FIRST 16 GAMES OF THE CHARLOTTE HORNETS SEASON: The Charlotte Hornets Early Struggles
The Charlotte Hornets during the first 16 games of the long 82 game season have had to face adversity in a very short time frame. In this post we will expand on the issues that are plaguing this team and which are stopping the Hornets from accomplishing what I thought was attainable if healthy. I believed they had a chance at a 7th-9th seed in the eastern conference. But not all is negative, we will be also talking about the positives of this team, how a surprising player is reviving his career in charlotte and possible trade opportunities for the Hornets.
EARLY INJURIES:
Lamelo Ball: Even before the season started the Charlotte Hornets lost their Franchise player Lamelo Ball when he suffered a left ankle sprain in the preseason and has been out for all except the last three games. It seems his woes will continue though, because against the Indiana Pacers Lamelo twisted his left ankle again trying to hustle for a ball that was going out of bounce. To early yet, but hopefully injuries will not be a common place for Melo, many great talents have never reached their peak because of the injuries players sustain thought a player’s career. hopefully he can bounce back quickly.
Cody Martin: Cody martin injured his knee before the regular season even started, and he will miss 4 weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery. Although Martin is not a star or even a starter level player for the hornets, he is the team’s best wing defender and last season made huge strides when it came to his three-point shooting percentage going from a 27.6% 3P% in 2020 to a 38.4 3P% in 2021 making Martin a very valuable 3 & D player off the bench for the Hornets. The Hornet’s right now are in need of martin’s three-point shooting ability and wing defending, because after the loss to the Indiana Pacers on November 16th, the Hornets are ranked 27th in the league when it comes to three-point shooting percentage at just 32.3% on the season, and the hornets without Martin are only 20th when it comes to defensive rating with a 112.6 so far.
Terry Rozier: Terry Rozier is the Hornets number one option on the offensive end. Over the last three seasons terry has averaged about 20 PPG. However, just like Ball, Rozier missed a few games early on in the season when he was averaging 23.5 PPG due to… You guessed it! A right ankle sprain. Rozier is a valuable player for the Hornets and the team depends on him offensively to make big time shots. This season Rozier will have to play a larger role without Ball in the rotation if this team is expected to win at least some games.
Gordon Hayward: No surprise that Hayward is on this list because in his time with the Hornets he has never played more than 50 games in a season during his tenure. Hayward suffered a shoulder contusion against the Bulls almost two weeks ago. Gordon has been a solid all-around player for the Hornets during his three seasons, however his $31 million contract that will last until the end of next season has limited the amount of movement the Hornets have been able to do with signing marquee free agents over the past few years. We will expand on the opportunities for the Hornets of trading Hayward for possibly a younger star or more draft capital later on in the post.
Dennis Smith Jr.: What a surprise Smith has been this season, a native of North Carolina returning to Charlotte to revive his career putting up respectable numbers of 10, 6, 3 on the season and has even put up a double-double performance against his former team the Knicks posting 14 points and 11 assist in 37 minutes. Smith also is tied for 4th in the entire league in steals averaging 1.9 steals per game. However, like Hayward, Smith’s injuries have derailed his career and his high-flying athleticism and explosiveness that was so highly touted coming out of NC State suffered the most. Smith also suffered two ankle sprains over a few games this year, and will most likely miss a few more games if the coaching staff wants to make sure he is fully healed before putting him back in.
GORDON HAYWARD: Rumors of Trading with The Knicks or The Mavs
Gordon Hayward at the moment has a $31 million contract lasting until after next season. there have been reports that the Knicks and Mavericks are interested in trading for the 32-year-old former all-star small forward.
Knicks: The knicks have expressed interest of adding veteran leadership to their Lockeroom and Hayward fits that bill perfectly. Possible trades would include swapping the contracts of Julius Randle’s four-years, $117 million deal or Evan Fournier’s three-years, with $55.8 million left on his deal). Randle averaging 21, and 9 this season would provide the Hornets with a 20 plus per game scoring big who can also shoot the three ball, on the year Randle is shooting 35% from beyond the arc very respectful for a big man. Evan Fourtier in theory is a good pick up but this year Fourtier’s usual 3PT% has dropped from a 38% from last year to a 33% this year and the contract would be too much if he continues to regress.
Mavericks: in a trade for hayward it would not be out of the spectrum for the Hornets to acquire a good SG in Tim Hardaway Jr., a backup rim protector and
stretch big like Dwight Powell who is on a one-year deal and a late first round pick this year or next year, this trade would clear cap space because the only contract long term is Tim Hardaway who is signed to a 3 years, $19 million contract.
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