Apr 2, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) drives against Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Hornets path to success? Emulating the Pacers, Jeff Teague says

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated May 20, 2025 8:55 AM ET

In 2020, the Charlotte Hornets selected a point guard third overall. Almost five years later, there's some argument to be had about whether that point guard, LaMelo Ball, or another, Tyrese Haliburton, was the right pick for Charlotte. Their situations are wildly different, but Haliburton has now gone to three straight Eastern Conference Finals.

Ball has never made it out of the play-in game with his team, which is why former NBA star Jeff Teague believes the Hornets need to mirror the Indiana Pacers, right down to poaching one of their outgoing free agents.

Jeff Teague on the Charlotte Hornets:

“If I’m Charlotte, I’m looking at the Pacers & I’m recreating this recipe. I got LaMelo who plays like Tyrese Haliburton, Tyrese Haliburton to me on steroids…”

(via @club520podcast ) pic.twitter.com/aRE2vaqjHI
— Kyle Ingram (@SnapshotKyle) May 19, 2025

Teague said, "If I'm the Charlotte Hornets, I'm going to get Myles Turner... If I'm Charlotte, I'm looking at the Pacers and I'm recreating this recipe. I got LaMelo, who plays like Tyrese Haliburton. I'm Tyrese Haliburton, to me, on steroids. I can score when I want to, but I got the same skillset, same height."

He continued, "Now, y'all about to give me a big that's going to spread the floor so the floor's open with me? And I got wings like Brandon Miller, like Andrew Nembhard... Then you got Miles Bridges, now you can get some more veteran leadership, some quality, hard-playing guys. Now you've got the new Pacers."

Ball and Haliburton are similar players, so adopting a similar roster construction wouldn't be the worst idea. However, if the Hornets do go after Turner, it begs the question of what they'll do with the rest of their big men.

Mark Williams is still on his rookie deal, and Jusuf Nurkic has one contractual year left. There's also Moussa Diabate to contend with. Additionally, the Hornets have no cap space. The podcast hosts noted that Charlotte might have to pay up to pry Turner away from Indiana in free agency, but they can't exactly afford to do that right now.