The Charlotte Hornets Made HUGE Improvements This Off-Season

The Charlotte Hornets Made HUGE Improvements This Off-Season

Between the NBA draft and free agency, several teams have taken huge strides to improve their rosters. Both Houston and Orlando traded for star players, and we saw Denver and Atlanta add plenty of depth. While the praise for these teams is warranted, there are other teams whose moves are going under the radar. One such example is the Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte made four excellent picks in the draft, and they’ve made some great trades and signings as well. In today’s video, I’m going to do a deep dive into this new La Hornets team and explain why they can push for the playoffs next season. Before we get into it, make sure to leave a like on this video and subscribe. I’m trying to hit 1500 subscribers by the start of next season, and your support goes a long way. With all that being said, let’s get into the video. First, let’s start with Charlotte’s performance in the draft. With the fourth overall pick, the Hornets took Coniple, and I’m a big fan of his. While Canipple is best known for his shooting, chalking him up as just a shooter would be a huge underell. Khan is very poised with the ball in his hands, and despite not being super quick, he’s able to get to his spots effectively. He has an underrated handle, good footwork, and he’ll put his shoulder into a defender’s chest to create space. On top of that, Khan reads the floor well as a passer. He makes quick decisions, and when the defense is scrambling, he’s consistently able to find the open man. Canipple will be sharing the floor with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. So, he won’t be Charlotte’s primary ball handler. But, as you can see, he’s capable of making smart passes within the flow of the offense. Even though he’ll defer to ball and Miller for the most part, Kipple can be a lead ball handler from time to time. I’ve already touched on Khan’s ability to put the ball on the floor and create his own shot, but he can also set up teammates off the bounce. At Duke, Canipple was an effective pick and roll passer and he had tons of chemistry with fellow lottery picks Cooper Flag and Kaman Malawash. I just see Canipple being an awesome all-around player in the league. He was a 40% three-point shooter at Duke, so he’ll provide spacing. He’ll be able to put the ball on the floor and attack closeouts. And in certain lineups, Canipple can be a lead ball handler and keep the offense a float. Now, when it comes to the defensive end, he’s not as effective. Canipple is 6’5 and he has a fairly neutral wingspan that hovers just over 6’6. He’s also not the quickest player which can lead to some easy drives to the rim. However, he does play with good effort on defense which should make him a neutral NBA defender at least. For a Charlotte team that’s trying to establish a defensive identity, having high energy defenders like Conanipple is important. Again, he’s not going to be some elite defender in the league, but if he’s giving his all on that end, that effort can be contagious and spread to the rest of the team. While Canipple may not become a perennial all-star, I think he’s going to be a really good all-around player in the league, and he’ll be one of those guys that every fan would want on their team. Moving on to the other selections Charlotte made, we can start with the 29th pick, which they got as part of the Mark Williams trade. With that selection, the Hornets took Liam McNeely, and he had a bit of an underwhelming year at Yukon. As a freshman, he came in with a reputation as a shooter, but he only shot 31% from the on the season. Still, I believe in his shot, and while he’s not as dynamic as Coniple, McNeely moves really well without the ball, and he can make plays when handling the ball off a screen. After the McNeely pick, Charlotte took both Seon James and a Ryan Caulk Bunner in the second round. James was teammates with Canipple at Duke and he has the potential to be a nice 3 and D player in the league. He made the ACC alldefensive team last season and though his three-point volume wasn’t the highest in college, he shot 38.1% and 41.3% from three during his last two years. Then to bolster their defense even more, the Hornets drafted Ryan Kulkbrunner. Kulbrunner spent 5 years at Kraton, winning four Big East defensive player of the year awards in the process. He also improved as a scorer during his time in college, which shows that he’s capable of changing his game and developing new skills. Kulkburner became a full-time starter as a sophomore, and he averaged 13.1 points per game. However, this past year, he averaged 19.2 points per game, and he was scoring both on the interior and from the perimeter. Caulkrunner shot 34.4% from threeon 1.7 attempts, which isn’t anything exceptional, but he didn’t have a reliable jump shot whatsoever when he first got to Kraton. Caulkrunner didn’t even attempt threes as a freshman. And on top of that, he hit just 48.9% of his free throws that season. Over his last four years in college, Cologne shot 72.7% on free throws. And as I just mentioned, he showed life as a three-point threat in his final season. When you look across the landscape of the NBA, there aren’t many teams who performed better in the draft than Charlotte did. Canipple was a great pick at four, and I could see McNeely, James, and Kulkbrunner all going on to have long careers. The draft was a great start to Charlotte’s off season, but they’ve continued to make smart moves through trades and free agency. I already touched on the Mark Williams trade, which got them Liam McNeely and another first in 2029, but their next trade was even better. Last week, the Hornets sent Ysef Nerkage to Utah in exchange for Colin Ston and a second round pick in 2030. Nerkage has started to decline at this stage of his career, and before he was traded to Charlotte, he was falling out of the rotation in Phoenix. On top of that, Nerkage is entering the final year of his contract, and at 30 years old, he wasn’t going to be a part of Charlotte’s long-term plans. That being said, it’s great that they were not only able to get a second round pick for him, but also Colin Ston, who’s younger and better than Nerkage. Ston is only 26 years old, and he’s one of the most underrated scorers in the NBA. During his three years in Utah, Sexton averaged 17.5 points and 4.2 assists on great efficiency. But what impresses me the most is that he put up these stats in just 26.3 minutes a night. If we look at his per 36 numbers with the Jazz, his points jump up to 23.9 and his assists go up to 5.7. Now, you might be thinking per 36 stats aren’t always accurate because ultimately you’re projecting what a player might be able to do if given more minutes. It is worth noting though that at 22 years old, Sexton averaged 35.3 minutes and he put up 24.3 points and 4.4 forces on good shooting splits. He’s not a perfect player. He isn’t the best defender, and while he’s a solid playmaker, he isn’t necessarily someone you want running your offense. The thing is, Ston will likely be the third or fourth best player on this Hornets team. And as long as he’s not a disaster on defense or as a playmaker, Charlotte will be thrilled if their third or fourth option can give them an efficient 17 to 18 points a night. It will be interesting to see if Sexton starts or comes off the bench. But with the Hornets bringing back Trey Man on a three-year deal, I could see Ston starting. Man is quite similar to Ston in the sense that he’s a smaller guard whose best ability is scoring the ball. Man was traded to Charlotte during the 2024 season, and in 28 appearances, he averaged 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.7 steals. Then through the first five games of last season, Trey Mann was playing at another level. During those first five games, he put up an extremely efficient 21 points a night, and he also chipped in 3.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Unfortunately, Mann suffered a lower back injury after just 13 appearances, and that injury kept him out for the rest of the season. While there may be concerns about his availability, signing him to a three-year, $24 million deal is pretty good value considering how talented he is. When you factor in the other additions of Mason Plumbley, Spencer Denwitty, and Pat Conetonin, Charlotte’s depth chart starts to look very promising. If Brandon Miller takes a leap in year three, Charlotte could have two all-star caliber players between him and LaMelo Ball. Factor in Colin Ston, Miles Bridges, Trey Man, and Coniple, and you have plenty of offensive firepower on this team. I do worry about their defense and of course injuries. But if they can stay relatively healthy, Charlotte could simply outscore a lot of opponents on many nights. Even if they do have injuries, this Hornets team is better equipped to deal with them than in years past. If LaMelo is out, Charlotte can rely on guards like Ston Man, Canipple, or Denwitty to step up. In the past, the Hornets would turn to guys like Damian Ba or James Book Knight when Ball was out and that just wasn’t getting the job done. They’ve also added more depth to their center rotation, too. Unfortunately, Mark Williams could never stay healthy with Charlotte, which forced them to rely on an inexperienced Gamuta Diabate and a 39-year-old Taj Gibson last season. Now, the Hornets have Mason Plumbley, Brian Kulk Brener, and the aforementioned Diabate. It’s not the best center rotation in the league, but it’s serviceable. And as talented as Mark Williams was, they were probably tired of him missing so many games. Obviously, the Hornets won’t be competing for a championship next season. However, with everyone talking about how open the Eastern Conference is, it’s not crazy to suggest that they could push for the playoffs. They’re talented, they have depth, and they have plenty of young guys who could be primed to take another step in their development. Anyways, that’s going to be all for today’s video. Make sure to leave a like, subscribe, and leave your thoughts down in the comments section below. With all that being said, I’m out and I’ll see you in the next

While teams like Houston, Orlando, Atlanta, and Denver have made some great moves this offseason, Charlotte has taken huge strides to improve their roster as well. In today’s video, I’m going to highlight the draft picks, trades, and signings the Hornets have made, and explain why they could make a push for the playoffs this upcoming season.

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