The Charlotte Hornets NEED Answers This Season…

The Charlotte Hornets NEED Answers This Season…

What is up fellow sickos? I’m Dan Pavali. Our 2025 2026 NBA season look ahead train rolls on. When this goes live, we’ll be onethird of the way done. 10 teams will be in the books. We’re on to the Charlotte Hornets, which means I have the distinct pleasure to be joined by CBS Sports podcast producer extraordinaire, Mr. Kannata Edwards. I love picking his brain every single year, and this team is more fascinating um than it was last year. So, this is going to be super fun. Canada, how the heck are you doing? Well, first things first, anything is more fascinating than a 19- win team that was probably the most depressing team to watch outside of maybe Utah. But outside of that, I’m good. Again, I’m enjoying my summer. Like, I’m glad again, I’m glad this again the content calendar. I know we’re headed towards fall. The minute I see Dan, Dan, the minute I see all these these team previews, I know we’re headed towards an actual regular season and we’ll be inundated with nothing but content for the next nine months. I want to preface everything we’re about to talk about with the Charlotte Hornets have sucked me in again. So, you mentioned they were a depressing 19- win team last year. They didn’t look like they were going to be that before the season. It was all will they be healthy. Of course, they weren’t. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. Someone warned you about that last year. You might have, but I looked at this the roster. They just had so many dudes. Now we’re at a point again and I just recorded a podcast a couple days ago and I I sang the Hornets praises. They have so many dudes again. They’re sucking me in, Kannata. So, this is a team that I’m don’t think they’re going to win the championship. Want to make that clear. But this is a team that has sucked me into where I think, oh, like I think people might just be too low on them or at least the consensus is too low on them. Define too low. define too long because I might agree. I think the projections just came back from ESPN. They’re like everyone’s putting them in. I’ve seen like 12th or 13th and I just think is it possible? Sure. I’m just I think that there’s a like this is a team that if they get relatively good health, I know the we’re going to get into all of I know what the center rotation is. They index heavily on offense. I get it all. This is like a team that I could see more than doubling their win total from last year. Damning with fame praise maybe, but still. You have them as a 40- win team. No, no, no, no, no, no. I said I could see it. I haven’t done my work. But you can you can see them doubling. You can 38. Yeah, that’s not 38 to I You You are higher on this team than I am right now. You are much higher on this team than I am. I hope we get an influx of Charlotte Hornet subscribers just and then they’ll then they’ll unsubscribe when they hear my other takes. So, let’s start here just really quickly with last season. What are you able to take away from it relative to all the injuries that were once again suffered relative to some of the turnover we’ve seen now Mark Williams is no longer on this team? Is there anything you could take away maybe about the way that Charles Lee coaches this team, the things they’re doing on the court? Anything at all? Charles Lee, that’s that’s the co that’s the thing. That’s the response because I saw that man coach wins out of teams and I also saw him pull guys to win as to lose as many games as possible. Like this team and this is where I kind of see where you’re talking about, hey, they can more than double their their win total. I can see it because there were a lot of games where they were competitive and they pulled guys. Miles Bridges played a lot of games, didn’t finish a lot of games. I think Charles Lee can really coach. I think he can really coach defense. I do think that his offensive schemes rely a little bit too much on the three ball and I think he got a lot of that from the Benhoer/Jeo Missoula school of offense which when it’s when it’s on it’s great when it’s not on it’s not great and it’s not fun to watch and it can be it can be a slog for a lot of these games. So I do think that he can coach man. I think that’s the thing that I came back with is that he can coach everything else. Like I think it was an inconclusive grade for a lot of this stuff. Mhm. The off season heavily indexing on offense. Yes. What do you what do you make of it? How do you feel about it? Was it the kind of the right call here? The direction that they’ve taken. I do think I do think we’re headed for a very very interesting thought experiment. is how good if is this offense going to be if we don’t have LaMelo Ball and we’re going to say if LaMelo Ball’s not there can we like before it was LaMelo’s out oh my god what are we going to do what are we going to do now it’s LaMelo’s out and Colin Ston can step in or Trey man can step in or Spencer Denwitty and stop laughing I hear everybody laughing right now I understand can step in and they have or KJ Simpson can step in. There’s a lot of these guys to where they just said if LaMelo gets hurt, we need to find a way to to soldier through regardless. And I understand that that thought process. I just not like there are a lot of guards here that feel a little small to me. Like Ston’s there, Trey Mann’s there, uh Nick Smith Jr. for now is there. Um, you have a lot Spencer Denwitty as as I just mentioned, like there’s a lot of these small guards on this roster where positional size is very important to them, but at the same point, you have a lot of these guards that are way too small to be playing two guard next to LaMelo Ball or too small to really be a point guard for right now in the NBA. Do you think that any of the thought process? I mean, the sex thing specifically, could that have just been born out of pure opportunity and it wasn’t supposed to be telltale of anything they were? Because that is still one of the most baffling trades I’ve ever seen. My favorite conspiracy theory is that the Jazz did it so that the Hornets wouldn’t take Ace Bailey. I don’t think they like I don’t if it was if that’s all it cost to get the Hornets not to take Ace Bailey, okay, do it. That’s why I don’t really buy into it. But that’s my point is that’s how confounding that move is from Utah’s perspective to me. I get they’re trying to clear playing time for the kids, but why are you attaching a pick? Like what? Yep. Yep. But that’s the thing like and I can tell you we’ll get into this but Khan was the guy. Khan, it was Khan and I think from everything I’ve heard it was VJ then Khan. And I believe they really believed in the distance shooting of Khan. But I like Colin Ston was an opportunity. Like the one thing that we’ve found out about Jeff Peterson is if you’re going to give him some picks to take on some bad salary, he’s likely going to do it. More importantly, if you’re going to give him the better player and take a pick, he’s absolutely going to do it. Despite the fact that you eroded your center depth, I do think that this team I I do think that Jeff Peterson looks at this as we are going to figure out exactly what we have. We’re like the game, the lineup shenanigans, those are done. We are going to try and win as many games as possible, figure out exactly what we have and who we actually can build around because I think that this is a team that’s going to by the end of the season, they’re going to know exactly what they have and what when they figure that part out, that’s when you’re going to start seeing guys start moving around. And while they’re sort of on this factf finding mission about maybe who’s keepers, do you think having all these guards or like I would call them non-wings? Because what’s interesting is like LaMelo’s 67, Canipple’s 67, Liam McNeely is 67, right? So, but having all of these non-wings, does it speak to how you expect them to play? So, my example would be should we expect to see like Colin Sexton and Trey Man playing together next year? I would I would be I would be shocked if we didn’t quite honestly like I would be shocked if we didn’t. I do think that you’re going to see a lot more offensive viability. I don’t think Conan starts. I do think that you’re going to see even with the Josh Green injury. No, I don’t think Conneipple starts. I think we’re you’re probably gonna see lineup of and I know this is a later question typically, but we’ll just go with it now. Like I think you’re going to see Ball, Ston, Miller, Bridges, Plumbley to start. I think that’s going to be the opening day lineup against Brooklyn. I do believe that this team is going to bring along these guys kind of slowly and I completely understand why they want to do it because quite literally it’s just like you have a lot of youth at the back end that and we know that rookies typically don’t help. So I do think you’re going to see a lot of Trey man Colin Son. I do think you’re going to see Khan come along slowly. Now granted this is all training camp dependent. he comes comes out and he does a PJ Washington from his rookie year, then he may start. This is all very very subject change. But for the for right now, I can’t see I there’s no way I can see like Colin Son’s going to play a lot of minutes regardless of whether LaMelo Ball’s in the lineup or not. Well, that’s interesting. I hadn’t given that’s like a lot of I would have thought like Diabate might have been the starting five, but I mean you signed Plumbley because that’s an offensive decision maker at the big man spot, too. that there’s that and I I like Musa Diabate. I think I think the world of Musa Diabate he is one of the bright spots of last year to me. I think his role is better suited as a bench big like if think well I I would agree with you but when your alternatives are Mason Plunkley and Ryan Caulker I I would make a I could make a case for Diabate. You can make a case, but I think the thing is like how effective does he become by g like two, three weeks into the season, especially if his game is basically Kenneth Fared with a little bit of a be baguette to him. Like think about it like that. Like as much as I love Musa Diabate, Musa Debbate is a rotational big. I love him. I I don’t think that you can legitimately put him out there and actually ask him to be effective as a starter and give him starters minutes. I I just wonder if we’re headed toward Mason Plumbley and then when Ryan Hulk Brener gets up to game speed, then he’s the starter and on top of that now you have that back that cheap backup big and then you can say goodbye to Plumbley in February if you need to. Do you think that the big man spot is something that they might look to upgrade or address in the middle of the season or are they not? I know a lot could be well if they’re so much better than we thought, but just zooming far out. Is that do you could you see the front office being doesn’t have to be ultra aggressive but trying to capitalize on on an opportunity to say hey like this is someone who actually profiles as a starter in today’s NBA or is that maybe not going to be a priority given where they’re at in their competitive window? I wonder if that I do wonder like if there’s a Colin Sexon like trade out there. I think they absolutely do it. If there’s a guy that they absolutely say we can’t not have this guy on the roster right now and we can do it for less than the Miami pick that they own or the Dallas top two pick that they own. Um I think they’re I think they’ll be in the market for it. I don’t see it. I think it’s more likely we see them shed a lot of talent this year. I a lot of players this year, but I don’t know. I can’t again this team I don’t have a pulse on really what they all I know is that they’re going to at least assess assess everything and everybody and we are going to see a lot of change come June 2026. What I find interesting about what you said is that a lot of what they did this offseason was geared towards planning for the minutes that LaMelo Ball is either not on the court or planning around when he’s injured and you need to play entire games without him. So do you think that was the primary aim rather than well let’s also try and give LaMelo Ball enough spacing enough secondary ball handling around him for what the first time in at least three years just when you look at the level of I know people like to criticize LaMelo Ball’s games and there’s certainly things to quibble over there but when you’re talking about him taking too many shots when you’re talking about the you know assist to usage ratio you have to to me look at the context of the talent around him and the town around him was not great so How much of that like that had to be somewhat of a factor too, right? If that is absolutely a factor. That was absolutely a factor. Remember Brandon Miller only played I think like 20ome games this year last year. I had to go back and watch him before doing this because it was so long since I like saw or really thought about Brandon Miller the basketball player. That’s how long ago it was. That was the thing like Brandon Miller only played 20some games. And the sad part is Brandon Miller in that first game against Houston looked like he was absolutely going to build on his season and then he hurts himself dunking on trying to dunk the ball ironically and set him on a path to where he had to go get uh wrist surgery that ended his ended his season. But I think there’s a lot of this to where you got guys with actual solid basketball IQ. the Nick Smith Juniors of the world. They’re nice, but it’s going to take a little bit more time in the oven and you don’t necessarily have that time when you have LaMelo Ball in a max contract and oh yeah, you might have to pay Brandon Miller at the end of next season as well. Like there’s a lot of this to where they’re trying to figure this out. It’s again, it’s not only evaluation, but like you said, it’s a lot of get a lot of secondary IQ, get a lot of guys that can actually play, that actually know what they’re doing, and more importantly, can actually hit a jump shot because a lot of the guys that they played last year couldn’t hit water if they fell out the boat. What do you, this is a good place to put this. What do you make of the discussion nationally, even locally sometimes around Lamelo Ball, the Hornets, the coverage of it, the franchise’s view of him, his flaws as a player. I’m asking you to unpack a lot of things there, but what is just your kind of stance on just how it’s approached, and then what you actually think about this situation? I think LaMelo Ball, it’s one of those like I see both sides, but for the most part, I understand why people say he doesn’t play winning set of basketball, but also at the same point, he hasn’t like think about his the best two teammates he’s ever had in Charlotte. It’s probably a 50% Gordon Hayward and a Terry Roier that wasn’t necessarily trying to blow games. like those are his two best teammates ever. You’re gonna throw someone’s gonna say Miles Bridges deserves to be in this conversation. Yes and no. Miles Bridges is a really good player. At the same point, he didn’t he doesn’t do what Gordon Hayward does and he didn’t do what Terry Roier at that point when he was when he wasn’t point shaving tried to do. I think we have to look at the context of the teammates. I think we also have to look at the context of the franchise. Like we start think you start peeling back what happened with this ownership group with Jordan. Like the first thing that Gabe Placin and Rick Schnull did was they added a medical a legitimate medical staff. They bolstered the medical room. Like how many of those games did LaMelo lose because they really kind of didn’t have the medical staff to take care of them? Like there’s a lot of this to where I understand why he plays the way he plays, but at the same point like you have to understand that a lot of this is like nature and not great nature instead of nurture and they didn’t really nurture him. So there’s a lot of this to where I want to see what this looks like as a functional franchise before we start saying, “Hey, look, he’s not necessarily a winning player.” Do you think that I think the organization overall is headed in the right direction, but do you look at the and again the caveat for all this with the Hornets is always going to be health, but do you think that this is a roster to where you can come out of this season or even let’s say going into this season and we know what we’ve all identified is like what can LaMelo Ball do more of like how can the drives go up but can they sustain if they do go up? Can the finishing get better? Is he going to be stronger? What does the defense look like? Do you think that this is the roster and the situation where they can come out of the season, assuming he’s actually playing, and kind of have more of a I don’t want to say a final verdict, but a better grasp of of who they actually have. I think the Polaroid gets clearer. I do think that we we get a situation where the Polaroid is absolutely so much more clear than than last year. And like I do think that there are pieces here. I do think that when we start talking about this team, like if Brandon Miller plays 60 games, I think we’re going to have an idea what he actually is or what he’s closer is. Now granted, I I expect a slow start because again, wrist surgery is nothing to play with, especially when it’s your shooting wrist, right? That was the big thing is that having that surgery on a shooting hand is makes you wonder what everything’s going to look like. Like there’s a concern I have about that. But I think you’re going to figure I think we’re going to figure out what this team looks like when you have smart basketball players around him. And the last time that LaMelo Ball had smart basketball players around him, they won 44 games. So, I do think that there’s a possibility that this team can pop, but I don’t think they’re going to be again, we see the projections, 26 wins or so. I can see a scenario like I I feel like this team is closer to 30 wins than they are to 20. And I also think a lot of that is because everyone needs to see how clear this Polaroid is before further making decisions and seeing who they have to move and who they have to keep. Based off the small sample, the injury, have your impressions of Brandon Miller changed at all? And what will you be watching most closely for him in year three recovery from said wrist surgery? I think he’s a dog. I still think he’s a dog. I think he the the one issue that you might have is that he he has lapses on defense, but I think those are going to get drilled out of him. I do think that he’s competitive. I do think he’s exactly necessary. I am still bullish outside of the wrist surgery. I still believe in this kid and I’m not one of those that says he needs to have a big year or else. This kid was second in rookie voting for a reason. He was very, very, very excellent. Now granted, a lot of that was without LaMelo, but I do think that there’s a there’s a scenario where these two you start rotating where again, you cycle one on, you cycle one off, and I do think that there’s a possibility that this team really really starts popping when those two really start playing games. If they play 50 games, I can see a scenario where this team’s a lot better than a lot of people expect. Is there any way when you’re kind of looking at what he’s able to do on offense, they put the ball in his hands more to start last year, which I think is important. turnovers were a little wonky off the live dribble stuff. I think he’s going to be fine as a secondary passer. I am wondering, and I don’t know if this is more of a strength thing because you’ve you’ve harped in the past a lot about LaMelo strength. Should it be a priority like try to get him moving and to the rim more just for someone his size, like the rim volume just really isn’t there? And if you if it is a strength thing, like is there more things they can do for him off the ball, especially if he’s going to be in these this environment where the floor should be way more open? I would argue he has to do more like because of who else is on the floor. Like ideally if you’re the Charlotte Hornets at some point you’re starting a lineup of LaMelo Ball Coniple and Brandon Miller at two three at one’s going to have to be the one to put the pressure on the rim. Unfortunately we know LaMelo can do it but struggles with it. We know con again it’s TBD about Kananipple but everything I’ve seen about Kananipple is much more of I’m going to get my spot to my spots in the mid-range and I’m gonna bury you there. Brandon Miller’s got to be that guy. Like Brandon Miller has to be that guy. Unless you’re telling me it’s going to be Miles Bridges in and just a strictly rim pressure role. I like it’s one of those three guys got to do it. And I think if there’s anyone that can do it better than most, I think it might end up being Brandon Miller. What are your You already said that you don’t necessarily expect him to play a ton out of the gate. What are just the early impressions of Khan Canipple, you saw him at summer league, his fit, yada yada. I think he fit like I was one of those that wanted Trey Johnson. Um I thought Trey Johnson had one of the greatest seasons as a freshman that we’ve seen in quite a while after seeing what Khan Canipple can do, especially with the feel for the game. And if you again, you’ve watched enough Hornets games to where you know feel for the game sometimes can lack for the with the Hornets. A guy with a basketball IQ, a guy that can hit shots, a guy that can credibly defend his position is going to be invaluable. I don’t think again I don’t think he starts initially, but would I do I see a scenario where if they’re out of it and someone comes calling for Colin Ston in a deal that they can’t say no to, like does he start in February and start taking off from there? Yeah, absolutely. I think he’s going to get a lot of benchm minutes though. I do think him, Trey Mann, Liam McNeely, Ryan Caulkiner eventually like I think they’re going to do a lot of work off that bench and I think it’s going to be very very fascinating to see how this goes going forward. And what are your early impressions of Liam McNeely who caught my eye at summer league was not did not have a ton of prior on Liam McNeely beforehand but there was you know had some field there better passer than I expected and he was someone who’s like a little maybe it’s the size thing but he held up sturdier on defense as well. Liam McNeely. So Liam McNeely is probably one of the most overthought prospects that went into the draft last year. People saw the low numbers and everything else. Didn’t really look at the context of the Yukon team that there was last year as someone that had to watch that team a lot. They didn’t have a point guard. They didn’t really have like he was the only NBA talent on that team. As much as I like Alex Cariban, Alex Cariban is a guy you signed to a two-way contract at best. I say this to say that people overthought it. I think giving him a guy that actually again giving him a point guard, letting him do a lot more stuff off ball and I think there’s a there’s a chance where he basically goes from I don’t know like he ends up being a 34 hybrid more than a 23 hybrid. I think there’s a potent there’s potential for that to be something off the bench, but I think he’s absolutely an NBA player and it didn’t make any sense for him to drop all the way to 29. If you’re I I do think we’re going to end up looking back at that pick and I don’t know if it’ll be Desmond Bane levels of insane dropping all the way to 30, but that that seems like it’s going to be a good value pick at number 29. Go ahead if you’re going to No, I was going to but like Dan, I saw this kid put the fear of God him and Solo Ball put the fear of God in Florida in Raleigh. That kid can absolutely play. I don’t again I don’t understand it. I think a lot of people overthought this and I think they let a lot of workouts again because I heard about how he had didn’t necessarily work out the greatest, but I think a lot of people didn’t look at the context of that film and figure if we just get this kid a point guard, he’ll be just fine. Well, you did mention that you eventually see him, Conanipple all playing a bunch of minutes off the bench. How does this all how do you how does this all Lee How does it work? Because you have Colin Ston right now. You mentioned Spencer Dimwy. Um if they’re if they still want to give KJ Simpson run Josh Green when he’s healthy like if you want defense like he is he still your best perimeter defender. Yeah, probably like the guy. Yes, by default. So how does that like how does that all shake out or is it that’s not like this is a team you mentioned it that they’re going to shed talent but that’s what we need to wait for to see a Canipple to see a McNeely get like large swats of playing time when this team’s at full strength. I I kind of wonder what this is going to look like in October. I’m fascinated to see what this looks like in October because again, we haven’t even talked about Grant Williams yet. And Grant Williams, like if you start looking at the games he played compared to the games he didn’t play, like this team that looked like it was going to win closer to 30 games than 20 changed completely once you once he left the once he left the lineup and tore up his knee. I don’t expect him back anytime soon, but every report I’ve heard is that this kid that he’s ready to go. So, I don’t know. Like, it’s a fascinating like it’s fascinating to me because I do see a lot of the veterans get getting the benefit of the doubt initially and if we get to games and then we get to the point of, “Oh my god, we have to play Coniple more. Oh my god, we got to play Liam McNeely more.” Like, “Oh my god, we got to play Ryan Caulk Brener more.” I can see that happening sooner rather than later. But also at the same point, the if when you start seeing the schedule and how it unfolds initially, I’m not sure you can afford to play those rookies just that again. You can’t I’m not sure you can afford to play the rookies that much that early. Not a rookie anymore, but how are you feeling? It’s reddraft season. He’s not getting a lot of love during season. Where are you at with Tan Salon? I’m still high on him. I like I think we forget one he was the youngest kid in the draft last year. I And the thing that I keep coming back to is he was drafted because you had a lot of guy his drafting was an indictment on the roster that Jeff Peterson thought he had a lot of soft guys that didn’t want to grind. And I keep coming back to I’m still very very high on that kid. He continues to work. He continues to grind. It doesn’t matter. He just keeps going. And there’s all like effort is a skill, man. And as much as we say, “Hey, there’s no effort, there’s no this, there’s no that, yada yada yada.” Like, you can’t tell me that that kid is not going to at least be a rotation guy. I’m still I’m still high on him. And granted, there are going to be people that said you could have drafted Klingan. Yeah, but again, the foot thing scared me. Bzelis, I understand, but the like the the guys that they could have drafted at instead of Ton, I’m not sure I have, how would I put it? Like the biggest I I don’t have buyer remorse on those as much as much as many people do. How does how do you think he factors in this season when you have I mean we talked about like the perimeter rotation but you have Miles Bridges Grant Williams when once he’s healthy like where does he sort of factor into all that? Does it not really having a ton of centers that you’re married to on the roster help out there at all or I think that helps out with Grant Williams. I think you’re going to see a lot of backup for for Dejon as long as Grant Williams is isn’t healthy. I do wonder about what this all is gonna look like going f I do wonder what this is gonna look like because I’m f again fascinated because there’s a lot of guys that can compete for a lot of different spots but at the same point I’m just like this kid is going to do something because of his perimeter shooting. I think his perimeter shooting is going to get better. I do think that you’re going to start seeing proof of concept with him to where you’re going to see like okay I see the vision of what he can be. I don’t think he was ever going to be Giannis, but if he ends up being an Ursan Yelis Ilyova or a Nicola Miritic type guy, I can see that a guy that hustles his threes and defends at a decent amount, a decent level. Like, I can see that happening to the point where, hey, that ends up being a great pick down the line. I I think I think it’s TBD to call him a B. I get like I don’t know how Pete everyone approaches reddrafts is, are you picking for the long term? Are you ranking them right now? because of course he’s not going to like come off too well there. But I will say I probably was more encouraged like later in the year or even just the transition stuff. It seemed like if the ball was in his hands, he was playing a little more under control. And I tend to throw efficiency. I go off vibes and eye tests for the first two years of a player’s career, sometimes even three. He might be one of those players where it’s I like hopefully the efficiency will line up with it, but I I didn’t come away thinking that he’s like definitely going to be a bust. But I’ve taken him number six. As of right now, like objectively, it’s tough to say. You could frame it the way you did where it’s well, how high are you on Baze and Klingan or a Zack Edi if you’re not high. I mean, the Zack Edy with the ankle issues, he’s had like eight of them in the past year. So, I think it’s independent of the reddraft. The discussion I think is certainly worth having, but it’s not as cut and dry as I think people have made it made it. Not in that draft. Not in that draft. Not in that draft. And again, I would add, if you’ve paid attention to the Hornets in any little any little bit for the last couple of years, do you want to tell me that the Hornets drafting an injury-prone center or two of them is a really really good idea? Because if so, I need you that to explain it to me like I’m five. It’s It’s only a good idea had they done it and then traded a first round pick to get Robert Williams the third. That’s when it would have been a good idea. You got to load up on the injury prone centers. Like you lean into it, like Exactly. If you’re going to go do that, you might as well just go collect the whole set. You might as well just trade it for DeAndre Aton at that point and then send him off to LA in some failed deal as well, you know? Did you are there any like you have any strong thoughts on Ryan Kulk Brener, KJ Simpson, like any of the other younger younger guys on this roster? Hulk Brener is going to be a factor later in this year. I do think Ryan CH Brener we’re not talking about enough for right now because again I think he’s gonna he’s going to be on the Mark Williams plan of we’re going to get you up to speed in Greensboro like depending on the health of Grant Williams which I hate to keep saying because again someone can play a drinking game off of this but depending on the health of of Grant Williams at this point if you tell me that it’s Grant Williams it’s um it’s Grant Williams your center rotation is Mason Plumbley Musadate Grant Williams as your third emergency center. Like if you told me that it’s those three and then you let Kulk Bruner get seasoning in Greensboro and get adjusted to the speed because defensively I think he’s going to be ready sooner rather than later. It’s offensively and strengthwise and keeping people off the glass where I have concerns for him. I do think that this is a kid that, as we talked about before, I think a lot of people overthought it with Ryan Caulkiner, and I do think he’s an NBA center. It’s just a matter of is he going to be there? Is he going to get there this year or is he going to get there closer to next year? And my money is on closer to next year. You kind of said something. I mean, like, we’ve we people talk a lot about the lack of proven centers, let’s say, on this roster, but I’m just like, how is this team, you mentioned like Caulk Brener keeping people off the glass, like how is this team supposed to consistently rebound, especially if you’re talking about having Grant Williams slide up to the five prayer, that’s it. Prayer. That That’s it. That like like let’s let’s be real. Like, that was my thing. Like, I like Mason Plumbley. Mason Plumbley should not be your starting center in 2025. He should be a nice bench option. Remember Nick Richards, former Charlotte Hornet, came in immediately and became the starting center over who? Mason Plumbley. There was a reason for that. So, I do think that the Hornets were just so disenchanted is the word I would use with the entire center room last year that everybody except Musadiate had to go. And I completely understand why. And the other thing too is their defense in general. I think everyone’s impression is they’ve leaned so far into offense that the defense is going to be an abject disaster. I think there’s a chance for it to happen. Again, just when you look at the personnel, but I think you could argue for a good chunk of last season, or at least schematically with some of the things they did, they punched above their weight with Charles Lee. And I I think you could really see it. You see, you watch this team way more than I do, so you can correct me if I’m wrong. When you look at the activity, like the deliberateness that can go into dissuading or limiting shots around the basket, like that was a material change for them. There is no one who finished the season on that roster aside from maybe Mark Williams where you look at and said, “Yeah, you know what? It would make sense that they were able to do that.” Again, that’s that’s Charles Lee’s thing. Like Charles Lee will scheme up some defense. Charles like Char I’m not worried about the perimeter defense as much. I’m worried about what’s going to happen when they get to the rim. I’m worried. I’m not even worried about them creating stops. I’m much more worried about the rebounding. That’s the only thing I ever really worry about with this team going forward because like we’ve seen Mason Plumbley get pushed underneath the rim. I’ve seen Musa Debbate repeatedly get pushed underneath the rim, but the defense is one of those things where like that’s non-negotiable with Charles Lee. We’ve seen it before. We’ve seen him bench LaMelo off of this stuff. We’ve seen him bench Brandon Miller. We’ve seen him bench a lot of guys. if you do not defend, you will not play. And he’s got enough guys to where that is a legitimate threat that he can actually carry out if you’re not willing to defend this year. Um, are you ready to enter the cookie cutter portion of the podcast? Let’s do this. Let’s do this. So, looking at their roster, what do you view as their biggest need? We’ve probably talked about a few of them. If there’s any we haven’t talked about yet, but we’ve mentioned rebounding, size, what do you center? Yeah, it’s center. That’s not really like like that. Like like that’s the thing. And shout out to James Plow ride of uh Buzzbeat. He brings up the idea of Bam Adabios as a Hornet Center next year, especially since like Miami is not doing very well and you kind of own an unprotected Miami pick in the future that may end up cashing in and being very like I think that’s one of the better assets in the league to have right now. So I would not be surprised if like he brings up Bam out of bio, but I do think center is probably the biggest asset that they need outside of maybe a legitimate wing stopper. What is there a something about this team whether it’s like a strength or a storyline that is flying under the radar relative to how people are talking about them? Um the youth actually we again you know what we tal we forgot to talk about one guy James and I think he’s going to be fascinating because he’s again kid out of Duke probably one of the better perimeter defenders I saw in college last year. I think he’s going to have a sneaky chance to get on this roster and I do think that if he’s at le and if not he’s going to be on the Mark Williams program with Ryan Kulkiner about getting seasoning and he’s going to be a part of this team later rather than sooner but I do think that he’s a very fascinating character because if he just does the Lou Dort three and D guard you up that’s the kind of wing defender that Charles Lee likes and it gives the Hornets a little bit more flexibility to move a Josh Green or move some other of these guy some more of these guys. I mean, how do they go about making a roster spot for him at this point? Like that. Aren’t you entering terrible just get rid of Nick Smith? Yeah. Okay. So, believe him. Okay. I him and KJ. It’s like him, KJ, and Drew Peterson are the three two ways I believe. Actually, no. I’m sorry. No, there is a roster. No, he’s on a roster spot. I’m sorry. Sign. They signed all the they signed Cion James to a regular roster spot. He’s not on two-way. He’s actually on a roster spot right now. Uh so who is like on I guess it’s a Nick Smith Jr. We should pencil him in for like getting the boot from here. Dayquin Jeff. Um I would assume like him Dayquin Jeff are absolutely gone. Pat Conton’s on this roster. I would not expect him to continue to be on this roster. I again it’s very very interesting because again they’re at like the roster max of 21 I think right now that they got to shave down at some point. So they are they have a lot of guys on that team that I don’t know how it’s going to work but it’s going to be very fascinating to see what happens after that. Yeah they have I didn’t even I thought it was 17. They have 18 guys. They’re not all guaranteed but they have 18 guys under quote unquote contract. One of the non there’s two non-G guarantees. One of them is Diabate. He’s not going anywhere. No, he’s not. And the other is Dcoin Jeff. So, he would be he’s probably gone. Yeah. And then I guess it’s like after that, does it have to be Nick? Like if you want to keep K Brener, obvious Yeah, it’s got to be Nick. It’s got to be Nick. No, he’s he’s gone. I guess ideally it’d be Pat Conetan, but even he could maybe log some win minutes if you wanted him to. But isn’t he like he’s a 10 million expiring. I wouldn’t necessarily like get rid of that all that s that soon. That’s the other thing for trades that could be useful especially given their flexibility with in trades like being able to flip him for a player who makes exponentially more. That’s the other thing. The Hornets have a lot of expiring salary. I would not be surprised would not be surprised if they’re the lubricant along with Brooklyn this year in terms of gaining more assets, getting players. like the war chest is getting kind of full and they’re eventually going to have to make a move with some of these assets that they’ve acquired, but I would not be surprised if they’re in more asset acquisition mode because they have because of that second apron and we see how deathly afraid all these teams are of the second apron right now. And they’ve also I mean they’ve shown now on numerous occasions two trade deadlines and an offse two off seasonasons now that they are going to be opportunistic and make those types of moves if they’re available because that’s how they’ve established part of their war chess. Okay, they got rid of PJ Washington but like the the Terry Rosier trade that was like a really smart move by them as well. Shout out to the that unprotected pick that’s going to keep living on in perpetuity for the next couple years. Yeah. So what is it? It’s it’s top 2020. It goes out to 2028. Holy [ __ ] I thought it was 2027. Holy crap. No, it’s I’m sorry. No, it’s lottery protected in 2027, but if it if the heat basically get are in the lottery in 2027, 2028 is unprotected. I believe that’s the those are the conditions on that. Wow. I thought for some reason I thought it was flopped too. I thought this was the year it was lottery protected, but that I mean either way with the heat direction and then you have the Mavs pick. You also have the mouse pick. That’s the top two protected one, I believe. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, you’re right. Yep, you are correct. Lottery protected in 2027, unprotected in 2028. So, yeah. Uh there I is is next off season kind of like a you’re looking at that as will they try to hit I don’t want to say the turbo button, but the be more aggressive button to maybe cash in some chips. You do think so. Okay. They have to. They have to because remember Brandon Miller is extension eligible. So you have like you’re going to have to make a decision on that. And we saw what they did with Mark Williams. Like if they didn’t think they don’t think you’re going to be a part of the future or you’re part of the solution, most likely you will not be here. Mark Williams should have told us all of that to start. So I do think that this is going to be very fascinating in the continual reshaping of this roster. Someone’s again, it’s like that TV show with the season finale. Someone’s not going to be here by the time that we get to that point. You’re looking at this roster right now trying to factor in everything. Who winds up being the 10 most used players by the end of the year? I already filled out my starters and appar. All right, look again. Give me your 10. Give me a 10. So I I mean my So these are my 10, but my starters were LaMelo, Canipple, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Musa Diabate. Then I have Sexton, Josh Green, Grant Williams, Mason Plumbley, and Tan Salon. All right. I think 10 most used. I think you need to create I think you need to probably create a spot for Liam McNeely somewhere in there. I do think Plumbley is going to get more run than you think. And something about Trey man, and I think the Trey man is the wild card to all of this because if he was truly held out because of just simply because of the back and they weren’t going to play with that on a on a walk year, which I don’t necessarily blame them. Like that’s good. That’s just good business by his agent. I there’s a part of me that wonders if Trey man doesn’t just become just a super super piece that they end up either keeping or dealing because the the contract is just so just so easy to move which is the other thing is again we talk about easy to move in all these pieces. There are a lot of pieces that are very very easily movable including LaMelo depending on if they want to get to that point which I don’t think they do. Yeah. Even going through it, I didn’t even like leaving off a Trey man. Leaving off I thought Liam McNeely was easy to leave off just because they had so many dudes, but leaving off the Trey Man is like that’s guttural. Yeah. Like, but I get it because Trey Mann had a similar season to Brandon Miller. Like, he was there, he was pretty good, and then Christmas came around and he wasn’t there anymore. So, I completely understand why anybody would have forgotten about him. Well, those updates too were non-existent for so long. And then all of a sudden he becomes like enters free agency and it’s like oh Trey man’s okay. Yeah. Yeah. That that that whole scenario was very weird because you saw like there were there were Instagrams of him like practicing and they’re ramping up the play and then radio silence and Yeah. Yeah. Like like that. That’s the that’s the thing. The Hornets move in silence and mystery a lot. They don’t let you in unless they really want to let you in and if it’s safe to let you in. Well, so if we say that Trey man belongs in that top 10, which I like on from a talent perspective and like based off the way he’s played when he’s healthy in Charlotte, it’s an easy case to make. Who gets bounced? Is that like at the expense of Khan Canipple losing a lot of size there? Is it at the expense of we could say they’ll eventually move Colin Ston and maybe that takes care of it, but you’re looking at when I look at the roster of guys, it’s all right. dude like who is who’s who’s playing less if everybody’s healthy. So, are we factoring in health? Because again, that’s the other thing. I Well, I think Josh Green not being healthy to start the season, right? That’ll help. But if this team’s at full strength, unless we just never expect them to be at full strength, that’s that’s where I would tell you like you probably need to expect at least one or two guys, one or two rotation guys to be hurt. And that’s where the Liam Neilies come in. I think Josh Green is a sneaky trade candidate, too, if I’m honest. I think that’s a guy he should be, but I just don’t I don’t I’m not a Josh Green guy. I can’t be sold on Josh Green. No, you know what? You tried to warn me about him last year and I thought, look, I was looking for any kind of solid defender because again, you’ve seen this team and solid and willing defenders are few and far in between. So, I was just looking for a port in the storm and I came away disappointed despite the fact that the guy shot 40% from three last year. Just hanging out in the corners, though. Yeah, that’s what he does. Still there there there’s need for that. There’s always a need for that. Always a need for that. This is to some extent matchup dependent. It’s it’s honestly an unfair not just an impossible question, but it’s an unfair question to throw at you. What is going to be their what their most used closing lineup when all said and done? We could let’s zoom ahead to April. Regular season’s over. What’s been their most used crunchtime lineup at that point? I would tell you Ball, Sexton, Miller, Bridges, Williams. Ball, Miller, Sexton, Bridges, Williams. Yeah, you know, I guess I underestimated how much I should be expecting Sexton and Lamelo Ball to play together. I think that there’s that. I do think Canipples has a or e either him or Trey man. Swap t him for Trey man. That’d be fun line. He’s like Trey man just his aesthetics are more funky. I like watching him a little bit more. Like that like I think that’s that’s the closing lineup. I do think there’s a spot there’s a spot where Khan Canipple can sneak his way in, but I don’t think that’s this year. I do think that they’re going to figure out what they have in all this and then they’re going to start. Again, this is a very very fluid evaluation year to where this can either be 24 win. Again, I do think they’re going to hit the over and I think their over is 24 and a half. They’re going to hit that over. This feels I usually talk myself into like can I bump up that line and hit the over? Like I like I feel like that’s an easy over at 24 and a half. I do think that they’re going to hit that. I just wonder if the ceiling is 33 to 34 wins for this team. Is there a funky weirdo lineup you want to see Charles Lee try this year? It should really be all guards, right? Like what’s what’s the all guard unit we can come up with? Honestly, hold on. Funky lineup. Let’s see. Um, man, canipple McNeely Salon Kulk Brener. My god, that’s a great one. I don’t know that I could beat that. I Grant Williams, McNeely, Canipo, LaMelo Ball, and Trey Mann. I think the thing the the issue with like the LaMelo Ball things is I think we’re going to see them. Mine is I get mine is if these guys defend, then we might actually see it. But I want Zion Scion James in mind now that you uh sold me on his defense. Cion James is going to be James is like if he’s they think he’s Lou Dort or they think he’s going to be Lou Dort eventually if he ends up hitting anywhere close to Lou Dort that is your starter at two for a very very long time and then we have a very very uncomfortable conversation about who stays and who goes in that starting rotation between Khan Canipple and Brandon Miller and or so I’ll change mine then to Brandon Miller Scion James Canipple McNeely and Grant Williams. I do like that. That is going to be a grinder. Like that is going to be a grinder type lineup. I do. Ooh, I do like that one. I do like that one. So, before I ask you for some predictions, is there anything else about this team that we didn’t talk about that you think needs to be hit? Uh, anything you’d like to still get off your chest about the way that they are covered from a national perspective? Honestly, like my like my whole thing is at this with with the Charlotte Hornets, I am of the you’re probably right, but they have like you’re probably wrong about the Hornets. And I say this as a national thing. Like most people are probably wrong about the Charlotte Hornets, but they haven’t done enough to where they’re actually worth defending right now. If they again, they were so bad intentionally. So, now mind you, and they were one of the few teams that didn’t get fined $100,000 for like like shout out to Utah for catch catching all those fines for lineup manipulation, everything else. They they secretly got fined because Walker Kesler was shooting threes. That’s what really happened. They’re like, “Okay, like that was too egregious for the league.” Yeah. But like that’s I think this team like hasn’t done enough to where I’m actually going to like vehemently defend them anymore. They’ve got to like they’re embarrassing to be in p be seen with in public even though at this point like yeah look at it I’m wearing the the summer league Vegas championship shirt. Yes, I paid $50 for this. No, I have no chain. That is the that is the most insane thing that’s been discussed the entire not the Hornets winning 40 games this year. You paying $50 for a summer league championship shirt. I get you took down a dynasty but come on. Look, I’m okay with it. Like again, this is, mind you, this is a team that has never been to the Eastern Conference Finals, Dan. They’ve never won anything of significance. Of course, I’m going to commemorate this. The the one time they’ve won anything, period. Not even of significance. Won anything. Of course, I’m going to buy it. I I get You bought multiples though for other people. That’s That’s probably the real insanity. No, it’s not. Again, this is a sickness. I’m viral. I passed on my sickness to other people. Now, granted, technically, one of those was my father, who was a bigger sicko than I, so I had to get it for him. The other person I converted was my wife. So, yes, feel bad for her. So, how many games do you see them winning, and where do you have them stacked up in the rest of the Eastern Conference? I see a 33 I see like 31 to 33 wins. I think they’re going to compete for that 10 slot. I do think like I think 30 like 31 to 33 wins and we’re talking about a top three pick because of the way the lottery works now where you’re better off winning as many games as possible as humanly possible and then letting the chips fall where they lottery balls fall where they may. But I just for some reason I just see this team winning 30 plus games and giving people something to be excited about. And that’s weird territory to be in because I think at some point in the season you could look at it and say when you’re a win like I don’t know 14 or something is it time to steer out of this. Do you think that this team still has the potent the front office specifically would still think in those terms or if they’re on track to actually be a 33 34 35 win team that they’ll you know if it’s happening because some of the young guys are playing it’s not that they’re overindexing on a a Miles Bridges and a Mason Plumbley and those are the guys in a Colin Son that are making the impact because I think that’s what’s tough about their situation is like 30 33 might get you in the playin. It was 39 last year was the the 10 seed. Um, and I think to the people I I think some of it’s reductive when you’re talking about the Hornets, but I do think you could also reasonably look at the East and say, how many teams would you guarantee are worse than Charlotte? And it gets hard after Washington and Brooklyn that Washington, Brooklyn, and dare I say it, and I feel bad for the people up north, but I feel like Toronto is not that good. Uh, so I strongly disagree, but what I will say is if you actually got rid of Messiah Yujiri for anything that had to do with his philosophical approach to team building, it would to me increase the likelihood that this roster has a lot of churn and they lean into that. Now, I think where that logic falls apart a little bit is they’ve done literally nothing since getting rid of Eug. They extended Yakob Purle. So, if anything, they’ve doubled down on it. I think I think I’m pretty hot. They were the other team. I had to pick two surprises for a podcast I was doing that people are too low on and I picked the Raptors and the Hornets. I like I just like there’s a like that’s the team I wonder like they have so many redundant parts that also can’t necessarily stay healthy where I’d like to see Brandon W Brandon Ingram play 60 games. I haven’t really seen it in a while. Same thing with RJ Barrett. I’d like to see that. Same thing with Quickly. I would like to see all those pieces come together. I again they they are Hornets north to me except they actually have a center like that’s Yeah, they that’s true and I do think Colin Murray Broyals is a very very very good player but he’s incredibly redundant for that entire process. And I wonder I do wonder what all of that is going to look like. But like I feel like it’s going to be that like Toronto and and and Charlotte for that 10 spot. But as to the other thing like you’re wondering like what happens if they’re overindexing on a Miles on a Mason Plumbley if they’re overindexing on a Miles Bridges like I don’t think the way this roster is built even if you are those are guys that you can probably move anyway. Well, I guess that was my question though is if this team is headed down that path, like are they going to lean more into the youth movement either by okay, Miles Bridges would be the one because of his contract and just the the baggage that comes with him is we’re going to shut him down to lean into or is this a year where it feels like they’re going to follow it through just so they have a sample size with as many of the prospective core guys together as possible? I do you don’t have enough data. Like that’s the thing I keep coming back to is you don’t have enough. Like the Charlotte Hornets front office does not have nearly enough data to make a decision on anybody. Like you need to see what this looks like. You have to play this out. And more importantly at this point, like if you bomb out in January, who is it actually helped? Like that’s the thing I keep coming back to is who does this actually help when you start bombing out? Did it help Utah? No. Did it really help Washington? also no. But again, granted, Washington ended up winning a ton of games on the back end, so they may not necessarily fig figure into this equation. But San Antonio, it helped, but that’s only because quite literally WBY got hurt in February. Like Luca got traded and that’s what helped Dallas. But n like it helps you to win as many games as possible because the the margins are so thin right now. you’re better off figuring out what you have so that no matter where you pick, especially in a draft like this, which is the last real draft in a long time for for at least another year or two, like this is the last real draft. I think it helps the Hornets more to know exactly what they have and what they don’t have and to pivot into something actually worth winning again to actually have winning basketball around. Could I get one other prediction for you for this team? Okay. Could be whatever you want. Liam McNeely second rookie all all team all rookie second team at minimum they’re really going to find playing time for these guys despite having such a jumbled roster that’s I think I I just I am a believer in Liam McNeely again I’m very much a believer in Liam McNeely I think he’s one of those guys that if you build something sustainable you have to hit on those kind of guys in the 20s and everything else like that we’ve seen again you mentioned Desmond Bane Draymond on Green, the obvious answer, but there are a lot of these guys that if you hit on late, like I think that you can end up changing the your entire trajectory, and I think he was criminally underdrafted. I like that one. That’s a That’s a really good one. I Man, I’m going to be tracking this team’s minutes pattern more than I kind of thought coming in here. They just so many dudes. That’s what I said at the top of this. They have a ton of dudes. It’s they have a ton of very interesting dudes and it’s just about figuring out where this is. Like I don’t want to say Khan’s going to be like I think Khan has a shot at rookie all first team but I also think there’s a there’s a chance that he ends up just being a really solid bench contributor this year and he ends up popping in the following year. But I also wonder like there’s a lot of this like you said it’s a roster jumble and I think a lot of this is going to end up having to get clear that Polaroid’s gonna have end up having to get clear probably in October and we’ll find out probably first two weeks of the season exactly what this is. Canada, this was a blast as it is every single year. Are you able just to tell our listeners where they could find you on the the social machines and and what you got going on this season? I’m still barely on Twitter at not of the scribe. barely barely um but I’m also on blue sky I believe that yeah it’s not a describe at blue sky on blue sky as well and if you want to catch any of my work and follow me on the draft stuff that we do and college basketball stuff check the CBS college basketball YouTube YouTube channel thank you so much for all your time as always as you know by now I’ll be pestering you again in the future and until next time I leave everybody with a shout out to the one the only former Hornet Mr. for Frank Neil Aina. [Music] [Music]

Dan is joined by CBS Sports podcast producer extraordinaire Konata Edwards (@NataTheScribe) for a deep dive into the 2025-26 Charlotte Hornets. CHAPTERS BELOW.

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CHAPTERS⬇️
0:00 – INTRO
2:41 – Impact of Charles Lee
4:11 – The offseason
9:01 – Big man rotation
11:53 – Future of LaMelo Ball
18:09 – Continued development of Brandon Miller
20:36 – Early impressions of Kon Knueppel
22:57 – Early impressions of Liam McNeeley
24:05 – Juggling a crowded a perimeter rotation
25:59 – Future of Tidjane Salaun
30:23 – Early impressions of Ryan Kalkbrenner
32:01 – Can Charlotte rebound and defend?
34:19 – Biggest needs, strengths, under-the-radar storylines
35:33 – Sion James / roster spots
38:13 – Hornets’ approach to trade market
40:53 – Top-10 rotation
45:01 – Go-to crunch time lineup
46:42 – Weirdo lineups we want to see
48:11 – Coverage of the Hornets
50:30 – PREDICTIONS

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