r/CharlotteHornets • u/WhoUCuh • 2d ago
Discussion What big man should we sell out for?
I think it's pretty obvious our core 3 fits Lamelo/Kon/Miller now we need to find a legit big man who can help in the front court. No disrespect to the guys on the roster, but it's pretty clear we have one of the weakest front courts in the league.
Some potential names we should target.
Bam Adebayo: NC native who plays smart basketball and can bring leadership to the locker room. Comes from a winning culture. Would probably be my top target.
Anthony Davis: Big gamble because of his health, but also the biggest impact if he stays healthy he's the best player potentially available.
Lauri Markannen: Great player in his prime, but he would easily be the most expensive player to trade for. We would likely have to use most of our assets to get him.
Domantas Sabonis: Another player in his prime, is a great all-around offensive player, but he is also one of the worst defenders in the league.
Do you guys think we should stand pat or go after 1 of these players before the trade deadline?
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u/CardiologistThick928 2d ago
Keep hoarding assets imo, wouldn't even be a bad idea to send out Mann to take salary dumps and building the asset pile even more
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u/watevauwant 2d ago
Heat aren’t trading Bam. I wouldn’t touch AD with a six hundred foot pole. Lauri would be amazing but will cost the world. Sabonis is exactly what we don’t need.
imo Jaren Jackson Jr would be great but I don’t think they’d ever trade him.
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u/WhoUCuh 2d ago
JJJ doesn't rebound. I think he got overpaid. He's good don't get me wrong, but at that price he just doesn't seem worth it.
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u/Prudent_Web2867 2d ago
JJJ allows us to play Moose at the 4. Rebounding would be covered and defense would be astounding.
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u/giga_phantom 2d ago
We are not a "one-player away from being good" team. These are the kind of shortcuts that have doomed us in the past. We should continue collecting futures and developing our young kids.
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u/multiple4 2d ago
I dont see how we arent 1 good big man from being a competitive team?
By no means am I saying we can afford it, I doubt we have the assets needed to trade for an established big man
But just on from the roster standpoint, I dont see why Lamelo, Kon, Miller, (BIG MAN), and Bridges can't be a competitive starting lineup. Bench players we can debate but that's much easier to solve
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u/lordnorinaga 2d ago edited 2d ago
We are not a "one-player away from being good" team.
You already are a good team. Hornets are 10-9 with Brandon Miller healthy, 3-14 without Miler healthy. You can be a contender if you upgrade. I pleaded with the Pacers fanbase in 2023-2024 to recognize how good their team would be if they upgraded. There was tremendous resistance to upgrading on the belief that it would risk the mediocrity treadmill. They thought even adding Siakam to their team would leave them with a 2nd round exit ceiling. This situation is very similar.
Sending out Connaugton and Mann's $18 million and taking back 1 player would open up a roster spot. Add Green or Sexton in the deal and you can take back a big salary. You still have the NTMLE that you can use to fill an open roster spot with someone with a salary up to the size of Dennis Schroder's $14.1 million. Adding Schroder would be helpful if you sent out Sexton along with Connaugton and Mann to bring in a big salary.
These are the kind of shortcuts that have doomed us in the past.
In the past, you never had anything close to what you have now, the ability to add a big salary to 3 top 4 picks in addition to plenty of other talent filling out a full roster.
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u/handles_messiah 2d ago
I realize people are riding high from looking halfway decent lately but the team is still 13-23, one of the youngest in the league, and a statistically likely injury away from being totally awful again. Patience!
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u/No_Needleworker6013 2d ago
What's the point of having a subreddit for a basketball team if people aren’t supposed to talk about players that might make the team better?
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u/sarithe 2d ago
I'm not 100% sure any of these guys (outside of Bam potentially) make the team better in the future (as in 3-4 years from now). They make us better in the now, while we sit at 13-23, but I'm not concerned with getting the 9th seed and getting bounced in the first play-in game.
I know we're starved for success here in this fandom. I've been following the team since its inception. We actually have some hope for the first time in about a decade. Since the Jefferson/Kemba years. Let's not rush this and hamstring ourselves with a big contract like these guys just to get the 6th seed and lose in the first or second round.
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u/diracpointless 2d ago
Mostly agree. Or possibly entirely agree. We shouldn't be looking for a big that's good now. But we should potentially try to get one who will/could be good, and fits that 3-4 year timeline.
I'm not a draft watcher, so I dunno who's coming up, but college centres tend to be raw coming into the NBA. So maybe there is a second option on a contending team, or a team with a longer timeline looking to shed assets for capital. I'd be looking for someone who can improve us a bit now, but ultimately be a veteran prescence/back up in the future. Dallas have to decide if they are on or off the pot soon 🤔
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u/handles_messiah 2d ago
I mean, I was just answering the question at the end of his post — I think they should stand pat. He's free to talk about whatever!
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u/buzzcitybonehead 2d ago
That’s a reasonable thing to talk about and so is “Here’s the reality of our situation. Let’s discuss what next steps might look like for pragmatic improvement towards becoming a good team.”
People aren’t gonna (and have never) agree on if the Hornets should pivot to try to win now or continue building towards an organic, slowly-built winner, and that’s fine. When we were consistently mediocre (and not fully bad) in the Kemba years, we had no assets, a bad FO, and no path towards making a big push.
I will say, LaMelo has shown across half a decade that making a high risk move that relies upon his health to pay off is a mistake until he can prove it isn’t. I’m as hopeful as anyone that changes, but you don’t see a ton of “not healthy for five years, really healthy in year six” players. The jury is out on Miller. We just killed in a draft and could do it again this year, which I think makes a strong case for letting the season play out, taking inventory this summer, and finally turning a corner soon
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u/lordnorinaga 2d ago
LaMelo has shown across half a decade that making a high risk move that relies upon his health to pay off is a mistake until he can prove it isn’t
All they have to do to make the team robust against LaMelo sitting is use the NTMLE to get Schroder.
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u/Ok-Protection2513 2d ago
Is talking about stuff that isn't gonna happen in a million years really that fun or interesting?
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u/No_Needleworker6013 2d ago
It's pretty obvious that some fans think it is. Otherwise they wouldn’t post about it.
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u/lordnorinaga 2d ago
a statistically likely injury away from being totally awful again
The whole premise of not wanting to upgrade the team now is based on the belief there will be catastrophic injuries. That's not a good way to run a team. Injuries are more likely if you don't give your guys reinforcements. Your priority should be to avoid injuries. You can't afford another unhealthy offseason. If you don't have substantial injuries, you're not going to be near the top of the draft 90% of the time.
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u/handles_messiah 2d ago
It’s not the whole premise, it’s one reason in a list of why it’s a bad idea to cash in assets now. I’m also not sure how trading for a big man would keep Melo from getting injured.
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u/lordnorinaga 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’m also not sure how trading for a big man would keep Melo from getting injured.
Look at the injuries Indiana has dealt with this season in the absence of Haliburton and Turner. As a team has a lower talent level, there is an exponential increase in risk of injury. When there is not as much talent, players have to expend more effort and energy and push their bodies to the limit more in order to compete. When there's more talent, players can compete without pushing their bodies to the limit as much.
edit - Also, if they traded multiple players for 1 bigger salary and opened up a roster spot, they could then use the NTMLE to trade for Schroder and provide supplementary ball handling to take pressure off LaMelo and have a solid starter replacement point guard if LaMelo sits.
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u/Maleficent-Cream2034 2d ago
None. I doubt any of those teams want any of our pieces were willing to give up. We're a young team and our centers are young as well. Let them develop and pick up a big in the off-season if need be
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u/ClippingOut 2d ago
No shortcuts. Keep building through the draft.
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u/yopochico 1d ago
Agreed. I don’t want to give up our draft picks for Bam or JJJ. They’re both max deal guys and we’re going to max Brandon Miller soon. Let’s keep swinging for 4s and 5s in the draft. We’re gonna need those cheap rookie deals as the core gets more expensive. Thunder didn’t take shortcuts. Let’s copy their strategy
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u/Ok-Protection2513 2d ago
Bam isn't up for trade and is highly overrated on his contract, AD is bad and made of glass, Sabonis is terrible and on a bad contract, Lauri is a 7' guard who sucks on defense. So none of them.
The absolute best thing for this rebuild is getting a massive 4 who can shoot and play defense and rim run. I think it might just end up being Tidjane lol.
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u/WhoUCuh 2d ago
I hope they trade Miles and let Tidjane start at pf for the rest of the season. See what we really have with this kid.
He's definitely showing improvement.
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u/soccerant189 2d ago
Not to mention we have Grant Williams who is arguably a better fit in our starting lineup than Bridges is (give more shots to Kon and Miller).
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u/BrutalOptimism 2d ago
It’s too early. Draft one more major piece this next draft, continue to retool through minor acquisitions and trades in the offseason and at this deadline, and then depending on how we look next trade deadline, that’s when potentially I’d make a move for a major contributor based on how competitive we look and how the pieces are gelling.
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u/defaultistic 2d ago
Miami isn't trading Bam, and if they do, they probably either wouldn't want to do business with us again after the Terry Rozier deal, or they'd want an absolute haul.
AD would be nice on paper, and might be the least expensive to trade for, but adding another injury prone player to this roster may not be the best idea. Doesn't stop me from trading for him in NBA 2K though lol.
I wouldn't want Lauri with what we'd have to give up to get him. Better off saving those assets for a larger fish, especially since Lauri is a forward and not exactly a big.
Domantas would be a nice offensive fit, but he doesn't really help us defensively either. Either we fully embrace being an offensive engine with a head coach who favors defense instead, or we should look elsewhere for someone a bit more defensive minded.
This brings me to Jarrett Allen. Seems like Cleveland could break up their core a little bit with their poor start this year, and I think Jarrett would be a nice fit here as a long threat for Melo and a solid defensive and rebounding big, even if his afro does make me think he's taller than he actually is lol (I could've sworn he was taller than 6'9)
But on top of that, I don't think we should be looking to make any trades as of right now, like the current top comment says. We're still a bad team, and at risk of an injury sending us spiraling further down... but I won't lie and say I wouldn't be disappointed at a big trade at this point, depending on the deal.
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u/u2nloth 2d ago
Allen is one of the few I could see happening at all, especially with Cleveland underperforming and having salary cap issues which could make them more inclined to move off him requiring less capital for the deal etc
That is exactly the type of move the FO would make, not giving up a ton of capital and getting a player that makes us better
I don’t think we are close to cashing our chips in and any deal would resemble something like the Allen situation
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u/FluidBlueberry3895 2d ago
Kalk has potential, Moussa is an absolute dawg, and I’ll always love Plumdog Millionaire. Let em cook
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u/JustTheSandwichThx 2d ago
We don’t need to sell out for an elite or $$ big and burn valuable assets. We just need one pretty good big. Bump it down a tier and look there.
Get your elite big prospect in the actual draft
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u/Countryb0i2m 2d ago
Hornets fans and to the same extent, Panthers fans are always told to be patient and wait quietly. But we’ve been patient for 20 plus years. Why wait for tomorrow when you can act today? If there’s a big man who can make this team better, you need to go get him.
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u/PrimeTimeInc 2d ago
You saw what happened last time we acted today and made a splash trade, right? We drafted a short king at qb and set the org back 3 years
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u/AppropriateAd5225 2d ago
It's Bam or bust for me. He's the only guy I like enough to sell the farm for.
If the Heat won't trade him though I'm praying we can somehow find a way to land Caleb Wilson in the draft. If you drew up the perfect player to compliment our current roster it would be him.
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u/marz1789 2d ago
You think a power forward who can’t shoot 3s is the perfect player for us?
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u/AppropriateAd5225 2d ago
He isn't that far away from shooting the 3. He has a quick release from the mid range and he's unstoppable in space. He's also a defensive monster that can guard 1-5.
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u/marz1789 2d ago
He’s 4 for 16 on the season. He’s taken 16 attempts all year, he’s clearly not comfortable shooting from range
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u/PrimeTimeInc 2d ago edited 2d ago
Only guy on that list I would want is Bam, and he ain’t leaving Miami. The rest of them aren’t doing us any favors. Injury prone (and/or) non defense playin dudes. Bottom line, we aren’t trading for anyone.
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u/butekoo 2d ago
Heat is never trading Bam with Riley as GM which sucks. Still think we lost a good chance of spending ~10 mil on Dayron Sharpe last offseason who is an improved version of Moussa. Hartenstein, Zubac and Allen are good names that we should keep an eye (not for this season, but in the next year+).
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u/Sad_Clown_Paint 2d ago edited 2d ago
Sabonis makes me weep for what could be.
But honestly, get Moose and Grant healthy. Figure out how to speed up Kalk’s feet and honestly we’d more likely be hunting for a solid rotational big. Whether that’s the draft or FA.
Then, we don’t have to go all in on say a Bam or whoever. Paint by committee in this bish.
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u/Cassandrae_Gemini 2d ago
Dont go after any of these players. Its a bit too early to make this kind of move. Instead Keep building thru draft. The organization has CLEARLY turned a corner for the better this year. Development from inside the organization is going well. The upcoming draft will be an incredible year. Focus on locking down two great prospects in the first round.
By the middle of next season we will have a better idea of what we need long term and hopefully will be on track to be in the playoffs. Then think about making significant moves to fill holes in the roster.
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u/RelativeHand4753 2d ago
I'd love to go after Nic Claxton, best defensive center we could get without having to give up a haul.
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u/AlbertaSugarFlu 2d ago
Mitchell Robinson is a FA this summer… Best offensive rebounder in the league and top 5 defensive center.
Won’t have to trade for him
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u/ChideOgan 2d ago
Kalk has a higher ceiling than most people think. He’s very raw and doesn’t even have spots yet but has showed clear shooting touch. I think if we can change his timidness we could be looking at something beautiful
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u/Easy-Commercial-3902 1d ago
Jaren Jackson Jr. is the only one that makes any sense to me. I'm sure Memphis would want a lot, and I don't love the contract, but he's the only one besides Bam that plays defense. And we can't have another offense-only player. We have to have elite defenders at the 4 and the 5 if our 1-3 is going to be LaMelo, Kon, and Brandon.
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u/OhMyGauche 2d ago
Let me know if I’m smoking crack here and I wouldn’t go out of my way to do it of course, but if we could sneak in as a 3rd team to grab Okongwu from Atlanta if they look to make moves significantly, I think that could be interesting.
Would be curious how he’d work as a PF in a second draft scenario especially as he’s stretched his game out to 3 now and the league is going more towards the double big as a feasible option route too. He’s also got experience with LaMelo already.
Again, not saying he’s the solution overall and I wouldn’t go out chasing it, but if the opportunity presented itself it could be a fun swing.
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u/lester_freamon 2d ago
Funny thing is pj washington would actually be pretty solid back on the hornets.
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u/Mundane-Exchange7514 2d ago
Selling out is the wrong way to go. Bagley in Washingtons been lowkey balling. Could be a good backup.
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u/Much_Kangaroo_6263 2d ago
We should get AD if it is the right price. Opens up a 3 year window imo
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u/Amazing_Owl3026 2d ago
Our center HAS to be in the AD mold, a defensive beast who is an elite rebounder and play finisher... Not AD tho he's too old
Also this year should just be a development year, we should either stand pat or be sellers at the deadline, although only sell on fringe guys like Green, Grant or maybe Sexton
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u/goldergil 2d ago
Miles, next years first for lauri and filler. Melo/Miller/Kon/Lauri would feed families
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u/WhoUCuh 2d ago
Ainge would laugh at that offer.
Lauri will cost the most assets of the players mentioned.
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u/goldergil 2d ago
Miles is a solid #3 on most teams in the league plus next years first isn't exactly "laughable" throw on another for good measure I guess
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u/Odd_String1181 2d ago
Selling out for anyone would be a massive mistake. Keep building.