Five moves the Hornets need to make to take the next step

It's not the first time Bridges has thrown a punch this season, having swung on Jalen Duren in February. Bridges has one year left on his contract. It's time for Charlotte to make this ticking time bomb someone else's problem.

3. Find another big man

Moussa Diabate was a revelation this season, plugging in as a small-ball center and dominating on the offensive glass. However, he's 6-foot-10 and 210 pounds. Against bigger teams, like the Magic, the Hornets are vulnerable with Diabate as the rim protector. Diabate is a fantastic, cheap find, just like second-round pick Ryan Kalkbrenner (75.3 percent shooting, 1.5 blocks), but the Hornets need more size inside to truly compete.

4. Calm LaMelo Ball down

Ball is one of the NBA's brightest young talents, making passes and plays no one else in the league can pull off. He also makes some baffling decisions on the court, like when he missed 14 three-pointers in the Hornets' play-in win over the Miami Heat, some of them deep, early in the shot clock and very low-percentage.

He's made bad decisions off the court, regularly driving erratically and getting into an accident in February. Ball has only been on terrible Hornets teams before this season, so his undisciplined play hasn't had consequences. Now that the team has real aspirations, Ball needs to figure out how to keep his free-flowing creativity while cutting his worst mistakes.

5. Find one more three-and-D wing

The Hornets made the most three-pointers in the NBA last season. They've got Miller and Knueppel, but they could use another wing defender who can shoot like the rest of his teammates but check opposing scorers better than another solid second-round rookie Sion James.

The Hornets were one of the NBA's best teams once 2026 started. To keep their success going, it's time to make a few aggressive moves so the core of Ball, Miller and Knueppel (all 24 or younger) can truly soar next season.