Post-Mortem: 2022-23 Charlotte Hornets

[ElectricMayhem]

The Hornets trainwreck of a preseason did not, not surprisingly, lead to with a championship.

Here is the data from previous years' Post-Mortems:
2020-21:

Spoiler:

Post-Mortem Results I: GM Confidence Meter
Post-Mortem Results II: Coaching Confidence Meter
Post-Mortem Results III: Performance Compared to Expectations
Post-Mortem Results IV: Rising/Treadmill/Waning

2021-22:
2021-22 Post Mortem Final Summary

Team Name: Charlotte Hornets
Record at Time of Death: 22-50 (.306)
Head of Front Office: Mitch Kupchak (2018-)
Coach: Steve Clifford (2022)

Offensive Rating: 30th
Defensive Rating: 21st
Rebound %: 25th
Turnover %: 8th

Front Office: Change or keep?
Coach: Change or keep?
Relative to expectations, how did they fare this year?
Rising, falling, or treadmill?
If you were in charge, what would you do this offseason?

Notes:
Players under contract next year:
Gordon Hayward ($32m)
Terry Rozier ($23m)
LaMelo Ball ($11m)
Cody Martin ($8m)
James Bouknight ($5m)
Mark Williams ($4m)
Kai Jones ($3m)
JT Thor ($2m) (Partially Guaranteed)

Team Options:

Player Options:

Free Agents:
Kelly Oubre Jr.
P.J. Washington
Svi Mykhailuk
Dennis Smith Jr.
Nick Richards
Bryce McGowens
Theo Maledon

Dead Money:

Previous Post-Mortems:
30. Houston Rockets
29. San Antonio Spurs
28. Detroit Pistons
27. Charlotte Hornets

[76ciology]

MJ should not sell his share of this franchise until he gets Wembayama to sign with his Jordan brand.

[ElectricMayhem]

Miles Bridges attacking his family, James Bouknight's worrying situation in the parking garage, Kenny Atkinson going in for the handshake before psyching them out and putting his hand behind his head. It was an absolute disaster of an offseason. You knew nothing good was coming from the season and that's how it's gone.

Mark Williams has had some good games. I actually wanted him over Duren for the Pistons (but I am happy with the result - they are both good). Ball and Bridges was really fun on the court. It's just a shame that Bridges has to be an idiot. I hope Charlotte finds a different guy with a similar skill set to take Bridges' place because I won't really take much joy from watching him anymore. Honestly, I think they're the team most in need of some lottery luck.

[jazzfan1971]

I watched a bit of them the other day and I was shocked how little Gordon Hayward was actually doing on the floor. He was simply moving the ball. That's it! Every time I saw him get the ball he immediately just hot potatoed it around the perimeter. He took one shot maybe.

Is this by design? Or has he just decided he doesn't want the ball anymore?

[slicedbread2]

Honestly they had a nightmare off-season that destroyed this past season before it began in a myriad of ways:

1) Coaching change. Hornets fans were not happy with James Borrego and the fact that they got blown out in 2 consecutive play-in games and felt that a change was needed. Ultimately they found a great pickup in Kenny Atkinson, but he backed out at the last minute and he ended up looking like a genius in retrospect because of how much of a tire fire the Hornets were off the court.

Steve Clifford I don't mind him as a coach but he seems like a bottom 5 guy and it's a case of the league recycling the same coaches(not exclusive to the NBA to play devil's advocate as numerous leagues have this problem too).

2) 2022 draft. What really baffled me was that they had the 13th+15th picks. The Pelicans pick they got from the Devonte Graham S&T somehow conveyed and honestly instead of taking AJ Griffin+1 of Duren/Williams Kupchak inexplicably traded away said pick to NY for a late DEN 23 1st+4 2nds. Griffin looks promising in Atlanta even though he's off the bench but he could've at least replaced Oubre going forward and you could've surrounded more cost controlled talent to compliment Ball as he's gonna get paid the max soon.

I like Mark Williams and think he's gonna be all right as Kai Jones is a multiyear project that may not pan out and Nick Richards is a backup C who could have a good 10 years in him if he keeps working on it.

3) Disturbing off court incidents. 2 incidents popped off:

a) Miles Bridges. Honestly there were some red flags that made me worried about him such as him broadcasting himself taking Codeine which can really wreck your body and some of the side effects include induced seizures. To add insult to injury he violently attacked his wife in front of his kids and his son was on audio talking to his aunt about what happened and it really made me livid. Honestly basketball should be the least of his concerns as he seems mentally unhinged and shouldn't be anywhere near the league until he passes his probation(highly doubt the league will do that but who knows).

A real shame because he was striving as a 4 and had great chemistry with Lamelo and was about to get paid a max contract.

b) James Bouknight. Him being an idiot and having a gun in his possession with Doritos was a real bad look not to mention the reckless driving. On the court he's really failed miserably and has received numerous DNP-CD's. At the time coming out of UConn I liked his game and thought the Hornets got a steal(boy was I wrong). He needs to get it together because he'll be out of the league the way he's going and you'll have an assembly line full of young talent coming in ready to take your job if your not performing.

Potential remedies/solutions:

1) Hopefully upgrade the coaching spot/GM. I like Clifford but honestly I wish they could take a flyer on a rising star in the coaching ranks but we'll see.

I don't mind Kupchak but I honestly feel like the game may have past him by. Hornets fans will have a better opinion of this.

2) New ownership. News has been made that Michael Jordan will sell most of his shares while retaining a minority ownership role in the Hornets. Perhaps a clean slate could change the team's reputation.

3) Winning the draft lottery. Usually when new ownership comes in the league will do everything in their power to ensure said ownership hits the gates running. If they somehow land Wemby(not betting on it due to their lotto history) it could allow them to waive the white flag on Bridges and Bouknight and start fresh.

4) Team hit rock bottom so they performed as expected due to Lamelo Ball being injured and it didn't make sense to throw him out there in a lost season.

5) Bring back P.J. Washington if the price is right along with Nick Richards(unless you get Wemby then see ya Nick). I'd bring back Dennis Smith Jr. on a small deal as he looked all right.

6) If you can get some draft capital for Terry Rozier do it. Honestly he won't fit the timeline of the future going forward and there will be some teams that underachieve in this year's playoffs that'll look for some extra depth and Terry is fine as a starter/1st guard off the bench. Sure he had a horrible shooting year but when your on a bottom 5 team it's hard to look good.

7) Let Hayward's deal expire and pray they don't make the mistake they did with Batum although i wouldn't be surprised if they learned nothing and did it over again. I know Charlotte's not a desirable FA destination but they gotta build smarter.

8) Draft well. They'll have 5 picks in this draft(their own 1st+2nd returned from Philly in the McDaniels deal+DEN 1st+Dallas and Utah's 2nds). They could swing some draft day deals and either move up in the draft or flip some 2nds to get into the 1st if possible. It's a crap shoot but if you can even get 1 good rotation piece out of those late picks congrats.

[giberish]

I love that the FO though that they had 'too much talent' so they traded away #15 (or was it #13) for a lotto protected future 1st.

While you can't really blame them for Bridges' actions or Ball's health there's no real reason to keep the FO around either. Outside of drafting ball they haven't done much to inspire confidence. Of course if there's a team sale then the new owners probably will want to install their guy so there's a case for keeping Kupchak until that point. Then the new FO will probably want a new coach and Clifford's quite replaceable.

Essentially clear everyone out, but start from the top and move down even if it means the lower positions stay on for a bit.

[Ruma85]

I would love to see them land the 1st pick in the upcoming draft, they sorely need it.

[amcoolio]

Sell the team, clean house, start like an expansion franchise with LaMelo, Williams and top 5 pick (hopefully)

Bridges will probably be back next season

Team is actually not in bad shape as long as they play this next offseason right and not overspend on anyone (or if they win Wembenyama, they are instantly contenders with LaMelo, Bridges, VW, Williams)

[YogurtProducer]

MJ should not sell his share of this franchise until he gets Wembayama to sign with his Jordan brand.

Does seem strange to sell the franchise before potentially grabbing a guy like Victor. Feels like your investment could sky rocket with Lamelo / Victor together.

[Bobbymcgee]

They desperately need a top three pick in the upcoming draft to play alongside the only good player they have in LaMelo.

Only one year left on that Hayward deal and two left on Rozier.

Rest of the team is meh.

[SFour]

it was obvious that Miles Bridges situation was going to ruin them for at least 1 season....maybe they get Bridges back along with a top pick this draft and they can bounce back.

would be a blessing in disguise if they end up with Wembanyama

[GusFring]

Why does this team always pay big money to guys like rozier and hayward?

[NCHeels2008]

I might be in the minority but if they can get a Gobert or KD like haul for Ball I'd take it if I were the Hornets, he doesn't look like a culture changer and unless you land a great coach you're probably spinning wheels at least one more season and before you know it Ball might demand a trade out. I think Ball is a great player but I'm somewhat concerned by how lackadaisical he can be and his lack of improvement defensively. He looked better or (at worst) as good as Ant after their rookie years and Ant has completely passed him by both on the court and with his intangibles. The Hornets need a hard reset, Kupchack has been fine, not a disaster, not great as I'm guessing the pressure to sign win now guys like Hayward came from MJ. I hated the overpay but didn't hate the Hayward signing at the time because I thought he could be a good option to take pressure off the young players. He's not bad at that when he plays but he's pretty much a part-timer at this point.

The FO is stupid for not getting something for Oubre, even if its a second, trading out of the 15th pick was stupid because Bridges and PJ aren't such amazing wings that it wouldn't hurt to pick up another let alone the fact Hayward misses 30% of the season at a minimum. It would've been nice to get something for Rozier and/or Hayward but considering their deals that might not have been possible. I'd prefer a hard reset but with MJ gone I already have some hope for Kupchack, the team is probably garbage with or without Clifford, but I don't love him being the guy to develop young players. Mark Williams was nailed to the pine while Plumlee was playing 30+ mpg. Williams comes in after the trade and immediately the defense improves.

[hauntedcomputer]

Why does this team always pay big money to guys like rozier and hayward?

Nobody wants to go to Charlotte except overpaid sub-PER players like that.

MJ gonna take all his sales money and put it on the table in Vegas for the new franchise. Vegas will bring in the high rollers. Get Chuck as a minority owner and Nelly as VP.

I've never been sold on Lamelo as anything but an entertainer. Seems like he'll get a career of excuses ("they never surrounded him with the right pieces") if he's lucky enough to log 10 years before injuries send him to Simmons Island.

Mark Williams looks like the only positive asset they have. I'd rather watch the original Hornets. At least they played with heart and had an identity besides the rap sheet.

[Courant]

With Hornets owner Michael Jordan looking to sell the bulk of his majority interest, it makes sense to reset the organization. Jordan cronies Larry Jordan (Michael Jordan's brother, the vice president of player development) and Buzz Peterson (Michael Jordan's college teammate, senior vice president of basketball operations) will be gone. Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak likely will retire when the new ownership comes on board.

As for Steve Clifford, he evidently was a stopgap hire. Kenny Atkinson declined the head coaching position when the Hornets reportedly tried to make him keep many of former coach James Borrego's staff (they still had at least one guaranteed year on their contracts). Charlotte re-hired Clifford, whom Charlotte fired four years ago and replaced him with Borrego, to come back.

On the court, the Hornets need to see about trading Gordon Hayward ($61 million over this year and next year) and Terry Rozier ($96 million over this year and the next three years). Both players ideally are suited to be complementary players on a playoff-level team, but their contracts are a little too expensive for those types of teams to take them. Hayward continues to miss large portions of the season (he's missed 96 out of 226 possible games so far) while Rozier has reverted to the poor-shooting numbers he had earlier in his career (.415 FG%, .327 3P% and .517 TS%).

With Michael Jordan (an advocate of Rozier) out of the picture, Charlotte can look at a team such as the Los Angeles Clippers as a trade partner. Rozier may be a better fit than Russell Westbrook alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. With Hayward's contract coming into its final season, he may be attractive to a team wanting an expiring deal. Otherwise, Charlotte can give him the Nicolas Batum treatment by benching him and letting his deal expire.

[cupcakesnake]

A lot of bad things happened to the Hornets, and they've been rehashed well in this thread. A lot of it is stuff you'd never wish on a franchise. After losing one of their core players, I was worried the Hornets would still go for broke and desperately try to make the play in tournament. It feels like they wanted to early, as basically none of their non-Lamelo young guys were playing. Instead we were treated to the Rozier and Plumlee show. This team needs another young piece so badly if the hope is to build around Lamelo. So if there's any silver lining in the Hornets nightmare season, I hope it's in the lottery where the right pick could land them Victor or another good prospect. Imo, the Hornets are a nice landing spot for most of the guys projected in the top 5-8.

The Hornets have a half-formed young core, suffocated by an armada of veterans. We know Lamelo, Mark Williams, and PJ Washington are good pieces. The rest of the young guys are mysteries and/or potential busts (Kai, Thor, Bouk, McGowens). But the amount of starter-level veterans on this team is staggering. Hayward, Rozier, Oubre, Cody Martin. They traded away Plumlee and the young-ish Jalen McDaniels for cash and second-rounders. This team is low-key built like early career Lebron and AD teams. Not only did that not work out for Lebron or AD but Lamelo is not the same level of talent.

It is fun to picture any of the top 5-8 in this year's draft landing in Charlotte. Victor finishing Lamelo passes (and covering for him defensively) is a match made in NBA heaven. That's an NBA Jam duo right there! I don't think this team is an ideal fit for Scoot, but he's different enough from Lamelo that it might not be bad. Brandon Miller would look great off catch & shoot looks from Lamelo while providing some self-generated looks as well. Jarace Walker would pair beautifully with Mark Williams as a defensive frontcourt. Either Thompson twin or Cam Whitmore would turn Charlotte into a nightmare transition matchup.

The manner of their bottoming out was painful but this team needed to bottom out for a minute. With some lottery/draft luck they'll be in a stronger position moving forward.

[BigGargamel]

They not only need Wembanyama to compete, but perhaps save basketball in Charlotte (again).

[JShuttlesworth]

So bad that Jordan wants out

[Godymas]

one of the worst seasons for a franchise in recent memory

should've had Kenny Atkinson as their HC but instead backs out the last minute, end up with Steve Clifford...again which was never any good the first time, already starting off with a solid D to F on the HC move

then one of their shining lights of last year, Miles Bridges, ends up with a huge lawsuit, tons of off the court issues, has to be completely removed from the NBA and of any extension talks. There is a waste right there.

Next up is LaMelo who was an All Star last year and will finish with 36 games and a bad ankle injury.

I didn't even realize Gordon Hayward played a single game of basketball this season, just assumed that he would be injured the whole year because surely if he was playing Charlotte could be somewhat competitive right?

Two of their core mainstay veterans in Kelly Oubre and Terry Rozier have actually become worse basketball players. These guys are the definition of low IQ inefficient chuckers now. At one point people were saying Terry Rozier was playing at an All Star level. Kelly Oubre has always been like this but he was always able to find roles. In Charlotte because of how bad the team is, he's allowed to just whatever he wants and it sucks.

Their sophomore player James Bouknight was found drunk asleep in his car at 3 AM (whatever) but also has shown literally nothing on the court. He's playing 13 minutes a night on an awful team and the #s are not good.

Their "fix" off season signing was none other than Mason Plumlee...the guy that literally proved in the bubble that he could not be on a serious team going anywhere as his low BBIQ cost Denver a game.

They traded him for Reggie Jackson just to buy him out, the classic "we don't give a **** anymore" move

They also traded away Jalen McDaniels. Obviously not as good as his brother but he could be a nice piece.

I mean if this season wasn't the definition of a "we don't give a **** about it" season, it might be this one for Charlotte. Complete dumpster fire from start to finish, their only saving grace would be getting the #1 pick out of it.

With that said, any team with LaMelo could have a solid future still, LaMelo will likely be an All NBA player one day if he stays healthy and doesn't deal with the curse of his older brother.

Next year should be more pain for Charlotte as both Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward will still be playing and Rozier is on a massive extension. Maybe he cleans it up, it remains to be seen.

At the very least they can drop Oubre. Reggie Jackson and Nic Batum (lol) come off the books this year though.

I don't know who the hell they are going to sign or why anyone would want to come to this team, especially if Jordan is selling. Like even if MJ was never an amazing owner, the players always knew he'd be in the building. Without Jordan, they need some serious firepower at ownership and helming the team at GM to be somewhat relevant again. Their only hope is to score in the lottery after this season. That's literally it. Otherwise expect another season of complete pain.

I don't even know what to call this team, waning? Waning during a rebuild? This team took steps backwards while rebuilding. It's absurd.

[Jadoogar]

The offseason incidents are hard to pin on the front office, it's very hard to recover from a coach backing out of a position at the last second and losing your second best player due to legal reasons.

However, the Hornets FO has whiffed on a few draft picks. After Lamelo fell into their laps (thanks warriors), they picked Bouknight, Kai Jones and traded away the pick that became Jalen Duren. Mark Williams has had his moments but Clifford basically had to be forced to play, doesn't seem like a guy who favours rookies.