Why the Charlotte Hornets Are Poised To Be the East’s Next Big Thing

There is little doubt that in the current NBA landscape, the Western Conference is more stacked than the Eastern Conference. A number of teams in the West are younger and more athletic than their Eastern counterparts, which features contenders who tend to be a bit older overall.

The younger teams within the Eastern Conference have struggled to gain traction and be competitive. The Charlotte Hornets are a perfect example of such a team, possessing young talent but unable to thrive in their conference.

They, like the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards , are full of young talent that has not yet been able to put it all together, exiling them to mediocrity and rebuilding status.

However, as mentioned, the East’s competitors are not getting any younger, and in a few years’ time, the balance of power may shift.

If the Hornets play their cards right, they will be poised to be the East’s next big thing.

It’s Been a Tough, Subpar Road

The Hornets have been mediocre at best since 2016

The Hornets’ road to their current situation has been one of despair, as they have not been competitive for nearly a decade. Barring a couple of NBA Play-In Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022, which they lost, the Hornets have not made the NBA Playoffs since 2016.

If done correctly, rebuilds in the NBA often take an average of three to four years. When they take longer, it usually means something went wrong.

Things certainly went wrong for the Hornets, as they have resided in the NBA’s basement for the last few seasons.

Rock bottom appears to have been reached last season when the Hornets finished in 13th place in the East with a record of 21-61, two dozen games out of first place. Before that, they finished with records of 34-48 in 2023, 43-39 in 2022 (a winning record, but lost in the Play-In Tournament) and 33-39 in 2021.

Despite all that losing, the Hornets have not gotten lucky in the NBA Draft Lottery.

The last time they had the first overall pick in a draft was 2012, before the current era. The last four NBA drafts have seen the Hornets pick 11th, 13th (which they traded to the Pistons), second and sixth.

With those picks, building a winning team, particularly one that can compete with the big boys in the East, such as the Boston Celtics , New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers , is not easy.

But long and arduous stretches of losing are often accompanied by successful streaks thereafter, and in the Hornets’ case, that reality may certainly be possible within the next few years.

The (Orlando) Magic Approach

The Hornets should opt to take a similar path

The Hornets appear to be taking the slow rebuild approach of drafting and building around those picks. That was the exact route the Orlando Magic took, with their rebuild being slow and painful.

However, it has paid dividends, as the Magic now possess young talent that has blossomed, leading to their first playoff appearance in multiple years. It’s clear that the Magic’s rebuild worked, and the Hornets ought to aim for that strategy.

The Hornets drafted James Bouknight with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He has not exactly turned into a stud, averaging only 3.6 points and less than a rebound and assist per game last season.

His shooting is where he shines, however, as he shot 43.9 percent from the floor and 43.3 percent from three-point range last season on 2.1 attempts per game. And at age 23, he still has potential and team control.

In 2022, Charlotte drafted Jalen Duren, who has become a serviceable player — but for the Pistons. The Hornets traded Duren to the Pistons immediately after selecting him as part of a three-team trade, and he has fit in with the also-rebuilding and struggling Pistons.

Building Around Brandon Miller

The Hornets seem to have finally nailed a pick

In 2023, the Hornets received some luck in the draft, taking Brandon Miller second overall from Alabama.

Miller had a promising rookie year, averaging 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 44 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from three-point range.

Miller is the type of player the Hornets must build around.

For Charlotte’s sake, the hope is that he will only grow and mature as a player, further refining his skills and putting up better seasons as his career progresses.

They will need more than just Miller to compete in the East, but it is a great start.

Finally, the Hornets selected Tidjane Salaün sixth overall in this year’s NBA Draft. It was a surprising pick, as Dalton Knecht and Donovan Clingan, bigger names, had yet to be selected.

Salaün is an unknown, but his upside is extremely high.

However, it is a big risk as Salaün is just 18 years old and presumably has a few years of development time ahead of him. The Hornets were clearly thinking of the future, not the present, as they believed Salaün would help them in the long term.

That is the game plan that makes the most sense, as the Hornets’ opportunity to strike is not the present moment.

Right now, the East is filled with win-now contenders such as the Knicks, Celtics and 76ers, with younger teams such as the Indiana Pacers and Magic on the rise.

There is little point in the Hornets trying to be competitive now, as they will fall to those better teams.

Rather, the Hornets’ game plan should be to build a contender for the future when the contenders mentioned above age out and begin to decline.

That will be the Hornets’ time to strike, and if they play their cards right, they could be East’s next big thing.

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