The Culture is Changing in Charlotte…

The Culture is Changing in Charlotte…

I’ve been a Charlotte Hornets fan for the last 9 years and last night was genuinely the biggest accomplishment we’ve had as a franchise in winning the summer league championship. And maybe I’m way overreacting to this, but it feels like the culture in Charlotte is starting to shift. The moves Jeff Peterson and the front office have been able to do this offseason have been fantastic. Bringing back Trey Man was my favorite, but they also bring in Colin Ston, a dynamite score to bring in off the bench. They draft Khan Caniple, Liam McNeely, Ryan Caulpin, and Seion James, all of which were winners and helped bring in a more energetic, more winning culture. And I think it’s starting to shift here in Charlotte finally. And shout out to Jeff the Chef because he has been cooking this year. Yes, he brings in the Pat Conetan edition, which a lot of people are like, “What in the world?” Well, we get two second round picks out of it. Pat Conetan probably won’t play many games for us, if any. Uh, he also brings in Spencer Denwy and Mason Plumbley. two pretty solid veterans, especially Denwitty. Plumbley not so much just because we need center depth, but Denwitty will be a nice veteran addition at the guard spot. We have a ton of guards, including Trey Mann, who we just talked about. They bring back on a steal of a deal at 3 years, $24 million. I mean, that is just an absolute robbery right there. And they bring him back a guy that could go out and win six man of the year if given the keys off the bench. Although he’s going to be having to compete with Colin Ston in his own bench back court, which is going to be ridiculous. But he averaged 143 and three last year in just like 25 minutes a game. Shot 44% from the field and 40% from three. And like I said, he only played 13 games. He was well on his way to a six-man of the year caliber season last year before getting hurt, injuring his back, and being out for the rest of the season just like that. And then Colin Ston, who they also bring in. And usually you don’t want your GM on the phone with a guy like Danny A, the master finesser. But this time we got lucky. We get Colin Ston for basically nothing for Ysef Nurkish. We also got a second round pick out of this. A guy that averaged 18 1.5 points a game last year on 48% shooting from the field and 41% from beyond the arc. A really really good value deal for Colin Saxon there who is 6’2 with a 67 wingspan and paired up with Trey man off this bench. That’s going to be a lights out one two punch. I don’t know about the defense necessarily coming off the bench but still that’s going to be a really really nice one-two punch coming off of our bench. And per 36, last year Ston averaged 24 a game with five and a half assists cuz remember he only played in about 28 minutes a night and was still able to put up 18 and a half points per game. Now I love the coniple edition. He has looked really really good in the summer league winning summer league MVP and the fit that he brings in this roster is going to be wonderful. I mean, sure, you could have had a Ace Bailey or a Trey Johnson, but you go out and get Khan Canipple, and he’s going to be a guy that can come in, be a connector between Brandon Miller and Lamelo Ball, a guy that can impact the game without having to necessarily touch the basketball. And on both ends, on offense and defense, fantastic two-foot driver, 6’6 with a 66 wingspan, so he’s got a perfect build to be a modern-day NBA shooting guard. and you fit him in between LaMelo and Brandon Miller who are also 67 68 in that range. Akan’s a guy that averaged 14 and a half points, four boards, 2.7 assists, and a steal in 30 minutes a game on 48% shooting from the field and 40% from three on five and a half attempts a game. An absolute sniper that can sit in the corner and hunt the three ball. In the summer league, he averaged 15.6 points a game, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assist in three in five games played, excuse me. And like I said, the culture is shifting. The only thing that the Hornets have won in my generation of being a Hornets fan or in general since they came back to Charlotte and it’s at the head of Khan Canipple who leads the way. Here he is coming off of a pin down from Kaman Malawatch and knocking down the three ball. Here he is coming off of a flare screen from Kan Malawatch and knocking down yet another three ball. And then right here just working off the bounce going right at RJ Davis for the bucket. He’s 215 lbs and can be an absolute monster coming out of the pick and roll, coming off of pin downs, getting to that left hand, getting to that right hand, whichever way he goes. He’s a pick and roll playmaker as well, throwing the lob right there and then getting downhill off the lob to Malawatch as well. Mark Williams was shipped off in exchange for Liam McNeely. And I think this was a great pick. Mark was great. I loved Mark in Charlotte, but he was just never healthy. And that’s the unfortunate part. They bring in Liam McNeely in the second time they traded Mark Williams. Actually, the first time of course got repealed. But hey, it looks like we won getting Liam McNeely instead of Dalton Connect who averaged 14 12 and six in college and then went out and bought out in his summer league debut with 22 and like 11 with six assist. He only shot 38% from the field and 32% from three last year, but it’s because he wasn’t really playing in a role he was comfortable in. Now this year with guys like Ston LaMelo and Brandon Miller feeding him the rock at 6’8 with a 68 wingspan being a catch and shoot guy he is going to get a ton of touches and I think he’s going to be fantastic this year for Charlotte. Now as for Caul Brinter bringing him in hopefully he can develop into a starting center for us down the road. Right now he’s probably going to have to be the backup in year one and work his way into that role. He didn’t look fantastic in the summer league. Looked all right. Nothing exceptional. 7 foot2 with a 76 wingspan. So, there is a spot in the league for him. He’s just kind of slow overall. He can move his feet well laterally, but up and down the court, north and south, he he’s not the quickest guy in the world. 19.2 points a game, 8.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 65% shooting from the field, 34% from three. And we did see him hit a three last night in the championship game. He does have that traditional big bag where he can back you down and get to spots in the post, but then he can also face up and knock down the three ball as well. Here’s his face up game where he’s going to catch on a low block face and then spin get to that left hook and it’s a really nice face up game as he rips through. I know this is against Texas Rio Grand Valley, but still it’s he’s showing it off if he can do it. It’s still a division one level basketball team. He’s a four-time Big East defensive player of the year. So, you can’t take that away from him as he is an absolute juggernaut on the defensive side of the ball. Same thing with Seion James, who I’m really excited to see. He only played in a couple of summer league games before getting injured. But, he’s not necessarily a big-time scorer. He can just really defend. 8.6 points a game, 4.2 rebounds, three assists, and point8 steals in 25 minutes per game last year at Duke. Shot 52% from the field and 41% from three. So, he’s really a 3 and D guy. and he’s 6’5, 66, somewhere in that range. And he’s a big dude. He’s got a 67 wingspan and he’s built like an NFL linebacker at 220 lbs coming downhill. That’s not easy to stop. Here he is getting downhill against my NC State Wolfpack. Dreadful year for us, but for Duke, it was a big-time season. You see the IQ flashing there, coming off of that screen and just slipping it right to the rim. Remember at two lane, he averaged 14 a game with five and a half rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.6 six steals, but all the rookies we drafted are going to bring in championship DNA are from high tier programs, bluecollar programs. They’re going to come in and they’re going to be able to contribute from day one. Some of them um you add Khan into this lineup. We talked about that earlier. Looking at the bench unit, McNeely could shift in there for Josh Green. But I’m excited to get Grant Williams back, Trey Mann, Colin Ston like we talked about. And then Spencer Denwy and Lee McNeely. Don’t know where they’re going to fit into the lineup. And even Tan Salon, there’s 13 14 guys here in Charlotte that can play NBA minutes. And that’s a first for the first time in quite a while, honestly. Salon averaged about six points a game, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assist. And I was a little bit, you know, given up on him pretty much after last season. But he did show some flashes in the summer league, averaging about 18 and a half points a game and like eight rebounds. So that’s nice. 33% shooting from the field, 28% from three for him on three and a half attempts a game. Pretty solid overall. Did hit this big shot against the Heat in the regular season. And look, I mean, Charlotte’s a basketball city. That is a packed out crowd for a team that has like three wins and they’re still showing up. They’re still showing out. The people of Charlotte deserve better than what the Hornets have given them as of late. And hopefully the culture is shifting. With that being said, that’s going to be it for today’s video. Thanks so much for watching. Make sure to hit the like button, leave me a comment down below, and hit that subscribe button if you did enjoy any point. And with all that being said, thanks much for watching today’s video.

This video looks at the Charlotte Hornets and how the culture is changing by winning the nba summer league championship and trading for Collin Sexton to pair with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller
Other Channels:
Backyard Blitz: https://www.youtube.com/@BackyardBlitz33
Backyard Betting: https://www.youtube.com/@BackyardBetting
Socials
Insta/Tiktok: LukeStaten3