Offseason 2025 Thread

[HornetJail]

The roster has enough talent to win 40 games

The main reason I am pessimistic is Charles Lee hasn’t shown he knows how to play them together.

If they share the ball the way SL team did look out.

If it’s still individual high usage and hunting 3s then hold your nose

I'm close to this conclusion. If JB was coaching this team and we could guarantee 60+ games of Melo, I could definitely see 35+ wins and a play-ins spot in this awful conference. Despite the horrific center rotation.

But I don't trust Lee, I don't trust our centers, I don't trust Bridges or our backup 4 situation, and I don't trust Melo's ankles. And if things go too well and we look like we're avoiding a tank job, I don't trust Peterson to stay the course.

[yosemiteben]

I have a hard time faulting Lee for not winning more games when half our starting lineup for most the season was guys who were supposed to be in the G league.

Second year with much more offensive balance and depth, will be a better test of his ability to implement an offensive system this year.

You can tell from our off-season that the plan wasn't for Melo to jack 30 shots a game.

[mg]

The center situation is obviously not ideal but this team does have talent.

Hopefully Brandon and Kon look legit and Lamelo stays healthy.

Their should be quality centers available by next offseason. I can see the Raps even begin to sell off pieces such as Poeltl by the deadline. Claxton might even be available now but can understand he might not be much of an upgrade over Moussa. OKC won't be able to afford to keep Hartenstein after this season. The Cavs might be looking to deal Allen after another meltdown in the playoffs. Who knows what will happen with the Clips (Zubac) after the latest Kawhi shenanigan just revealed today.

Peterson simply needs to stay opportunistic until the right guy comes available.

[GoBobs]

Ranking the Hornets by minutes played last year it goes:

Miles Bridges
Josh Green
Lamelo (47 gms)
Nick Smith Jr
Tidjane Salaun
Moussa
Mark Williams
DaQuan Jefferies
Seth Curry
Cody Martin
Brandon Miller
KJ Simpson
Vasilie Miccic
Grant Williams
Nurkic
Nick Richards
Taj Gibson
Tre Mann
Wendel Moore
Isaiah Wong
Elf
Jaylen Sims

Lee might be the coach of the year last year to win 19 games, when 3 of the top 5 guys in the rotation are Josh Green, Nick Smith Jr, and Tiddy. Now our depth should be more like:

LaMelo
Brandon
Miles
Grant Williams
Sexton
Tree Mann
Dinwiddie
Mason Plumblee
Kon

Then maybe you get a little something from Mousa who was the one guy that really looks promising out of all the guys we tried last year. Maybe you get little contribution from one of the other guys that you drafted if somebody else gets hurt.

[Chapelchilla]

Playing actual NBA level guys 2 deep gets us at least 10 more wins. I think 20 more wins is a realistic outcome. Much more then that will require good health, young players quick development, adaptable coaching and a trade for a difference maker.

Low end/we are outright tanking outcome - 25 wins, mid range "trying to get better but not maximizing" outcome - 35 wins, high end range with addition(s) - 45 wins.

[chrbal]

Random question. How many players (non two way contracts) does Charlotte have under contract?

[fatlever]

Random question. How many players (non two way contracts) does Charlotte have under contract?

18
We have to cut three players by start of season
probably
- jefferies
- nick smith
- connaughton

Or make a consolidation trade

[Diop]

Ben Simmons knocked back the Knicks probably the right choice as that fanbase would destroy him.

He should retire, he just doesn't have the fortitude for the NBA. His brain is more fragile than Lamelos ankles.

I'm disappointed he never found his way, but he's just not mentally built for it.

[luciano-davidwesley]

Ben Simmons knocked back the Knicks probably the right choice as that fanbase would destroy him.

He should retire, he just doesn't have the fortitude for the NBA. His brain is more fragile than Lamelos ankles.

I'm disappointed he never found his way, but he's just not mentally built for it.

We used to call it being soft back in the day. You can't say that anymore though.

[Diop]

Ben Simmons knocked back the Knicks probably the right choice as that fanbase would destroy him.

He should retire, he just doesn't have the fortitude for the NBA. His brain is more fragile than Lamelos ankles.

I'm disappointed he never found his way, but he's just not mentally built for it.

We used to call it being soft back in the day. You can't say that anymore though.

You can still call it soft if you like, doesn't change the fact that he hasn't got the ability to overcome it. He's just not built like that.

[Trey24]

Ben Simmons knocked back the Knicks probably the right choice as that fanbase would destroy him.

He should retire, he just doesn't have the fortitude for the NBA. His brain is more fragile than Lamelos ankles.

I'm disappointed he never found his way, but he's just not mentally built for it.

We used to call it being soft back in the day. You can't say that anymore though.

You can still call it soft if you like, doesn't change the fact that he hasn't got the ability to overcome it. He's just not built like that.

Mentally soft. But it is more than that. Simmons lost his desire to exceed expectations in basketball and the downturn occurred. Guy just doesn't want it enough. What a shame.

[GiggitySmalls]

He was never the prospect people hyped him to be and i saw it from day 1. I didnt think he'd be a mental midget though.

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[yosemiteben]

Read on Twitter

Amazing

[Chapelchilla]

Read on Twitter

Amazing

LOL. Intentional?

[HornetJail]

that's hilarious but there's no way Rozier is still a member of the Heat at that point in the season

[Bassman]

Some early views on the upcoming season starting to trickle in. Per an article by Bleacher Report NBA analyst Grant Hughes, he grades all the team’s projected starting units. Hornets starting five grade out at a D….nearly rock bottom. Charlotte evaluation below:

Collin Sexton would probably deserve a starting spot over Knueppel if Charlotte were a pure meritocracy, but the veteran guard doesn't have nearly the same level of organizational investment as the rookie.
Plus, Sexton is a clear trade candidate whose value might benefit from coming off the bench and piling up stats as a second-unit gunner.
Ball, when healthy, has generally been a stellar driver of offense. He's graded out no worse than the 93rd percentile in Offensive EPM across the last four seasons and should stay among the elites with better shooting in his supporting cast.
Miller could take a step forward in his third year, especially if he maintains the spike in three-point volume he showed in 27 games prior to a season-ending wrist injury last season. He and Ball could both get up more than 10.0 threes per game.
The center spot is rough, as Diabate doesn't contribute much besides offensive rebounding. Veteran Mason Plumlee could wind up starting, but he's not an upgrade.
Nobody listed here is known for his defensive contributions. If this unit gets significant minutes, it'll be almost impossible for Charlotte to beat last year's No. 24 ranking in defensive efficiency.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25242479-grading-every-nba-teams-starting-lineup-after-offseason

[Trey24]

I do think that, at this point, they are somewhat roster tanking going into the season. I agree with the premise of the above post, which is that defensively we may even take a step back this year. Center Rotation is dismal, we don't really have a rolling to the rim big. Our best defender this year that actually gets PT could project to be Tidjane Salaun, which is crazy (although I do like his defensive upside). I think that we will not be a very good rebounding team and while offensively we could be top 10, I do fear a bottom 5 defense would have us right back in the lottery. Maybe not the worst thing? Need positive vibes and health this year regardless to establish some momentum in the right direction.

Last thought: if Lamelo plays 65+ games we will be in the playoff picture because he is that much of an elevator, plus expected improvement and additions help that projection.

[amcoolio]

I just don't see it. I think Lee is that bad. He doesn't know what to do with this collection of players. I think even if LaMelo plays we are pretty far behind everyone else except for the Wizards and Jazz talent wise, so much so we have yet another "firesale" at the deadline when we are 10-30... I think we will for sure have top-4 odds for the next lottery. Maybe we get lucky this time.

[EmpireFalls]

I do think that, at this point, they are somewhat roster tanking going into the season. I agree with the premise of the above post, which is that defensively we may even take a step back this year. Center Rotation is dismal, we don't really have a rolling to the rim big. Our best defender this year that actually gets PT could project to be Tidjane Salaun, which is crazy (although I do like his defensive upside). I think that we will not be a very good rebounding team and while offensively we could be top 10, I do fear a bottom 5 defense would have us right back in the lottery. Maybe not the worst thing? Need positive vibes and health this year regardless to establish some momentum in the right direction.

Last thought: if Lamelo plays 65+ games we will be in the playoff picture because he is that much of an elevator, plus expected improvement and additions help that projection.

Man, if Tidjane is our best defender next year pencil us in for a win total in the teens.

[Bassman]

If we don’t see a consolidation trade within the first two weeks of training camp, do you think one is coming?

I don’t see one coming on any radar. Maybe if some team has more horrible injury luck than these Hornets early in camp, we might be a resource for some decent deal, but I’ve heard absolutely ZERO real speculation about any trade involving the Hornets. Just the fake trade ideas posted on Hornets SI and here.