Offseason Thread

[fatlever]

yes, give me taj, waive frank
then find a pg, waive sumner

[luciano-davidwesley]

Indeed I haven’t heard a peep from the pair. We can only speculate but such non-communication and non-action tells me they’re letting this train head to the old canyon bridge…the one with cracked timbers and rusted rails.

Per ESPN’S ranking of all 30 teams, Hornets are 29th, just above the Wizards. Other teams project to finish behind CLT with less wins, so not sure why they rank that low.
“ESPN Forecast: 30-52 | Caesars: 30.5 wins | Title odds: +50000”

Also, only one player rated in top 100 (LaMelo, #49). The next higher team at #28, Portland, has five ranked players:

Deandre Ayton (49), Jerami Grant (58), Scoot Henderson (78), Anfernee Simons (85), Robert Williams III (89)

I'd trade rosters with Houston and Detroit in a nanosecond.

I'm going on the record now that if healthy, both Thompson twins will be better than Miller. I'd bank on the twins learning how to shoot over Miller learning to be elite at anything, just from what we've seen from the three of them

Lol and lol. Cool your jets the Thompson twins have played high schoolers their whole careers. Super overhyped.

I'd way rather have Lamelo, Miller and Williams than the hail mary's on the Detroit and Houston rosters. It's not even close.

Also lol at Scoot Henderson being the hype train #78 best player in the NBA already. He couldn't affect winning in the G League but somehow he's going to slay the NBA in year 1?

To be fair I think he'll become a good player (just like Miller will) but the difference in the national narrative between the two is nauseatingly bad and reeks of people never actually watching either of them play but jumping on the hype bandwagon.

[LofJ]

We finally signed an adult. Welcome back Ish!

Read on Twitter

[MPM]

At the very least, a stabilizing locker room presence/vet mentor. Welcome back, Mr. Ish. Sorry, NBA Champion Mr. Ish.


https://www.nba.com/news/ish-smith-on-verge-of-1st-nba-championship-with-record-13th-team

"He’s become an assistant coach-ish type of presence and a voice that resonates throughout the locker room.

“When you can have veterans that are truly selfless and not worried about, ‘Hey, I’m not in the playoff rotation,’ but they’re still invested in the team and the team’s success and they’re willing to use their voice in a positive manner, that is really impactful,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said."

[Walt Cronkite]

Welcome back, hopefully he can have an impact off the court.

[SWedd523]

We finally signed an adult. Welcome back Ish!

Read on Twitter

I'm an unnecessarily huge fan of Ish. Glad he decided to come back. Love this.

[fatlever]

I wonder if the signing of ish means that Theo is a little further away than we expected. I do like that we added a legit veteran to the locker room, especially one who knows most of the players already. He doesn't solve our three-point shooting or point of attack Defender for our second unit, but he does provide that much needed ability to put pressure on the rim

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

[Chapelchilla]

Thank you Mitch! Finally a move to address our major weak spots - back up PG and veteran leadership. I know he is at the end of his career but dang, at least he can provide a role model to the young fellas. A vet big would be good too. Someone tough who does not party on pre-game nights preferably.....

[luciano-davidwesley]

I think Maledon and Hayward should be able to provide sufficient playmaking off the bench. We can always trade for a backup PG before the trade deadline if we are decent.

I also honestly think we could have done worse this offseason than Ish Smith. I thought he was sneaky solid here backing up LaMelo.

Called it in the Miami preseason game thread.

I'm glad he's back. He'll do a decent job for us. Hopefully we cut Bouknight too and sign another backup big, preferably one that can shoot.

[LofJ]

Rod Boone is putting in the work. He interviewed Alonzo freaking Mourning about his time as a Hornet and a bunch of other old timers. This is a real treat. You guys need to read this.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article280745560.html

[Bassman]

Rod Boone is putting in the work. He interviewed Alonzo freaking Mourning about his time as a Hornet and a bunch of other old timers. This is a real treat. You guys need to read this.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article280745560.html

It remains the LOUDEST sports arena, and event, I’ve ever been to in my life. From the article, with Kenny Gattison discussing the Coliseum and Hornets early days:

The Hornets’ early fan base wasn’t born in a city already rich with professional sports, which Gattison surmises is a big reason for the city’s ardent embrace. At the old Coliseum, no one sat on their hands and waited until the fourth quarter to become vocal. “I believe the arena was packed when we came out for warm ups,” Gattison said. “It just was a different environment. I’ve always said that Hive was the best arena, the best fan base, the best crowd in the NBA. Guys couldn’t stand playing there because they couldn’t hear. They were like, ‘We expect not to hear the last six minutes of the fourth quarter.’ They say, ‘We can’t hear from the start of the game to the end of the game.’

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article280745560.html#storylink=cpy

[LofJ]

Some great Ish quotes:

Read on Twitter

[fatlever]

Some great Ish quotes:

Read on Twitter

Ish Quotes (probably)

" it's such a great locker room with a bunch of great guys. What I really appreciate about the guys in this locker room is they are such Unique Individuals that are not bound by traditional norms like speeding, DUIs, stopping at red lights, following probation rules, you know, dumb stuff like that. These young dudes don't get caught up in the details, it's more go with the flow and I love that about this team"

"and what can I say about the tremendous front office they have put together here. What I like about Mitch and his staff is they don't try to put pressure on us to win. They understand it's a small Market with basically no chance to ever succeed, so they're happy to just let us do our thing and maintain status quo. I think that really puts the players at ease and let everyone have a really good time rather than worrying about wins and losses."

" and the fans, I couldn't come back here not mention the fans. I mean, we get 8 or 9,000 people to show up to games on a Tuesday. I've played for a lot of teams in this league, let me just tell you getting 9,000 people to an arena on a Tuesday night is a big deal. I like that the fans here don't really pressure the team to win, like in some of the big markets. You know they're just here to maybe get lucky and get a t-shirt, grab a Star Wars themed bobblehead. Those are the things that really matter in this league."

[Liver_Pooty]

Some great Ish quotes:

Read on Twitter

Ish Quotes (probably)

" it's such a great locker room with a bunch of great guys. What I really appreciate about the guys in this locker room is they are such Unique Individuals that are not bound by traditional norms like speeding, DUIs, stopping at red lights, following probation rules, you know, dumb stuff like that. These young dudes don't get caught up in the details, it's more go with the flow and I love that about this team"

"and what can I say about the tremendous front office they have put together here. What I like about Mitch and his staff is they don't try to put pressure on us to win. They understand it's a small Market with basically no chance to ever succeed, so they're happy to just let us do our thing and maintain status quo. I think that really puts the players at ease and let everyone have a really good time rather than worrying about wins and losses."

" and the fans, I couldn't come back here not mention the fans. I mean, we get 8 or 9,000 people to show up to games on a Tuesday. I've played for a lot of teams in this league, let me just tell you getting 9,000 people to an arena on a Tuesday night is a big deal. I like that the fans here don't really pressure the team to win, like in some of the big markets. You know they're just here to maybe get lucky and get a t-shirt, grab a Star Wars themed bobblehead. Those are the things that really matter in this league."

Lol okay I read that first paragraph "quote" and was like what the hell he really said that? You got me.

[MPM]

Some great Ish quotes:

Read on Twitter

Ish Quotes (probably)

" it's such a great locker room with a bunch of great guys. What I really appreciate about the guys in this locker room is they are such Unique Individuals that are not bound by traditional norms like speeding, DUIs, stopping at red lights, following probation rules, you know, dumb stuff like that. These young dudes don't get caught up in the details, it's more go with the flow and I love that about this team"

"and what can I say about the tremendous front office they have put together here. What I like about Mitch and his staff is they don't try to put pressure on us to win. They understand it's a small Market with basically no chance to ever succeed, so they're happy to just let us do our thing and maintain status quo. I think that really puts the players at ease and let everyone have a really good time rather than worrying about wins and losses."

" and the fans, I couldn't come back here not mention the fans. I mean, we get 8 or 9,000 people to show up to games on a Tuesday. I've played for a lot of teams in this league, let me just tell you getting 9,000 people to an arena on a Tuesday night is a big deal. I like that the fans here don't really pressure the team to win, like in some of the big markets. You know they're just here to maybe get lucky and get a t-shirt, grab a Star Wars themed bobblehead. Those are the things that really matter in this league."

HoF!

[Trey24]

FYI this thread should be dead. IT AIN'T THE OFFSEASON ANYMORE LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Chapelchilla]

I went to a bunch of games at the Hive from 1990-1995 when I was in college up in Boone. Loved that atmosphere! When they cranked up those lasers and started the theme song it went buck wild. I was also lucky enough to have caught the Boston series winner live. They did training camp at ASU for several years too. We would stalk them at the Varsity gym and I got autographs from Larry, Mugsy and Gminski. Larry even told me to call him Big L! We are tight like that.....lol