Colbinii wrote:jbk1234 wrote:Also, I question the timing. The Hornets have a history of making win-now moves too early in the rebuild and capping themselves at play-in or first-round out status. You have the Bucks and Heat fighting to keep their windows open, but aging players and maxed cap sheets are going to make that difficult to sustain. The Sixers have a bunch of cap space and could actually improve that roster this summer. Even the Bulls are still trying to win-now.
I'd draft BPA, give Miller (as well as M. Williams) another year to develop, and reassess next year. Finally, if they pay Miles and trade for CJ, that's your roster with Ball and G. Williams already under contract. By the time CJ falls off the books, your young guys are coming off their rookie contracts. It's too early to remove the option of using cap space as an avenue for improvement.
Charlotte can also use C.J. expiring to trade with assets for a bigger fish.
You can't seriously think Charlotte trading completely useless expirings for one extra year of salary for a starting SG is going to ruin their re-build.
I think they're a 30 win team with CJ that manages to outscore bad teams and gets run out of the gym by good ones because they can't defend anyone (see the Hawks with Trae, Murray, and Bogi). I think building a team that can't defend anyone is a bad idea as poor defense is contagious. You should be trying to develop good habits with young players such as playing good defense and moving the ball. To the extent CJ takes touches away from Miller, which seems inevitable, it's counterproductive.
Moreover, there's a good chance CJ doesn't want to end his career on a lottery team whose win total he's managed to raise by 5 games, let alone become a sixth man on one which might be the only way to make it work. The Hornets, in particular, have had an issue with being impatient and tying up cap on Batum and Hayward, both of whom were performing well enough when signed, before they had the foundation of a good team in place.
The only way this could conceivably work out is if CJ gets moved to sixth man and is moved either at the deadline, or next summer at the very latest. That conversation with CJ should absolutely be a prerequisite to the trade so if CJ is going to buck, you don't find afterwards.
