Can the Charlotte Hornets survive with their current center depth?

One of the biggest weaknesses we see in most NBA teams is the starting center position.

Just last postseason, we saw JJ Redick run LeBron James at the center position for the Los Angeles Lakers, which resulted in a career night for Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert. The Lakers went on to address the position, signing Deandre Ayton in the offseason, making sure that the center position was secure.

They never had to, though.

Almost seven months ago, the Lakers acquired their center of the future. The team dealt Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and draft capital to acquire 23-year-old big man Mark Williams in a deal with the Charlotte Hornets.

Only a few days later, the deal was rescinded, changing the future of both franchises.

The Hornets entered the offseason with three centers many would consider starting caliber. Mark Williams, Jusuf Nurkic, who the team acquired from the Phoenix Suns at the trade deadline, and Moussa Diabate.

Center did not feel like a position of need going into the offseason. It felt as if the team would be keeping at a minimum two of these centers, with Moussa Diabate likely being one.

President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson got to work quickly this offseason, dealing Mark Williams the night of the NBA Draft to the Phoenix Suns in a deal that secured the Hornets the 29th pick that night.

The next night they selected a center, picking Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner with the 34th overall pick in the draft.

Their center position became a little clustered, but there was still strong depth.

The depth did not last very long, as shortly after the draft, the Hornets dealt Jusuf Nurkic to the Utah Jazz for guard Collin Sexton. While the Hornets were able to address the guard position in the case that LaMelo Ball gets injured, it further depleted their center position, leaving just Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Free agency had yet to start, and it seemed like Peterson would go center hunting.

He did, just not for the guy the fans wanted.

The Hornets brought back Mason Plumlee, signing the big man to a one-year deal. Plumlee spent a year and a half with the Hornets before being dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2022-23 season. After a stint with the Clippers and the Suns, Plumlee returns to the Hornets to be the veteran in the center room.

It's now September, and training camp begins in only a few weeks. The team has the same guys at center still, not making any more moves to the room.

Moussa Diabate, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Mason Plumlee.

Can the Hornets survive with just these three at the big man position?

Ten teams qualified for the postseason in the Eastern Conference last season. All 10 have legitimate starting centers. Three of the five that missed also can be called starting centers.

In the Western Conference, two of the ten teams did not have a legitimate starting center, one of which had DPOY candidate Draymond Green filling that role. Four of the five that missed the postseason had a starting center.

What makes the Hornets' center position so interesting is the fact that it's a question mark. Diabate has shown flashes of developing into a starter, and Kalkbrenner is only a rookie. You cannot dismiss their rotation as not good enough, but you also cannot believe that the rotation is better than some other teams.

A couple of days ago I wrote an article about Moussa's potential in the Hornets offense:

We've seen what Moussa does as a starter. In his final two starts, he averaged 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and a block. He now gets a full offseason to train as the team's starting center and will now see a healthy LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.

It's a glimpse of what Moussa can be.

While 18 points and 12 rebounds is likely unrealistic, it's feasible to see the big man average between 8-10 points and 10-12 rebounds. In 8 total games as a starter, Moussa averaged 7.6 points and 10.9 rebounds.

It's likely Diabate ends up as the starting center for right now, but it's hard to ignore the potential of Ryan Kalkbrenner.

A 7'1" center who spent five years at Creighton, Kalkbrenner averaged 19.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in his senior year at the school. While his offensive game is still developing, Kalkbrenner's defensive side is where he hangs his hat.

The four time Big East DPOY, Kalkbrenner averaged 2.4 blocks across his five seasons, recording 2.7 in his final season with the team. He's incredible at defending without fouling as well, something head coach Charles Lee runs much of his defense around.

While neither of these two can stretch the floor, both have shown that they are working on developing the shot, which Lee has expressed his interest in needing.

As for Plumlee, it's likely he takes on the role Taj Gibson held last season. Plumlee will help mentor the young guys, and be there to eat up minutes when one goes down. At age 35, he still was playing 17 minutes a game last season across 74 games.

With Grant Williams returning from an ACL tear as well, it adds another player who can eat at center minutes when needed.

While the Hornets center rotation is not one most fans can say they are interested in, the Hornets can and will survive with them.

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