The Hornets need to see strong growth from Charles Lee in year two

Growth is the most important thing that needs to happen during this upcoming season for the Hornets. After three straight seasons of having top three odds to receive the top selection in the NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets must show progression in 2025-26.

Much of this falls onto the health and play of LaMelo Ball, who, when healthy, led the Hornets to a16-31 record last season (they 3-32 without Ball). It also falls onto the health of the rest of the roster, who before injuries to Tre Mann and Grant Williams, sat comfortably around .500 to begin the season.

Of course, it also falls onto Charles Lee, who's set to enter his second season as head coach for the Buzz.

Lee, who turns 41 in November, is the sixth youngest head coach in the sport. He's been in coaching since 2012, starting out with his alma matter in Bucknell, before spending a decade as an assitant coach in the NBA under Mike Budenholzer and Joe Mazzulla, winning championships with both.

Despite what the 19-63 record says, Lee had a fantastic year one for the Hornets. He had to put out 50 differents starting lineups, saw his guard room slashed, and had center drama that the entire NBA had it's eyes on.

It's too early to tell what to expect out of Lee. However, just like the roster, growth is needed to be seen. Another 19-63 season will not suffice.

Lee was tasked with arguably the hardest job in basketball, turning around a Charlotte team who has been in NBA purgatory for what seems like forever. It's no easy task, but Lee's constant optimism has given both the fanbase and the front office hope that he will be leading the team into war going forward.

The Offense

The Hornets offense was primarily built around the three ball, a version of what Joe Mazzulla runs in Boston. The issue is that the Hornets roster was not built with great three point shooters, being one of the worst three point teams in the sport last season.

President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson addressed this, bringing in Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Pat Connaughton, and Collin Sexton all to help bring three point shooting to the Hornets lineup. It remains to be seen how the rotation will look, but the offense still needs to improve from deep to succeed under Lee.

The Defense

On the other side of the ball, the Hornets equally struggled on defense. One of the biggest concerns was the paint, as while the perimeter defense was solid, the Hornets have had struggles at the forward position when it comes to guarding the paint.

One way to address this is through development of Tidjane Salaun, who has the profile of a great paint defender. His development is still uncertain, and if he needs another season to develop into an NBA level player the Hornets could see issues at the four again.

Miles Bridges cannot guard the paint. Running Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner together is malpractice for a team who relies heavily on the three point shot. So one big question facing the team is how will they be able to guard the paint?

The Hornets are facing one of the most important seasons in recent memory, and they need to see growth from their leading man.

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