Hornets In Zach Lowe’s Bottom Tier: FAIR or FOUL? | Debating Hornets WORST Mistake in the 2020s

On today’s episode, we dive into some national media discussions, starting with Zach Lowe’s Eastern Conference tier list. Lowe places the Hornets in the bottom tier alongside Washington and Brooklyn, calling Charlotte the “most interesting of those three teams.” We break down his main concerns, including his view that the Hornets have “no pathway… to be a competent defense” and a significant lack of starting-caliber centers.

Next, we tackle an ESPN article naming the “worst mistake” for every team in the 2020s. For the Hornets, they chose the four-year, $120 million Gordon Hayward contract. We debate whether that’s the correct choice, offering our own candidates for the title, including the disastrous 2021 draft that involved trading up for Kai Jones and the broader failure to aggressively build around LaMelo Ball after he won Rookie of the Year.

Finally, we open up the “Sicko Satchel” to answer your questions. We strategize how the Hornets can combat their center problem with creative solutions like small-ball lineups featuring Grant Williams and a high-chaos defensive identity. We also touch on which new player combinations we’re most excited to see and the future of players like Nick Smith Jr.

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34 comments

  1. Hornets hate is still prominent doesn't mean it's correct. Some media will still critique past management of a franchise and specifically critique the process of what's going forward

  2. The Gordon Hayward contract was definitely a mistake, but an argument could be made for the 2021 draft. Players like Moses Moody, Alperen Sengun, Tre Mann, and Trey Murphy were selected after Bouknight. Also, Jalen Johnson, Cam Thomas, and Neemias Queta were selected after Kai Jones.

  4. It's fair for the Hornets to be projected in the lower tier of the conference given their history and how young and generally untested they've been. It's up to the team to change that once the season starts. Until then it is all talk.

  5. 2021 draft really was a massive fumble, kai jones was an understandable choice even looking back on it so i dont hate that pick anywhere near as the Bouknight one.

  6. If Hornets are healthy, it is going to be fun, and it changes with their stars being available to play and showing effort, from there we will see where they end up in the standings and what they need to get better next season… Charlotte needs to be able to improve every year, not hard to do so if the starting point is last season. 30-35 win games would be my prediction.

  8. Bouknight's the obvious answer. But for me, the worst mistake was the 2022 draft first round debacle. Coulda parlayed our picks into getting both Mark Williams AND a competent wing (Agbaji) and due to Jordan cheaping out of the lottery pick we just got Williams. Who was the wrong big in any event (Duren was there). Jordan/Chumpchak at their worst.

  9. As a two going in three year veteran of LOH the silly season is a treat when it drops, and the tier list that they struggle to get through because they get off topic is fun 😂

  10. On the subject of guard pairings it's kinda telling that in all the options you guys mentioned Josh Green never came up. Not sure what his role is beyond the first month once Kon gets booted up into the rotation. Not to mention McNeely, who's talent will demand attention.

  13. Didn’t everyone doubt the SL team’s defensive abilities? They looked pretty locked in to me. It’s okay to doubt if things look iffy on paper but let’s see what Lee and his staff can do!

  15. Melo hasnt been healthy…saying not doing enough to surround a guy who hasnt been on the court is the biggest mistake is silly.

  16. We don’t all listen to Zach Lowe if you shop at lowes you end up with a real Lowey 😂 this acronym is best for him he’s a caring understanding nineties type

  21. They had a decent (great until they started adding nothing but guards) off-season. However, last year, much like the Kupchek era (error), they tank to support the eternal 5-year plan. No one knows if that is the plan this year.

  24. Worst moves? What about giving away a first/Jalen Duren for a second round pick when we could probably reallllly use him atm on this team right?

  25. Okay since Walker mentioned being excited to see Kalkbrenner and Moussa potentially play together I need to hear your best duo nicknames with Kalk 😂 him and LaMelo is too easy

  26. Automatic bottom 8 defense is way too strong of a statement. We had 7th worst defense last year. We could definitely squeak into like #19 defense

  28. Brilliant podcast Walker and Doug 🙌🏻, fully agree Doug about the ‘mistake’, sometimes doing nothing is the biggest mistake 👍🏻, at least if you try and do something positive to improve the team/situation and it doesn’t work out that might not be the biggest mistake.

  33. The hate is fair until they have a good healthy season.
    They've got almost a completely new team and no one knows how it's going to go.

    They'll get some respect once they put a good product on the court.

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