adding a potential young stud in Malik Monk who fits our team perfectly should earn nothing less than an A-
Mystical Apples wrote:Mystical Apples Review
Key Losses:
Marco Belinilli’s offensive versatility was a valuable offset to Charlotte’s lack of primary scoring besides Kemba. To appreciate Marco's nuanced role let’s look at how Steve Clifford’s conservative style places a premium on perimeter halfcourt efficiency (frequency rates per NBA.com unless otherwise noted)
Turnovers: 10.7 turnover% was a modern NBA record https://www.basketball-reference.com/pi/shareit/aK52x
D Rebounding: 2nd in Drebs, 27th in transition frequency.
Transition D: Great for Defrtg. Not so great for easy putbacks (23rd).
Movement: 5th off screens, 5th cuts, 8th handoffs, 30th in iso frequency
The Staple: 1st in PnR handler + PnR roller frequency. 27th post up frequencySpoiler:
So we’re looking at a team that needs multiple handlers, space for those handlers, fancy passing, and off-ball activity. Oh, and NBA half court scoring efficiency is ~ .97 PPP, a full .09 PPP less than scoring in general and no cakewalk when the shots aren't falling. Marco wasn’t amazing in 2016-17 but his 1.05 halfcourt scoring PPP was way above average. He’ll be missed until Monk no longer plays like a rookie or 3 of MCW-Lamb-MKG-Howard improbably fit together.Spoiler:
Losses:
None really. Sessions’ last full game was January 31st.
Draft:
I had Malik Monk in the #7-10 range which assumes he’ll never transition to a combo guard. I have my doubts, and clearly so did several NBA teams. It’s a difficult adjustment for a player who didn’t exactly demonstrate PG skills in college. But if he does transition to combo? All bets are off because CHA is getting 4-7 value @ #11.
Regardless Monk’s availability was serendipitous. He slots perfectly in the Batum, Marco, and previously Troy Daniels role of coming off screens like an animal.
Trades:
The Dwight Howard trade was a major W so let’s move on to hating teams that sell high 2nd’s. Jokic aside, the talent curve usually drops hard somewhere in the late 30’s. Here’s a 2-group comparison I did for 1998 through 2012: One group is #27-35, the other is #36-44. An 8% chance of landing a future All-Star isn’t trivial. Nor is the ~ 30% better chance of finding a rotation player.
I only bring this up because CHA foolishly traded #31 for #40 + $1.8M. To compound matters they reached for Bacon when in an alliterative universe they could've traded cash + #31 to move up for Josh Hart.Spoiler:
Free Agency:
Charlotte's perimeter defense was awful last season so I like Michael Carter-Williams for $2.7M. He's clunky with Lamb and MKG but that can be addressed later. What's important is MCW's ability to defend SG’s when Monk is on the floor and another handling option to maximize Kemba’s C&S opportunities.
Needs:
A SF/PF rotation shooter
Additional Thoughts:
Charlotte has been pretty good recently but bad luck bounces, injuries at key positions, and whiffing on deeper rotation players has derailed 2 promising seasons. Their win total last season was 5.5 under what their NetRtg would suggest, the NBA's 8th biggest under performance of the last 5 years.
This offseason they dropped their weakest veteran minutes and essentially added Dwight Howard, MCW, and Malik Monk to a 42-win team. While I don’t see Howard raising CHA’s ceiling -- Cody Zeller is quite easily the better player -- I do see quality depth raising Charlotte’s floor.
Projected Win/Loss: 47-35
Off-Season Grade: B
All things considered Charlotte had an excellent offseason. They flirted with an A until selling their high 2nd and stopping short in Free Agency after signing MCW.
