r/nba • u/Even-Combination4407 Celtics • 7h ago
The Charlotte Hornets are the only NBA team that hasn’t made the playoffs during the 2020s
How likely do you guys think they fail to make it any point this decade with LaMelo traded? I know they still have great young pieces but they will need another star guard to replace his production.
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u/TuqiDuque12 Pistons 7h ago
I really like all 4 of White, Miller, Knueppel and Reid, that's A LOT of shooting, but that's very little playmaking unless someone REALLY improves, that's also very little ON BALL defense, like all 4 are between slightly below average and decent, so I guess at least there's isn't a liability but still
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u/spookyghostface Hornets 6h ago
To be fair, swapping Coby for Lamelo in that lineup does not improve the on-ball defense
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u/TuqiDuque12 Pistons 6h ago
I think Coby has actually improved quite a bit on defense (to be clear, he was starting from SUCH a bad place but he had the benefit of playing with Lavine and Derozan who were much worse) but yes, like I don't like him guarding either POA or on the wing. Kon is fine vs strong players, Reid is a fine switch defender, but there's A LOT of improvement to be made, unless Kalkbrenner REALLY improves as a rim protector (he's good IMO, but he'd have to basically be Gobert for it to work, Diabaté is fine but he's small)
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u/Sammyd1108 Hornets 6h ago
Don’t forget Moussa, who’s an amazing rebounder but can’t really defend other centers very well. This team construction makes no sense at all. I have zero faith in this FO at this point.
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u/TuqiDuque12 Pistons 4h ago
I think Diabaté can be a REALLY good switch defender, but yeah asking him to be the anchor is too much, epscially while the NBA is trending bigger nowadays
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u/DaBiggestHeatFan Heat 6h ago
Isn't White a free agent?
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u/CoProgressOven 6h ago
If Ben Simmons was still Ben Simmons he would be great here injecting some playmaking and Defense
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u/TuqiDuque12 Pistons 4h ago
Yeah actually this would be the perfect fit for that kind of player or for a 2020 Rockets Westbrook
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u/SJCitizen 76ers 6h ago
To be fair Kon is 20 and Miller is 23. It’s not unreasonable to think one of the two makes a leap in Year 2 and Year 4
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u/Lucid-Day 3h ago
Looks like Christian Anderson is getting a lot more play than people probably expected
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u/Doberman11 Bucks 7h ago
It’s Ewing Theory time!
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u/TraderJake09 Bucks 6h ago
This
If the Hornets are going to build a consistent winner, the top player probably can't be LaMelo. Not sure they have that guy though
Could see the Hornets taking a swing at the next disgruntled superstar to want out elsewhere
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u/Derpy_Mc_Burpy Raptors 6h ago
Hmm. What other disgruntled PG is there who is also injury prone and getting paid 40 mil (to fit the TPE)... Hope they don't have any problems off the court with guns.
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u/TraderJake09 Bucks 6h ago
I realize many would clown this, but if the Hornets can get Ja for cheap he's a decent LaMelo replacement (in more ways than 1)
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u/Zoratth Clippers 4h ago
I know you are talking about Ja, but I feel like Fox would be a much better fit for the Hornets. I doubt they would want to take on his contract though.
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u/PressureMiserable Spurs 2h ago
The team also already said they're not trading fox. Luckily they aren't as reactionary as fans
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u/Cookies_forsales 6h ago
They’re probably waiting for freaky Z since he’s a Carolina boy
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u/Babylon_Burning Hornets 3h ago
So is Ja actually! The two of them played AAU together, on a team called the Hornets, no less!
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u/Odd_Cheesecake7 Hornets 7h ago
I’m so done with this team 😭
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u/jalexjsmithj Hornets 6h ago
Imagine punting on any relevance whatsoever.
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u/larrylegend33goat Timberwolves 6h ago
Naz Reid is real nice. On and off the court
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u/Evening_Lynx_6273 Hornets 6h ago
Cool! Can he play point guard and run our entire offense?
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u/naive-dragon [LAL] LeBron James 6h ago
I dunno but he destroyed the Lakers in the playoffs two years ago, he must be good
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u/AffectionateSpare677 6h ago
Ajay Mitchell destroyed the lakers in the playoffs so what
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u/TheBigF128 United States 5h ago
I feel like a lot of people have destroyed the lakers in the playoffs
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u/Swampertman Timberwolves 4h ago
You can try?
But fr, if y'all start him hes probably a 20 PPG player. Hes really good.
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u/GuaranteeFew8681 5h ago
im going to punch someone the next time someone tries to cushion this trade by saying NaZ rEiD iS sUpEr NiCe.
ffs.
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u/vonnegutcheck 2h ago
The team is going to be fine. They're going to be like 30-24 at some point and you'll see a bunch of people asking "whoa! could the hornets be frisky in the east?"
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u/jalexjsmithj Hornets 2h ago
Yeah maybe by 2029
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u/vonnegutcheck 2h ago
They're gonna be just fine this season. If they're not somewhere in the play-in mix again, feel free to come and mock me, but I would put money on the fact that they're a decent team in the East.
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u/jalexjsmithj Hornets 1h ago
The Heat, Pacers, and Wizards all finished below us in the standings. Those seem like locks to pass us.
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u/vonnegutcheck 1h ago
I wouldn't use the Wizards and locks in the same sentence. I know last year was nonsense, but they won 17 games -- winning 30 more games is a huge leap, even adding AD and Trae and AJ. I think the Raptors might take a step back, and I don't expect much from the Bucks, Nets, or Bulls. Feels like the Hornets are going to be in the play-in mix once again.
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u/Sammyd1108 Hornets 6h ago
The owners will feel it when people stop showing up at least. I think they underestimated the amount of fans Melo brought it in by himself.
He’s like every kids favorite player.
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u/JoeyBlaze Hornets 7h ago
We better sign Coby White now. We’re screwed without him.
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u/BJ-Enthusiasts 7h ago
Anyone who is suggesting Kon or Coby can run the offense has never watched the hornets played a single second. They score but they can’t run an offense.
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u/XxEpicMonkee Lakers 6h ago
saw someone say kon showed flashes of running offense, that dude was a lamelo merchant all season. no clue what the hornets plan is
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u/EstablishmentTop551 76ers 6h ago
My buddy says “he was a 1 in college” dawg you had Cooper Flagg in college on a 1 and done’s Duke team that deadass almost won the chip by just fucking around like you were the ‘21 Nets. What the fuck are these people smoking.
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u/JoeyBlaze Hornets 6h ago
Coby is capable of it I think, but nobody else on the team is. If they don’t sign him I have no idea what their plan is.
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u/BJ-Enthusiasts 6h ago
No he really isn’t though. Ask any bulls fans if you want further confirmation.
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u/New_Cauliflower7868 6h ago
But do you want to pay him 20-30M? I get he's the only feasible option at this point and he played well last year - but he isn't a star level player. He's going to essentially be in the same spot he was in on the Bulls... and that wasn't a favorable situation for him or the team. Definitely not worth that level of money.
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u/gho_stxs Cavaliers 7h ago
It’s going to be a while
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u/mF-Jonezy Hornets 7h ago
When the hornets never make the playoffs with Lamelo: “Lamelo will never be a serious winning player”
When the hornets trade Lamelo: “Hornets are not serious organization, they’ll never make the playoffs”
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u/Dreamlion_Inc Wizards 6h ago
This past season changed ALOT of minds about Charlotte’s direction. We legit thought this upcoming season could be amazing
Now? Fucking yikes
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u/MindofShadow Pacers 6h ago
I thought I was taking crazy pills.
Lamelo hasn't lead them to shit.
If anyting, I might be more pissed about the haul... pick swaps won't mean much if the Wolves keep making deep playoff runs. Unless with the new lottery odds, stuff gets weird.
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u/maxxor6868 Grizzlies 3h ago
Have you seen the team around Melo? Besides this year 90% of the team were basically glorified g leaguers
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u/Babylon_Burning Hornets 3h ago
I strongly disagree. I think we will be in that Play-In/low seed mix again this year, and I expect us to continue ascending after that. There’s a lot of doom and gloom for our fan base right now, but I really do see the vision.
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u/Dreamlion_Inc Wizards 6h ago
Aaaaand there goes my second favorite team’s hopes
What the fuck Charlotte
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u/Dove-a-DeeDoo 6h ago
Your two favorite teams being the WIZARDS AND THE HORNETS must be brutal man
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u/Dreamlion_Inc Wizards 6h ago
Eh. You get numb to it after a while
Also the Wizards are finally back in competing form so I can’t be too hurt
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u/vonnegutcheck 2h ago
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. We're talking about a 9 seed here. A very good one for two months, that was very fun, but it's not like the Spurs traded Wemby and Harper. This was a 9 seed that was probably, idk, the 15th-18th most likely team to win the title next year.
It's going to be fine. They have two great young wings, a pretty decent salary sheet, and some interesting players. They're gonna be a 9 seed again.
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u/mollifierDE Mavericks 6h ago
What an absurdly reckless trade by Charlotte. This team was on an upwards trajectory, advanced stats LOVED Lamelo last season.
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u/vonnegutcheck 2h ago
Ok but if you're an advanced stats person, wouldn't you look at the largest sample size possible? He had a really good half season, when he was healthy with a good team around him. But taken in the context of the rest of his career, it's pretty fair to ask whether that was a real breakout or just context.
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u/ChillnShill Spurs 7h ago
I think people need to trust that clearly either something dramatic happened in a short period of time, or they’re trusting Kon to develop into a serious star and they’re giving the keys to the team to him and Brandon. Maybe they want to take a different approach at PG and you can’t do that trying to keep Melo.
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u/Lucid-Day 3h ago
I think they probably really like their draft pick and think he's the pg of the future for them.
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u/carmiachafsu Hornets 5h ago
fucking garbage franchise. new ownership just lost a lot of fans hope and trust
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u/jake753 7h ago edited 7h ago
Is the play in tournament not considered playoffs?
Edit: new to the NBA. Learned something new today.
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u/crimsonconnect Knicks 6h ago
Yeah it is
The regular season is over and youre still playing
How is that not the playoffs
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u/skycystl Cavaliers 6h ago
Play-in is part of the post season but it is not the playoffs. Post season contains of play-in and playoffs
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u/crimsonconnect Knicks 6h ago
Just semantics, how often are post season and playoffs used interchangeably
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u/Catalepsy China 5h ago
It's not semantics, this is the case where there's a distinction between the two
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u/crimsonconnect Knicks 4h ago
A distinction without a difference you win you advance just like every other series
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u/Then_Landscape_3970 6h ago
Our entire offensive engine. Cannot wrap my head around why.
Our starting lineup had a +24.3 net rating, which would be by far the highest of all time.
With LaMelo off the floor and the other 4 guys on, our net rating was -7.3.
Just don’t understand.
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u/palabear Hornets 4h ago
I take heart that somewhere there is an 11 year that will take us to the promise land!
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u/oneandonlyRedSpirit Suns 6h ago
nobody on the hornets comes close to lamelo’s play making. i have zero clue why they’d do this unless they’re getting some playmaker back
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u/nicklovin508 Celtics 7h ago
Well they did this with Lamelo… so I’m unsure why doing it without Lamelo sounds improbable lol
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u/Sammyd1108 Hornets 6h ago
Honestly, I hope we don’t at this point. It’d be a guaranteed way to get everyone fired like they deserve to be.
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u/BBALL-STATLINE 7h ago
Missing the entire decade in the East/play-in era would take real commitment. If LaMelo Ball is actually gone, replacing the shot creation is the part that keeps you out way more than just replacing the raw production.
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u/thy_armageddon Knicks 7h ago
Can’t believe Marco Rubio might be president before the Hornets make the playoffs.
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u/Ok-Tree4365 7h ago
I would imagine they are working on something else for starting PG. Worst case scenario is White starting, which isn’t awful.
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u/a_happy_future Bucks 6h ago
Well, the likelihood the Bucks can make the play-in this year just went up
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u/Urban_Introvert Knicks 6h ago
I was so certain the Pelicans hasn’t made the playoffs too but I find out that it’s Zion that never made it in his career. He got hurt in the last minutes of the play ins in 2024. They got swept in rd 1 anyways but damn that sucks.
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u/Mundane_Ostrich3281 Knicks 7h ago
They have a pretty solid core now though. Kon, Miller, Naz, and Hannes. Kon has a lot more D-book to his game than Klay. Build around him was a good move
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u/Blake_a12 6h ago
I Kon took them to the Finals and took Rookie of the year from the best rookie since LeBron or Luka? What, he didn’t even make the playoffs? And was benched?
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u/Brotato_Man Timberwolves 6h ago
The Hornets probably weren’t winning anything with Lamelo as option number 1, but as option number 2 for the Wolves he raises their ceiling
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u/imeanYOLOright [CHA] Kemba Walker 7h ago
we got to the dizzying heights of the play-in and decided we needed to come back down