Congratulations Hornets on your first NBA title

[Sixers in 4]

Hornets hold off Kings to win NBA summer league title

LAS VEGAS -- Kon Knueppel, the fourth pick in this year's NBA draft, scored 21 points, and Charlotte held off a Sacramento rally to beat the Kings 83-78 on Sunday for the Hornets' first summer league title.

"It's a championship game," said Chris Jent, Charlotte's summer league coach. "That's what everybody wants to see anyway, so it works out well. In order to win a championship, you've got to play through adversity."

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45784931/kon-knueppel-scores-21-points-hornets-hold-kings-win-first-nba-summer-league-title

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Watched the game Kon Knueppel can shoot. One of the best pure shooters of the draft. Still question his ability to defend at the next level I guess we will see if he can shoot at a high enough percentage and volume to remain a starter at the NBA level.

He certainly did in summer league and hit a clutch 3-pointer with around 30 seconds left to put away the game.

[taikibansei]

Hornets hold off Kings to win first NBA summer league title

So...what are the other two NBA titles won by the Hornets?

[Sixers in 4]

Hornets hold off Kings to win first NBA summer league title

So...what are the other two NBA titles won by the Hornets?

It was incorrect info from another source that said they won the 2014 and 2021 titles. ESPN said it was their first.

They won summer league titles in 2014 and 2021. Knueppel continued his hot play after scoring five points in his opener. He averaged 18.3 points over his final four games and was named the championship game MVP.
https://abc30.com/post/hornets-hold-off-kings-win-first-nba-summer-league-title/17220771/

Google search (hornets nba tites) AI summary was wrong. Disappointing. I clicked on the article because I couldn't recall them winning in 2021. They were talking about the Kings somehow, which got attributed to the Hornets by Google's AI.

[MasterIchiro]

Hornets fans may be in denial about it but Collin Sexton will start at SG between LaMelo Ball & Brandon Miller, plus Miles Bridges.

Sexton is an established primary playmaker who fits as a secondary playmaker to give LaMelo some freedom off the ball when the defense smothers him and wears him down which has been the opposing game plan. The goal is to get more mileage from LaMelo. Tre Mann is the backup PG, and Dinwiddie is PG3. The roster has 4 players capable of running offense.

The center position is another story, and looks like it makes no sense on the surface.

Personally, I'd like to see the Hornets develop Kon as a top option from the bench. Otherwise he's competing for touches with LaMelo, Miller, and Miles. He should not be 4th option because his upside is higher than that. And he should not be asked to defend NBA starters right now. But most importantly, can't ask a rookie to take the heat off LaMelo, while Sexton is on the roster. I want to see Sexton re-signed.

Let Kon develop as option 2 after Tre Mann on the bench. And let Liam McNeeley compete with him. All three of them can operate as secondary playmakers. All three can shoot.

So Kon and Liam should help the Hornets develop a viable bench in the coming 3-4 years, that is cost-controlled.

Who fits as starting center longterm?

Maybe they don't have a target. That's my only explanation other than the GM struck out.

[taikibansei]

Hornets hold off Kings to win first NBA summer league title

So...what are the other two NBA titles won by the Hornets?

It was incorrect info

No worries! I'd thought I'd missed the introduction of yet another new gimmick--like the NBA In-Season Tournament, the Kia Skills Challenge, the play-in, etc.--that the Hornets had won twice. Something like, "NBA Best Dressed Bench On A Weekend in March Championship," which I'm sure is coming soon.

[Sixers in 4]

So...what are the other two NBA titles won by the Hornets?

It was incorrect info

No worries! I'd thought I'd missed the introduction of yet another new gimmick--like the NBA In-Season Tournament, the Kia Skills Challenge, the play-in, etc.--that the Hornets had won twice. Something like, "NBA Best Dressed Bench On A Weekend in March Championship," which I'm sure is coming soon.

It's just me being old and trusting Google's top search result, which was an AI summary of an article, even though it didn't seem right.

[Saints14]

Hey, it’s just summer league but why not play to win and enjoy it? Congrats to Hornets fans, it looks like they have a promising rookie class coming in that could really elevate their group in time. Same for Kings fans, they have to be feeling good about drafting Clifford and Raynaud in addition to Devin Carter coming in healthy

[ropjhk]

It was incorrect info

No worries! I'd thought I'd missed the introduction of yet another new gimmick--like the NBA In-Season Tournament, the Kia Skills Challenge, the play-in, etc.--that the Hornets had won twice. Something like, "NBA Best Dressed Bench On A Weekend in March Championship," which I'm sure is coming soon.

It's just me being old and trusting Google's top search result, which was an AI summary of an article, even though it didn't seem right.

This thread works better anyways if the Hornets are winning their first title. That's more noteworthy.

[EmpireFalls]

Let’s be clear the team is still in very rough shape and will absolutely be bad next year. They have the worst front court in the NBA, the center rotation particularly being possibly the worst I have seen in close to a decade.

33 wins is the ceiling.

All that said - this actually does mean quite a lot for the franchise in terms of the new ownership and professionalism of the organization. Michael Jordan was nothing short of a malignant cancer onto the franchise and constantly undercut us and sabotaged any hopes of success.

Just 3 years ago, we lost out on COTY Kenny Atkinson because Jordan wouldn’t pay up for his assistants. At the time, our basketball decision making room was:

GM: Mitch Kupchak, who had just been sacked by the Lakers for handing out gigantic contracts to Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. AGM: Buzz Peterson, a lackey who just happened to be Jordan’s college roommate. Director of Player Personnel: Jordan’s older brother

These clowns could barely find their way out of an open room let alone organize a proper professional basketball organization. The G League team was consistently the worst and least organized, the development program was non-existent, the two-ways basically went to local guys because no one in the franchise had the work ethic or means to do comprehensive scouting.

While Schnall/Plotkin are not perfect, they have invested heavily in making this a competitive organization, with new facilities and upgrades to the arena coming, actually hiring high level coaches and decision-makers, and investing in analytics and scouting.

This title would never have happened under Michael Jordan. It’s a small thing yes, but what it represents to us can not be understated. It is truly a new era.

[MasterIchiro]

Eh, the arena upgrades were put in motion under MJ, and likely added value in transfer of ownership. The new owners acquired the team with a bottom 5(?) payroll, and haven't really invested **** yet. All offseason additions are 1 year deals (vet min) and rookie scale contracts. Diabaté is currently slated as C1 and he's earning 2.2 million. There is less longterm money owed on this roster than any in the NBA.

I'd hold off on stroking new ownership. And the new GM had a fine draft 2025 (Kon, McNeeley) but he flubbed his first (Salaün) and added a negative value contract in Josh Green.

Jury is out on these clowns.

[chilluminati]

Damn those are some icy rings for a summer league championship

[GSWFan1994]

I wonder how they're going to compete with no center rotation. They traded everyone!

Also, curious to see if Salaun will develop to at least a rotation player level.

[hauntedcomputer]

And they said you couldn't build a winner around Lamelo

[MasterIchiro]

I wonder how they're going to compete with no center rotation. They traded everyone!

Also, curious to see if Salaun will develop to at least a rotation player level.

It's inexplicable that the GM would write a road map to center by trading the starter and the backup without lining up a deal to restore some level of competition.

So I suspect the GM struck out.

And that's the reason Hornets have the worst frontcourt in the East. Some fans have a theory that tanking center was done intentionally as a way to tank the season. But that conflicts with adding Sexton and Dinwiddie to fortify the PG spot for LaMelo and Tre Mann. That position is actually competitive.

I am beyond pissed off the GM downgraded center. It rattled my confidence in the new GM which he already shook when he picked Salaün in his first draft. He looks like a bust. And Josh Green might cost a 1st round pick to move. He was pretty atrocious in his first year as GM.

In his second year he downgraded center, and lacks the track record for me to trust he did it intentionally. His negotiations likely fell apart, and he possibly misread the market for centers.

Crazy after putting in motion the Mark Williams trade long before the deadline. He had plenty of time to survey the market.

Why is he still empty handed and having to cut Okogie, then Connaughton and Nick Smith Jr.?

There are worse players he added to the roster.

[Trey24]

I wonder how they're going to compete with no center rotation. They traded everyone!

Also, curious to see if Salaun will develop to at least a rotation player level.

It's inexplicable that the GM would write a road map to center by trading the starter and the backup without lining up a deal to restore some level of competition.

So I suspect the GM struck out.

And that's the reason Hornets have the worst frontcourt in the East. Some fans have a theory that tanking center was done intentionally as a way to tank the season. But that conflicts with adding Sexton and Dinwiddie to fortify the PG spot for LaMelo and Tre Mann. That position is actually competitive.

I am beyond pissed off the GM downgraded center. It rattled my confidence in the new GM which he already shook when he picked Salaün in his first draft. He looks like a bust. And Josh Green might cost a 1st round pick to move. He was pretty atrocious in his first year as GM.

In his second year he downgraded center, and lacks the track record for me to trust he did it intentionally. His negotiations likely fell apart, and he possibly misread the market for centers.

Crazy after putting in motion the Mark Williams trade long before the deadline. He had plenty of time to survey the market.

Why is he still empty handed and having to cut Okogie, then Connaughton and Nick Smith Jr.?

There are worse players he added to the roster.

Labeling Salaun a bust before his 20th birthday after he has shown a lot of improvement is pretty crazy.

[MasterIchiro]

I wonder how they're going to compete with no center rotation. They traded everyone!

Also, curious to see if Salaun will develop to at least a rotation player level.

It's inexplicable that the GM would write a road map to center by trading the starter and the backup without lining up a deal to restore some level of competition.

So I suspect the GM struck out.

And that's the reason Hornets have the worst frontcourt in the East. Some fans have a theory that tanking center was done intentionally as a way to tank the season. But that conflicts with adding Sexton and Dinwiddie to fortify the PG spot for LaMelo and Tre Mann. That position is actually competitive.

I am beyond pissed off the GM downgraded center. It rattled my confidence in the new GM which he already shook when he picked Salaün in his first draft. He looks like a bust. And Josh Green might cost a 1st round pick to move. He was pretty atrocious in his first year as GM.

In his second year he downgraded center, and lacks the track record for me to trust he did it intentionally. His negotiations likely fell apart, and he possibly misread the market for centers.

Crazy after putting in motion the Mark Williams trade long before the deadline. He had plenty of time to survey the market.

Why is he still empty handed and having to cut Okogie, then Connaughton and Nick Smith Jr.?

There are worse players he added to the roster.

Labeling Salaun a bust before his 20th birthday after he has shown a lot of improvement is pretty crazy.

Eh, he sucks bad. Crazy to think otherwise.

[NyKnicks1714]

Michael Jordan was nothing short of a malignant cancer onto the franchise

Damn, chill

[God Squad]

It's inexplicable that the GM would write a road map to center by trading the starter and the backup without lining up a deal to restore some level of competition.

So I suspect the GM struck out.

And that's the reason Hornets have the worst frontcourt in the East. Some fans have a theory that tanking center was done intentionally as a way to tank the season. But that conflicts with adding Sexton and Dinwiddie to fortify the PG spot for LaMelo and Tre Mann. That position is actually competitive.

I am beyond pissed off the GM downgraded center. It rattled my confidence in the new GM which he already shook when he picked Salaün in his first draft. He looks like a bust. And Josh Green might cost a 1st round pick to move. He was pretty atrocious in his first year as GM.

In his second year he downgraded center, and lacks the track record for me to trust he did it intentionally. His negotiations likely fell apart, and he possibly misread the market for centers.

Crazy after putting in motion the Mark Williams trade long before the deadline. He had plenty of time to survey the market.

Why is he still empty handed and having to cut Okogie, then Connaughton and Nick Smith Jr.?

There are worse players he added to the roster.

Labeling Salaun a bust before his 20th birthday after he has shown a lot of improvement is pretty crazy.

Eh, he sucks bad. Crazy to think otherwise.

Arguably one of the worst draft picks I've ever seen play basketball, at least at the forward position. Saluan's game needs to be simplified to only shoot spot-up 3's, because anytime he has to dribble or drive to the basket, it's a mess. Defense could be much better because of measurements, but he seems heavy-footed. The results aren't great so far.

But I see no reason why he shouldn't/couldn't improve. In theory, he should be a good spot-up guy in time.

FTR - I think Kon was a great pick for you. Charlotte could use an attitude/culture shift.

[OrlandoMagic198]

Congratulations to the Hornets on their first summer league championship

[Lalouie]

hornets have a super well-designed court, though