Respected NBA Analyst Not Fond of the Charlotte Hornets' Offseason

Room for improvement in Charlotte? David Aldridge thinks so.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Charlotte Hornets have had a pretty quiet offseason to this point, making most of their roster moves at the trade deadline back in February. There, they acquired Tre Mann, Seth Curry, Grant Williams, Vasilije Micic and future draft picks. Over the summer, they acquired Josh Green in the NBA's first-ever six-team trade, selected Tidjane Salaün and KJ Simpson in the draft, and signed free agents Taj Gibson and Moussa Diabate.

David Aldridge of The Athletic recently ranked the Hornets' offseason 21st amongst all NBA teams.

"Charlotte has to operate on the margins. It's not going to be the first choice of free agents, and there isn't enough talent on the roster to be first in line for big trades. So Peterson and his new front office made small moves that will help raise the floor, including bringing the well-regarded Lee from the Celtics' bench. Salaun feels like a reach at sixth, but a franchise like Charlotte has to take big swings every now and then. You can judge for yourself about the wisdom of bringing back Bridges, but he and Brandon Miller are a solid forward duo. If Ball and Williams return strong, the Bugs could have a nice bounce-back season."

I do agree the moves that were made don't stack up to those made by other franchises, but I commend Hornets VP of Basketball Ops Jeff Peterson for not coming in and rushing the process. This team is not quite in the position to push for a playoff spot. He (Peterson), and new head coach Charles Lee need to be in place for a season to understand what this team really needs to push forward.

Plus, there's not a whole lot of motivation, I would assume, to make the playoffs this year. If the Hornets fall outside of the top 15 picks, their first-round pick in the 2025 draft will convey to the San Antonio Spurs. If it falls in the lottery, the Spurs will get a pair of second round picks.

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