Should Hornets Trade for Paul George and Picks? | LaMelo’s OFFSEASON Plan & Tre Mann Updates

Should Hornets Trade for Paul George and Picks? | LaMelo’s OFFSEASON Plan & Tre Mann Updates

Rod Boon from the Charlotte Observer caught up with Hornets head coach Charles Lee about the off seasonason. LaMelo Ball’s progress, the clarity surrounding this first round pick, and what’s up with Trey Man. Plus, should the Hornets be in on Paul George? Yeah, it’s another day. We’re going after another veteran possibly on the trade market. That’s all today. Locked on Hornets. You are Locked on Hornets, your daily Charlotte Hornets podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. In a minute, cuz we live. It’s Locked on Hornets, part of the Locked On podcast network. It’s your team every day. Thanks for making us your first listen. We’re free. We’re available anywhere. you get your podcast and that does include YouTube. There’s Doug Branson. You can find him on his Substack Every Hornetsboxcore.com. You can also find him on his other podcast locked on NBA. He hosts that alongside Matt Moore and Hayes. I’m Walker Mail. You can listen to me on WFNZ every weekday from 12 12 to 3 p.m. Wesson Walker again, Sports Radio 927 WFNZ. Looks like we got some updates. Shout out to Rod for giving us some updates. Just checking in. just doing a little status check with Charles Lee on what’s going on with some of the injuries that uh well there’s been a lot of injuries but just giving us an update on what took place with LaMelo Ball over the last month and a half, two months or so. Same thing with Trey Mann and then we’ll get to some comments on the first round pick. But as always, we got to lead with the star of the show, baby. It’s LaMelo. How’s he doing? Here’s what Charles Lee had to say on their star player. I’ve seen great consistency with him just trying to get himself back after his procedures, getting in the gym, doing everything he can physically, mentally to get his body right because then that next phase after he gets himself back mentally and physically is to hit the court and try to work on some of those skill acquisitions. But again, body is going to be one of the most important things so we can continue to have him durable. End quote. I think that that is the biggest deal for LaMelo. Charles Lee at exit day talked about the importance of taking contact, maybe dishing out the punishment rather than taking it and then having those physical defenders at the point of attack knock him off of his spot because Charles Lee even admitted that that bothered LaMelo more than it should have and he needs to work on a lot of that. But remember Jeff Peterson when he took over there was a lot of cleaning of house. there was a lot of turnover all across the board and also the old training uh athletic training staff that means they were gone too. So we have a new staff in place. We still saw a lot of injuries this past season that that does not mean that it is the new training staff’s fault but we’re hoping that at some point one of these training staffs that comes through the Hornets organization can get these bodies right and that does fall on LaMelo too and some of it doesn’t. Like this is always the weird part about talking about the injuries, but it is about the body for LaMelo and Charles Lee seems to understand that as well. Well, and LaMelo is not new to this. He’s not new to going through a summer and having to figure something out. So, I’m sure there’s a lot of taking what he’s already learned and taking some new things and just hopefully none of this is impeding his ability to get stronger because I think just in terms of what he’s doing in the in the gym, well, in the training room needs to be focused on getting him stronger. But I love what Charles Lee says here after all of that, getting the gym, doing everything he can physically and mentally because then the next phase after he gets himself back mentally and physically is skill acquisition. Because I think as soon as Lee hit the ground and started to understand what he had here in the Charlotte Hornets, I think a a a smart thing is that he never viewed LaMelo Ball as a complete player despite all of the amazing talent that that he already has and his shooting ability and his ability to see the court and to find players where other players couldn’t find players with the pass. He’s never viewed LaMelo as a complete player. Even though he made an all-star game, didn’t matter. there was a level that LaMelo needed to get to to be a playoff player because he’s never even been in a playoff series. And so I love that Lee is still focused on those skill acquisitions for LaMelo Ball. And I think what’s unfort what’s unfortunate about his summer being stunted in this way is that they can’t go immediately into figuring those things out. It’s going to come a little later in the process. Yeah, I’m hoping again LaMelo and all these teams, all these players on the squad are working towards getting stronger because it seems like that’s what Charles Lee was discussing most with a lot of these players, right? Mark Williams, Brandon Miller. I I guess he didn’t say that about Brandon, but that’s just because Brandon had been hurt for so long. I don’t think there were any questions about Brandon at exit day specifically, but he does talk about how this team needs to get more physical, right? just in terms of an identity and that can start with LaMelo right at the top of the food chain. So he goes down the list and tells you he does need to get better once his body is right. There are some things that he can continue to work on. And LaMelo I I believe is still here in Charlotte according to Rod. By the way, go read Rod’s article. I Rod I I don’t want him to get mad at us because he’s gotten mad at some other pods for just reading the whole article on the podcast. Go check it out. Charlotte Observer. Rod is great. He gave you a whole bunch of check-ins. We’re leaving out details, people. We’re leaving out details. Go check out what Rod wrote on the Charlotte Observer, but he’s giving you an update on LaMelo. And he’s in Charlotte, right? He This is what he does, too. He does. He usually stays in Charlotte if I if I remember correctly, Doug. Like, has he stayed in Charlotte every single off seasonason for the most part? like obviously with trips here and there and whatever, but I I really think he stays in the Queen City every single off seasonason if I’m not mistaken. And this off seasonason is no different. Well, this is what I said in the last episode. He’s all he’s LaMelo has been someone that has said the right things and that has done the right things generally, unless it involves a car screaming outside of the screaming outside of the Spectrum Center. But other than that, he’s said and done the right things when it comes to basketball for for the Charlotte Hornets. And I saw an interesting quote from his brother, Lonzo Ball. It’s the second straight show we brought up Lonzo. Uh but said that and and I’m sure a lot of people who watch this podcast because of LaMelo, this won’t come as a surprise to you because you’ve probably watched all of the reality shows that that LaMelo was a part of growing up in the Ball family. I did not I did not watch any of those shows. But um apparently LaMelo when he was younger was a little bit of a troublemaker. He got into some things some things that even Lonzo did not want to make public. Yeah. And and he so he was saying that to say that LaMelo to his credit has matured significantly since the days of of his youth which were not which because because he came into the league when he was 18 19 years old not that far away from those years but he really has I think focused on those things and and the injuries have just been an unfortunate uh impediment to him growing as a basketball player. I think he’s grown significantly as a person and now it’s now the conversation is how does he grow as a basketball player? And I’m curious from your perspective, Walker, when you see something like like Lee saying skill acquisitions, what are the first things that pop into your head when you think LaMelo Ball and the skills that he needs to acquire to be better than he has been in his first five seasons? No, you know, we’ve talked about some of the the shot selection stuff where, you know, he’ll go rogue and decide I need to put the team on my back and we just part of trying to figure out what LaMelo needs to improve in is putting the right pieces around him, which we’ve talked about so many different times, but you don’t know if LaMelo feels the need to take a bunch of shots because you don’t want anybody else really taking a bunch of shots. It’s either LaMelo or once Brandon Miller is out. It’s either LaMelo ISO or Miles ISO, which you know, I don’t think Miles ISO unless he’s in the post. That’s what you want to see. You definitely don’t want Josh Green taking anybody off the dribble. Who Mark Williams relies a lot on a good passer unless you’re talking about like some short roll stuff and even then you’re using Mark as a passer. So, who’s going to take the shots? It’s LaMelo taking the shots. So, it’s like who who else is going to do it? May when we get better talent around him, I think we start to go back to what we saw from LaMelo in his second year where we weren’t questioning his shot selection as much. There was still the crazy one-legged, you know, three-pointers that he would hit, by the way, which was all the more enticing about what his skill level was, but it’s all about skill acquisition around him. And then I think it is still some shot selection stuff. I still think he is settling for the 35-footers when I I I don’t think even with all the responsibility that he bears that that should be the right decision that he makes. I still think defensively you started to see him get pushed around again. You started to see him gamble as the season went on a little bit more so and then he would lose his assignment to where even Tan Salon is pointing out where LaMelo is supposed to be in a team defensive set. So, I think those are some of the things. Just the shot selection. If if I don’t want to be redundant and continue to mentioning to mention the physicality, it’s the shot selection stuff, but it all counts on guys around him being healthy and also acquiring some skill around him. Yeah. Defensively, I think there there has to be more ways for him to be impactful in transition and then also in the half court. And this sort of goes along with him getting stronger, particularly I think in his h well, I won’t even say upper body, lower body. I just think he needs to get stronger overall. But just staying in front of his man for just an extra half second second that than he has been doing. I think that’s important. And then you on top of that you throw the decision-m when he does get beat. You know, he can’t he can’t take himself out of the game by committing a silly foul. like you can get away with like one or two fouls because your your defense is not quite up to par and so you’re trying to but it’s the ones that like he’s totally beat and he’s mad about it and he’s trying to recover and then he commits a foul. Got to get those out and then I think you got to reduce those number of fouls that you do when you because your defense isn’t quite up to par. If your defense was a little bit closer to par then maybe you get rid of one of those fouls and all of a sudden now your max is four instead of maxing out at six and being being out of the game. So, I think they’ll look at that. Offensively, you know, I I think he’s got to get better at being a foul grifter. You know, we can we can lament it all we want in terms of Shay Gilis Alexander and what he did there in game one, but Sheay was two of 13 to start that game, game one against the Wolves, and he still had 11 points. Why? Because he was seven of nine from the free throw line because he found ways to force the issue, get his body, change of speed. uh just these little technique small very technique things that you have to like zoom the camera in to figure out and they and trust me people did there were screenshots everywhere of some of the stuff that was going on with SGA but he’s figured stuff out and that’s what LaMelo has to do he has to get himself to the free throw line so he so he can accumulate more easy points for this team particular look if he’s not going to be someone that can finish at the rim with consistency if he’s not going to be Cade Cunningham then then he’s got to find a way to get to the free throw line to to increase that efficiency. It’s just bottom line stuff. Well, the thing about LaMelo, too, I do want to give him credit because we saw it in such a small sample size, not this past season, but the year prior to where he was around five free throw attempts per game, and that stayed true this year, which it was over at like 3.4 a year and a half ago. So, you move up almost two free throw attempts a game. Like, that’s real progress. If you want him to be at seven, yeah, I’d get that for sure. I want him to be at seven. I always want more as well. I I don’t know if it actually took a dip too in the last month and a half of the season when LaMelo really hit a slump and wasn’t scoring as much, but I I actually am um intrigued. I’m actually uh pretty encouraged by what we saw from LaMelo getting to the foul line more. Uh that that really happened for him. And final thing, when we talk about the physicality, what I don’t want people to get twisted is that I’m I’m saying that LaMelo’s soft. I actually think LaMelo doesn’t mind mentally in terms of like backing down the contact. I don’t think it bothers him in terms of a, oh, don’t push me, don’t play that way. I I think he’s not soft at all. Like I think he actually is just not as strong as some of these other NBA guards that have been in the league for quite some time. But I don’t think he’s soft. I think he like goes back at people. I I don’t think he’s going to leave you unchecked. I I don’t think he’s going to allow you to get your smoke and then he not do anything. Even if it’s a take foul or something frustrating like that, he’s got attitude. Like he’ll put his shoulder in you. I don’t know how much you move when he does it, but he’ll put his shoulder in you. And I do like that from LaMelo. Brandon, same way. By the way, you know, Brandon isn’t one to back down. I wouldn’t say that LaMelo by by any stretch is somebody that also backs down from that kind of contact. It’s just needs to get stronger and better decision maker once he does get the contact. It’s what it is. Coming up next on the Lockdown Hornets podcast everywhere. We’ll give you some other uh tips and updates from what Rod Boon was writing about in the Charlotte Observer and then yeah, we this is what we do in the off season. We see some of these guys that could be traded and then we ask you the people, should the Hornets be interested? We always address that question for the people. That’s coming up next. This episode is brought to you by Skiims. We always appreciate Skiims for helping us out here on Lockdown Hornets. Did you know that Skiims now makes underwear for men, bringing the same attention to quality and comfort they’re known for? Well, now you do. The men’s line offers something for everyone. From boxer briefs to classic briefs, all designed with the perfect balance of comfort and style. Finding underwear that fits well, stays in one place, and moves with you throughout the day could be a challenge. Skiims solves that with lightweight, highquality materials that provide allday comfort. Whether working out, traveling, or just going about daily life. Shop Ski Men’s atks.com and Skiims stores. Let them know we sent you. After placing an order, select podcast in the survey and select our show in the drop- down menu. Again, we appreciate Skiims for helping us out. More Lockdown Hornets ahead. All right. Some of the other things that Rod Boon updated us on was a Trey Man injury update, which is great, by the way, because it’s been a while. Like, we even there’s just I’ve been begging for something there. Like, and I I was there for exit day. Everything is moving so quickly and then we have to do a show and then everybody else is rolling in. We finally get one, man. Rod Boon talked to Charles Lee about Trey, man. Here’s what he had to say. I would say Trey is making really good progress. Physically, he’s doing a good job doing everything he possibly needs to. Our performance team is doing a great job of staying in touch with him and making sure he’s doing all the necessary stuff to make sure he’s ready for the season. Now, we’ve seen on social media as well, like from Miles Bridges. I I don’t know if there are any other players that have posted to their Instagram or Snapchat, whatever it is. I sound a bajillion years old, but I don’t know who else has posted videos, but they’ve been working out at Queens because of some of the construction that’s been going on at the Spectrum Center. So, they’ve put that out on social media, and when they do, we see Trey Mann a part of the mix. I think we’ve even seen him going up for some slams. So, physically, it looks like we’ve seen him greatly improve with that back injury. So, it it looks encouraging there. What’s interesting about the whole Trey man experience this off seasonason though was we weren’t provided a whole lot of clarity. I don’t even know if you could say that this is clarity. At least it’s an update. But we also don’t know if he’s going to be a Hornet next season. There’s a very real chance that he is not in a Hornets uniform. I would think he is, but there’s still a very real chance that he’s not. So all of that, that’s what’s happening with a guy that we were excited at the beginning of the season for that eventually only played just 13 games this past year. Yeah. I don’t think we’ve heard from Trey Mann since November. And then we really haven’t heard a significant update since the end of January where Charles Lee gave an update on him pregame and said, “When we came home from the West Coast Road trip, our performance staff re-evaluated him and checked in and Trey was not where he wanted to be. Physically, he wasn’t where our performance staff wanted him to be. now that we’re back home, we’re going to take time to continue to try to find the right things that are going to help him progress in the right way. And so that’s that that wasn’t great. That wasn’t like a statement that said he is progressing. He is on step, you know, seven of 10. No, that just felt like, okay, that they’re not making any progress at all. And so this this coupled with the video, I think, is significant progress. And yeah, you’re right. The big question is, will he be back next season restricted free agent? If I had to guess, I think he will be back next season because I don’t think that the there look, if you look at the free agency market already and you just take Trey Mann and the back stuff out of it, this everybody’s going to be scrambling. All these free agents that have player options, they’re going to be like, “Hit the button. Player option.” Yes. Because no one wants to spend any money this off season. That’s going to be the storyline of the offseason. Everybody’s holding on to their cash, waiting for the next couple of years and the TV money to start coming in. So, if you’re Trey Man, I think the smart thing to do would be to say, “Hey, how about I just take the qualifying offer if it is extended, take the qualifying offer, and then figure it out next year.” Like, every and and that would be good for the Hornets, too. Like, let’s figure out where Trey man’s body is. I mean, the back stuff is scary. And I hate it. I hate that we’re having this conversation because he was so good. He was everything that I think Hornets fans have wanted from a guard off the bench. the way he could score and pass and and move a defense was was a significant thing for the Hornets. It made you think, wait a minute, are the Hornets going to are they going to exceed their win expectations because LaMelo and Brandon, they’re kind of healthy. Then Brandon gets hurt a little bit, but Trey man’s still good. Like you thought, okay, here it is. but then he gets hurt and I think it would be good for both parties just to take a year and see how everything shakes out and then restart the discussions in 2026. Yeah. And I would guess that he’s on the team as well. That would be my guess if because if you also don’t have Trey man on this team, it’s going to be tough to find someone with that kind of blowup potential on that kind of savings. That’s what’s going to be difficult. It feels like the guy to go out and get that could turn into your Malik Beasley. We went back to the Pistons a couple times now. So, if you if you try to find your Malik Beasley who could really blow up on what is a a really really nice contract, Trey man seems to be the best option. If I if I was if I was hosting locked on Suns and I was looking to, you know, save as much money as possible and go look for a bench guy that would really help me out and and get, you know, 180 cents on the dollar in terms of in terms of return on investment. Like Trey man would be somebody I pointed out if I was hosting any other team, I would say, “Hey man, what Trey was hyped up to be at the beginning of the season, hey man, two ends, baby.” I I would I would say what happened with Trey and Charlotte is unfortunate. Maybe you buy him as a lottery ticket that you’ve seen pay off before. So I I think it would be very much so in the Hornets’s best interest to hang on to that guy. I don’t know if other teams are going to drive that price up for him or not. Maybe they poison I not even poison pill this thing, but you could drive the price up in terms of just giving him a bigger contract. they use the the Hornets um leverage against them to, you know, have to pay more money than they really want to. Maybe that’s in play. But Trey seems like a really nice addition because it that that serves as kind of like a faux addition because he didn’t even really play all that much last year. Yeah. Now, if a team comes along and says, you know what, we’re willing to take the risk, we’ll give him three three at 30. I mean, three at uh Yeah. Yeah. Three years 30 million. Like are you So that’s around $10 million a year. You you’re bringing it back for 10. Yeah. No, I because the the qualifying offer I believe is seven. So I I’ll go I’ll go 10 million a year. Um but the Q would be for one year, right? Yes. Yeah, it would be for one year. To me, that’s the difference. Like I don’t know that I’m giving Trey man three years, $30 million guaranteed or whatever. The good news is it’s it’s it’s going to be so tradable though, man. Like I even with Trey being injured, I know none of his back not if his back is completely I mean they tried to trade Mark Williams and couldn’t do it because of the injury. I mean if that back is in shreds and is not going to respond or he has a setback in the middle of next season that contract will not be tradable. It’s if the the Mark thing you know you keep using the trade for you know the the circumstances surrounding Mark. Yes. I’m still burnt by it. You you you could trademark if it wasn’t for two picks, one being unprotected. You you could trade, especially with the money going up during this contract. It’s 10 a year. Like actually, I think it would be quite valuable. 10 million a year is nothing. Like it’s it’s really nothing in terms of what you could get for Trey. And if he doesn’t even play a game now, it’s just like easy salary filler to put alongside him and then just or put alongside any asset you wanted to go get. it would be fine. Like I I there have been monster contracts traded and you wouldn’t even have to attach all that much. So I you really wouldn’t do three years 10 million for Trey. No, I think I think the best I think the best I think the best thing for both parties is look if if Trey man wants to go out and and see if a team if another team would do it now. Well, here’s the interesting thing. If Yeah. It’s different to me than the Hornets saying here’s threeyear $30 million. If another team gives it to him, do they match? I don’t even I don’t think so. I think you got to go one year qualifi hopefully takes the qualifying offer and we just move on and we do a year and we see how it goes and then if everything responds then you go into would that put Trey man in in a more strengthened position? Yes. But you would have gotten one solid year and I think then the Hornets would have more information. I mean I’m just the Hornets have had to operate for the past three years without solid information. I just don’t want to go off that diving board. Okay. I’m I’m surprised. Don’t let Walker manage your money. He’s like, “Oh, $10 million here, $10 million there. Don’t worry about it. Don’t let this guy manage your money. Let me I’m the fiscal conservative on this podcast.” Yeah. In terms of NBA money where 10 billion really? Okay. I’m I’m actually very surprised about that. I’m going to put your money in bonds. This guy over here is getting you into Bitcoin and crypto and all that stuff. your money’s going to be poof. It’s a, you know, it’s in Florida real estate. Hey man, if if you’re in crypto and you got in in 2012, then you’d be thanking me for it. Coming up next on the Lockdown Hornets podcast. Everywhere. Would you trade for Paul George? And we have another mockdraft for you. That’s still to come. Last segment. This episode is brought to you by Car Gurus. Shopping for a car should be exciting, not exhausting. But between the confusing prices and hidden fees, it can feel overwhelming. That’s why I love using Car Gurus. They help you cut through the noise, and show you the best deals with full confidence. With over 4 million listings, Car Gurus has more new and used cars than any other major online marketplace in the US. They verify dealers, provide real price analysis, and give you the tools and data you need to make the right choice without second-guessing yourself at all. If you need a deal that you can trust, CarGurus makes it easy to compare vehicles side by side with unbiased deal ratings. And the best feature is that they give you price drop alerts so you know exactly when the perfect car is available for your budget. It’s no wonder Similar Web estimated traffic data shows CarGurus is the number one most visited car shopping site. Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at cargurus.com. Go to cargurus.com. Make sure your big deal is the best deal. That’s c a rg gu. cargurus.com cargurus.com More Lockdown Hornets ahead. You want to do the Paul George thing. You don’t want to spend 10 million on Trey Man. Are you willing to spend all of the money on Paul George and and give up something of value to go get it? Now, here’s the write up. Here’s why we bring it up. Because in the last mock draft dropped by ESPN with Jonathan Gavon, Phony Gavon, and Jeremy Woo contributing into it. We like Woo, so we don’t use a funny name for him. We just call him by his real name. Uh Jeremy Woo actually had this specific write up about Philadelphia picking at number three. He says, quote, “Some teams expect the Sixers to be active in trade conversations with names such as Kevin Durant and Larry Markin as potential targets and packages that could include Paul George and the number three pick.” Sixers president of basketball ops Daryl Myer of being active and aggressive on the trade front, but historically it’s rare to see a top three pick being traded. Paul George and number three. How interested are you, Doug Branson? Not very. Although it wouldn’t just be for the number three. You’re taking back Yeah. $49 million this season, $51 million next season, 54, then 56, and a player option. 2728. That’s that contract has officially entered the negative trade value sphere. So, it has to be the it has to be the three pick plus whatever some other future pick. I don’t know what future picks they have, whether it be their own or someone else’s, but some some other some other stuff has to come along. And then they want a star. So, you’re talking about LaMelo or Brandon, Tan thrown in there. Like, they would want not not all of that, but one of LaMelo or Brandon, I think, and probably LaMelo. But, so, yeah, I am not very interested in this. It would be funny to put Brandon Miller with his goat. That would be, you know, but yeah, I I think while I think Paul George could play better this next couple of years, like obviously injuries completely cratered his debut with the Sixers. I think he still has some good basketball in him. It’s just I don’t think it’s $51 million worth of good basketball or whatever assets that they could bring back. That would just that that would be a difficult proposition. Also, it’s the three pick. So really, if you’re the Hornets, you’re just moving into territory where you can control your own destiny with the wing choice. You know, you don’t have to be afraid of the Sixers taking Edgecomb out from under you, um, and being forced to pick between Bailey and Trey Johnson. So, that’s cool. If this were the number two overall selection and you had an opportunity at Dylan Harper, who I think can’t actually change the trajectory of a franchise, okay, well, I’m slightly more interested at that point. you I would be a little bit on the fence, but for the three, no, I’m out. Yeah, I I don’t It’s not a small thing to control your destiny at number three and get to pick whoever you want to with Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecom or Trey Johnson. Uh it’s also not a small thing to welcome $50 million on your payroll for the next 17 years. So, I’m good on that. The Paul George stuff, I don’t even know how to value this. There there are trades that are easier to value than others. I think we’ve had two in a row with Jonathan Kaminga. That one’s tough to pin down. And then Paul George in the three pick. What is Daryl my looking for? So if you if you look at the examples, it’s Lori Markin and and Kevin Durant and you’re trying to move Paul George in the number three pick for those guys. So okay, if you’re Phoenix, that makes sense because you’re taking on bad money. You can be faux competitive. You can give the fans a star to have them, you know, buy tickets and then go to the arena. And you could get them to buy in on still, I don’t know, a number three pick, too, right? If you’re Utah, same thing. You’re taking on Bad Money and you’re going to get the number three pick. This is right up Utah’s alley in some respects. They probably ask for more because Danny A is going to ask for all of the first round picks. Daryl Mory and Danny A in a trade negotiation. I just who’s the more stubborn there? That would be an unbelievable room to sit in with those two guys negotiating. I Yeah, I don’t think it makes sense for the Hornets at all. Right. Like I just This is one where we put it up there because people are going to ask about it. We answer your question. We’re every day content. So, we’re going to answer those questions. But for the people, uh this doesn’t make sense. Okay. Let me throw a couple of other things out there. So Paul George goes to Philly, does deal with some injuries, but he also even when he was healthy, they they were just constantly dealing with like is Embiid gonna play and then he does play a little bit. And then that relationship is weird. I don’t know if that’s going to work. Like Paul George by his own admission was like playing with Embiid is is different than anyone I’ve played with. And we still have to figure this out. Then by the time they would get to figuring it out a little bit, one of them would get hurt. So that’s I just we have to take that disaster out of the conversation I think because if you look at his last two seasons in LA like he was a plus seven and plus 5.5 points per possession player for those teams like he would at that level of Paul George would immediately make the Hornets better at offense and defense. So we you have to set that there. Okay. But you also have to consider that everyone on the Clippers almost, particularly Norman Pal said it out loud, but I think everyone else was feeling it that the subtraction of him from LA was an addition to that team and they they didn’t get to the second round, but they certainly looked better and more confident as a team without Paul George. But again, that’s like a discussion that you have when you have two other stars on your team. I don’t know that you bring that into the Charlotte Hornets discussion when they barely have one all-star on their team. I would consider trading for Paul George if you could guarantee me that next season you could trade Paul George to another team because that seems to be the s the key to success for teams Oklahoma City, Indiana, LA, they trade Paul George and then good things happen. So, if you could guarantee me that the Hornets could move him next the the following season, then choo choo, I’m all on board. Restore his value and somebody talks themselves into 36-year-old Paul George and then you trade him. But you can’t. That’s a stock you have to know how to sell immediately as soon as you get any kind of return on that. Uh, last thing about the Paul George stuff, remember the Clippers? They could have matched what Philadelphia gave him and there were some real questions as to why the Clippers didn’t. And they they really didn’t like in in a weird enough way to Okay, you’re you’re kind you’re you’re keeping Kawawaii like you’re you got other old guys. It’s not that you’re trying to reset the organization. Well, what’s going on? Why didn’t you keep Paul? Oh. Oh, you okay? Because the players were ready to move on. And you also might have seen some injury stuff that you didn’t like. Gotcha. That that can’t be getting better, right? It can’t be a better situation through and through. Well, and you have to take this into consideration. The Hornets are generally considered an unserious team, even by their own fans. I mean, I’ve talked to people, they say, “Look, what’s going on with this locker room? It just doesn’t seem like a locker room that is like locked in and ready to like do everything they can to make the postseason even if they were healthy, even if they had the talent. There just seems to be a goofiness that you don’t see in other serious playoff locker rooms.” Right. If Is there a more serious locker room in the NBA than the LA Clippers? I would say it would be tough. It would be difficult to find. And they as a locker room said, “Get this guy out of here. I we don’t we we cannot deal with him anymore.” And so, do you really want to bring that into the Hornets locker room? I’m not so sure. Give me a mock draft. Who do we want to bring in the locker room through the draft? Doug, what you got for us today? Well, forget using humans. We’re going to take humans out of the equation. Well, at least Mark Gonado did for USA Today trying to AI himself out of a job. I think he has an NBA mockdraft completely run by artificial intelligence. I’m not sure that Oh, he used Microsoft co-pilot AI. So, that’s what he used here to do this mock draft. And with the fourth selection, the Charlotte Hornets take Ace Bailey out of Ruters. This is the first one. It’s It’s non-human. So, there you go. This is the first one that I’ve seen recently that did not have the Hornets taking edge. Philadelphia scoops up Edgecomb with the third overall selection. Ace Bailey goes fourth. And honestly, I think this is a possibility. I think everyone’s mocking Ace Bailey to Philadelphia. I think Philadelphia could look at this situation and say VJ Edgecomb is is we could perfectly slot him into a position off the bench or or in the starting unit. He fits just as well with Philadelphia as he does Charlotte. No, I I think it’s absolutely a possibility. I know that we’ve been down on Ace’s fit and that we would go a different direction. One thing I’ll say though, just cuz I, you know, we can sprinkle some positives about this. When Cooper flag was still on the table for Charlotte, one thing we really liked about that, one thing we were salivating over was defensively, you were so long, you were so big all across the board. You would get that with Ace. And Ace has some off ball defensive chops that are very much like Brandon Miller in the sense that when he sees ball, he wants to go get it and that’s fun. He’ll go block a shot off the backboard. He’ll go hustle in transition when he knows he’s going to be rewarded. Now, the rotation stuff that isn’t going to be as fun when you move over and it’s not like you’re you’re just filling a gap. You’re not making the tackle. You’re not going to get the block. So that’s where some analysis uh some analysts have told you that’s what he needs to work on. So Brandon Miller, Ace Bailey, Miles Bridges, all three of those guys are so fun. Just destroying people shot off the backboard. I would say I would like some more point of attack defenders. I I don’t think Ace Bailey is that. But but but but LaMelo, Brandon, Ace, Miles, Mark, as the roster is currently constructed. Miles is your shortest player, which is a ridiculous place to be. Ace is definitely not point of attack defender, but his arms are so long. And look at it. Look at how he measured in terms of his agility at the combine. Like, he’s so agile for a guy that size. He is going to be extremely helpful as a as a weak side defender coming over to poke balls away in the at the, you know, in the paint. like that’s going to be I think one of his calling cards defensively. So yeah, he can be an impact player there if the if the desire is there to to be so because people looked at that oh well we called him 6’10 now he’s 67 a but it’s like his his longs are his arms are crazy long and he’s so quick that like he he’s going to make up a lot of that height difference. Yeah. And and I’m guilty of this, too, where, you know, I I probably oversold the 3-in difference in height for Ace Bailey. It matters when we’re talking about who wants to be a top three pick or who should be. It takes him out of the un It takes him out of the unicorn discussion. Right. Right. Yeah. Right. That’s what That’s what I’m saying. It If we were sold 610 Ace Bailey, we are talking about uh something extremely rare. We’re talking about something extremely rare where at 68 with shoes on, we’re talking about like still a really valuable arc type. Not extremely rare, but a really valuable arc type that arc type that is worth a top five pick. No doubt about it. So, all that to be said, Ace Bailey, if you’re looking for the positives, man, they’d be so big defensively. Everything we said about Cooper, uh Cooper much better defensively, but you would bring the length, you would bring the height, and that would still be a big deal. That’ll do it for Lockdown Hornets. Thanks for making us your first listen. We’re free and available anywhere you get your podcast. That includes YouTube. Go listen to Doug on his other podcast, Locked on NBA. Also read his stuff on his Substack, everyhornetsboxcore.com. I’m Walker Male. Listen to me. WFNZ every weekday from 12 to 3 p.m. Wesson Walker 927 FM. Have a great rest of your day. We’ll be back with you tomorrow.

LaMelo Ball’s offseason training and durability are the focus as Charles Lee updates his progress. Plus, updates on Trey Mann’s back injury, and whether the Hornets should explore a blockbuster trade for Paul George.

LaMelo Ball’s evolution into a playoff-caliber leader is underway. Hornets head coach Charles Lee spoke with Rod Boone about LaMelo’s physical and mental recovery, emphasizing the importance of strength, durability, and refining his decision-making—especially on defense and shot selection.

Link: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article306644951.html

Doug and Walker break down what “skill acquisition” could really mean for LaMelo this offseason and how that ties into the Hornets’ identity.

Tre Mann’s mysterious absence finally gets some clarity. Despite a long silence, social media hints and a Charles Lee update suggest real progress from the back injury that derailed his season. But is that enough for the Hornets to offer him a new contract—or will they let him walk?

And finally, the Paul George conversation. ESPN’s latest mock draft sparks a debate: Should the Hornets entertain acquiring a star like PG13, even if it means taking on a massive contract and giving up future assets? Doug and Walker evaluate the trade’s long-term risks and short-term rewards, all while navigating Charlotte’s reputation as an “unserious team.”

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://linktr.ee/lockedonhornets

Become an official member of the Locked On Hornets Sicko Brigade and get Hornets news, rumors and pictures of Byron Mullens sent directly to your phone via Subtext (14 Day Free Trial): https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonhornets

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Get Doug’s gamenotes, special articles and a podcast on Hornets history at the Every Hornets Boxscore substack: everyhornetsboxscore.com

Get more Walker on Wes and Walker 12-3pm on WFNZ 92.7 FM

Top 35 Hornets Nicknames of All-Time According to Doug Branson: https://hornets.substack.com/p/the-top-35-nicknames-in-hornets-franchise

Top 35 Hornets of All-Time According to Walker Mehl: https://hornets.substack.com/p/the-top-35-players-in-hornets-history

📲 Follow Locked On Hornets on Twitter
Locked On Hornets https://twitter.com/LockedOnHornets
Walker Mehl https://twitter.com/WalkerMehl
Doug Branson https://twitter.com/DougBransonLOH

For your next listen, check out the Locked On NBA podcast, where the season never ends providing national expertise with a local perspective. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

BetterHelp
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

eBay Motors
From brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.
Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Now through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

#Hornets #LaMelo #LaMeloBall #CharlotteHornets