It’s a difficult task to address the needs of a team sitting at the bottom of its respective conference.
More often than not, the team is either young, hampered, or confused. The San Antonio Spurs have the former issue, the Washington Wizards have the latter issue, and the Charlotte Hornets sit somewhere in between.
They have LaMelo Ball — one of the league’s still-budding stars — but they’re also extremely young, and with Ball missing a substantial amount of games, it was understandably difficult to find success. Now, even with Ball, Charlotte isn’t in any position to be competitive in the East, but that’s not to say it isn’t attainable in a few seasons.
In order to get there, however, the Hornets will likely need to make some offseason additions via free agency or test the trade market. In regards to the latter, there are a few names that Steve Clifford’s squad could consider ahead of next season.
Here are two of them.
Bulls SG Ayo Dosunmu
Ayo Dosunmu’s name has been thrown around many a time when it comes to trade season.
The Chicago Bulls shooting guard has only been in the league for three seasons, but he’s shown steady improvement with every passing year. He’s averaged more points on more shots as well as scratched the 4o-percent mark from beyond the arc to make him a true deep threat.
On defense, he’s held his own, averaging a career-best 1.4 stocks per game to make him a two-way player capable of boosting a team’s offense and defense. For the Bulls, that was helpful amidst all of their injuries, but for the Hornets, it’d be slightly different. And better.
Moving to a team as young as he is, he’d likely see more minutes and a bigger role to expand his shooting prowess while learning alongside his teammates who are also young. He’d be a leader and a strong piece to a Hornets squad looking to build a winning product in years down the road, and his recent breakout games with Chicago are testaments to that.
Hawks F A.J. Griffin
Like Dosunmu, A.J. Griffin brings size to a Hornets squad looking for length and offensive production.
The Hawks forward has had his fair share of injuries this season, only appearing in 20 games, but while his most recent season might not be a strong representation of what he can do, he certainly has potential.
In his rookie season, Griffin averaged 8.9 points to go along with 2.1 rebounds and nearly two stocks per game on 40 percent shooting. He averaged just under 20 minutes, so for what time he logged, he certainly performed.
Obviously, health will be at the forefront of the Hornets’ concerns for Griffin if they were to pursue him, so he does have more to prove, but with the mixture of youth and talent that Charlotte has, he would make a strong fit if he could get his production back to where it was in rookie season and beyond.
The Hornets won’t be making a splash next season, but between Ball, Rookie of the Year finalist Brandon Miller and any other names they’ll bring in over the course of the offseason, they’re certainly working to get there.
Now, it’s in their hands to translate their talent to wins.
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