Summer of 2021 Transactions
Posted: Wed Apr 6, 2022 4:22 pm
Looking back at all of the substantial transactions the Hornets made last summer, what are everyone's thoughts?
I was very vocal last summer at my disappointment of all the moves the Hornets made. Unfortunately, nothing has changed my opinion on the majority of these moves. And some of the moves that I thought were good moves at the time I now question as good moves.
Traded cap space for Mason and 2nd round pick. We absorbed Mason into some of our existing cap space. At best he has been mediocre, although the second half of his season has been better than the first. Our Center position is still a train wreck and we could have used some of that money to go after a better option. However, in hindsight perhaps passing on Holmes was the right move, considering the allegations against him.
At least we were able to get a second-round pick which was used on Thor.
Overall I give this move C.
Drafting James Bouknight. He's shown nothing this year to suggest he was worthy of the spot where he was drafted. There were better options that fit a roster need. James was very duplicative of what we already had in Terry.
Overall I give this move D
Trading a future first-round pick to draft Kai Jones. It was pretty obvious from the first moment we saw him in summer league that he is several seasons away from being close to a productive in be a player. I certainly understand the lore given his incredible athletic ability. However, for a team with few assets and too many young players already, adding another project Center, to go along with Nick Richards and Vernon Carey from the previous year didn't quite make sense. Hopefully when we trigger the protection on this pick it's not too painful. Towing a future first-round pick to the Knicks as also hamstrung our ability to trade future first-round picks, making it even more difficult to acquire a legitimate starting center.
Overall I give this move a D
Resigning Terry Rozier to a four-year extension. I'm not sure who we were betting against with this extension. Terry wants to be here which is always a huge positive for Charlotte. However, it may have been a bit premature to sign him to that contract knowing that he and lamelo are not a great fit next each other, especially defensively. It does not appear to be an albatross of a contract that will be impossible to move if we decide to change up the roster. I actually liked this move at the time but as the season drags on I am beginning to think this was a bad decision.
Overall I give this move a C
Signing James Borrego to a contract extension. It's never a good idea to have a coach on a lame duck contract. He has been good for developing some of the young players, but the on court performance in wins and losses has been underwhelming, even though we beat Las Vegas odds. I'm sure this contract is on the cheap end so it shouldn't be too much of a burden to buy out his contract if the team decides to move on from him this summer or next. It was probably a move that had to be done to provide some level of continuity, but I think in the end it will hurt MJ's wallet cuz I don't see him here Beyond next season. If we get blown out in the play-in game again I can definitely see the franchise making a move to go in a different direction.
Overall I give this move a C+
Using our cap space to sign Kelly oubre. I was skeptical of this move at first oh, since he did not address any of our primary concerns. I also mentioned any preseason thread that We might as well have just kept Caleb Martin if we needed another wing. In hindsight, Caleb probably would have been a better use of our money. Kelly has proven to be an inefficient chucker who is absolutely horrendous defensively. He seems to only play well as a starter yet he's not good enough to be a consistent starter on this team. The second half of his season has been downright awful. When he gets hot he is capable of carrying a team to Victory which he has shown on a few occasions this year. Otherwise, hes mostly a net negative.
Overall I give this move a D
Signing ish Smith with our remaining cap space to fill out our backup point guard spot. He did provide some veteran leadership but not much else. He did not address our biggest needs at backup point guard, which is size. defense and shooting. There were probably better options available, as evidenced by us picking up Thomas on the cheap later in the year.
Overall I give this move C-
Trading Devonte Graham to the Pelicans for a potential future first round pick or second round picks. There was no way we could afford to keep him, getting anything of value for him is a bonus. This is probably the only move we made last summer that has really been a plus.
The grade of this move is really contingent upon which pick we received from the Pelicans. If we get their first-round pick this is clearly an A+. If this conveys into multiple 2nd round picks I would still give it an A since we are getting something for nothing.
Drafting j.t. Thor in the second round. He has actually shown a little bit of defensive promise but little else.
Overall I give this move a B
Not finding a legitimate starting center Last Summer should get the overall front office an F.
Obviously some of these grades can change if our rookies pan out.
I'm not sure if the summer of 2021 is quite as bad as the summer of 2016 since we did not hand out any Albatross contracts, unless you consider Terry's contract an albatross. However, in hindsight it seems as though almost every move we made last summer was average at best. Better use of our draft picks, cap space Oh, and prioritizing finding a legitimate Center could have provided a roster capable of finishing in the top six, without compromising future assets.
Did I miss any transactions of note?
Your thoughts?
Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app
I was very vocal last summer at my disappointment of all the moves the Hornets made. Unfortunately, nothing has changed my opinion on the majority of these moves. And some of the moves that I thought were good moves at the time I now question as good moves.
Traded cap space for Mason and 2nd round pick. We absorbed Mason into some of our existing cap space. At best he has been mediocre, although the second half of his season has been better than the first. Our Center position is still a train wreck and we could have used some of that money to go after a better option. However, in hindsight perhaps passing on Holmes was the right move, considering the allegations against him.
At least we were able to get a second-round pick which was used on Thor.
Overall I give this move C.
Drafting James Bouknight. He's shown nothing this year to suggest he was worthy of the spot where he was drafted. There were better options that fit a roster need. James was very duplicative of what we already had in Terry.
Overall I give this move D
Trading a future first-round pick to draft Kai Jones. It was pretty obvious from the first moment we saw him in summer league that he is several seasons away from being close to a productive in be a player. I certainly understand the lore given his incredible athletic ability. However, for a team with few assets and too many young players already, adding another project Center, to go along with Nick Richards and Vernon Carey from the previous year didn't quite make sense. Hopefully when we trigger the protection on this pick it's not too painful. Towing a future first-round pick to the Knicks as also hamstrung our ability to trade future first-round picks, making it even more difficult to acquire a legitimate starting center.
Overall I give this move a D
Resigning Terry Rozier to a four-year extension. I'm not sure who we were betting against with this extension. Terry wants to be here which is always a huge positive for Charlotte. However, it may have been a bit premature to sign him to that contract knowing that he and lamelo are not a great fit next each other, especially defensively. It does not appear to be an albatross of a contract that will be impossible to move if we decide to change up the roster. I actually liked this move at the time but as the season drags on I am beginning to think this was a bad decision.
Overall I give this move a C
Signing James Borrego to a contract extension. It's never a good idea to have a coach on a lame duck contract. He has been good for developing some of the young players, but the on court performance in wins and losses has been underwhelming, even though we beat Las Vegas odds. I'm sure this contract is on the cheap end so it shouldn't be too much of a burden to buy out his contract if the team decides to move on from him this summer or next. It was probably a move that had to be done to provide some level of continuity, but I think in the end it will hurt MJ's wallet cuz I don't see him here Beyond next season. If we get blown out in the play-in game again I can definitely see the franchise making a move to go in a different direction.
Overall I give this move a C+
Using our cap space to sign Kelly oubre. I was skeptical of this move at first oh, since he did not address any of our primary concerns. I also mentioned any preseason thread that We might as well have just kept Caleb Martin if we needed another wing. In hindsight, Caleb probably would have been a better use of our money. Kelly has proven to be an inefficient chucker who is absolutely horrendous defensively. He seems to only play well as a starter yet he's not good enough to be a consistent starter on this team. The second half of his season has been downright awful. When he gets hot he is capable of carrying a team to Victory which he has shown on a few occasions this year. Otherwise, hes mostly a net negative.
Overall I give this move a D
Signing ish Smith with our remaining cap space to fill out our backup point guard spot. He did provide some veteran leadership but not much else. He did not address our biggest needs at backup point guard, which is size. defense and shooting. There were probably better options available, as evidenced by us picking up Thomas on the cheap later in the year.
Overall I give this move C-
Trading Devonte Graham to the Pelicans for a potential future first round pick or second round picks. There was no way we could afford to keep him, getting anything of value for him is a bonus. This is probably the only move we made last summer that has really been a plus.
The grade of this move is really contingent upon which pick we received from the Pelicans. If we get their first-round pick this is clearly an A+. If this conveys into multiple 2nd round picks I would still give it an A since we are getting something for nothing.
Drafting j.t. Thor in the second round. He has actually shown a little bit of defensive promise but little else.
Overall I give this move a B
Not finding a legitimate starting center Last Summer should get the overall front office an F.
Obviously some of these grades can change if our rookies pan out.
I'm not sure if the summer of 2021 is quite as bad as the summer of 2016 since we did not hand out any Albatross contracts, unless you consider Terry's contract an albatross. However, in hindsight it seems as though almost every move we made last summer was average at best. Better use of our draft picks, cap space Oh, and prioritizing finding a legitimate Center could have provided a roster capable of finishing in the top six, without compromising future assets.
Did I miss any transactions of note?
Your thoughts?
Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app