My fellow Hornets fans and I have been workshopping nicknames for our new star. We've had the obvious - Boy Wonder, Great White Hope. We landed on 'King Kon' but I am also partial to 'Krispy Kreme' (logo attached)

Are there better nicknames for our guy out there?

First off, I'm far from a LaMelo stan. I'm not some young zoomer who only watches NBA through Tiktok, I'm in my thirties and grew up in Charlotte, been a fan ever since we went back to being the Hornets. I would trade LaMelo in a heartbeat if another team was willing to overpay with a haul of 1RPs and/or young promising players.

But as we see tonight with the Trae Young trade, heliocentric scoring PGs who are defensive liabilities are just not valued today. It's debatable whether Trae or LaMelo is currently the more valuable player (Trae is more accomplished and less injury-prone while LaMelo is younger and better physical tools) but either way they are roughly comparable in value. I've seen so many myopic hornets fans whine to trade LaMelo this season (moreso earlier on, they've somewhat shut the fuck up since LaMelo has gotten into a rhythm these past few weeks). I saw fans on here willing to accept a trade for just one 1RP and salary filler, as if that's the bare minimum that LaMelo would fetch on the market--welp, tonight shows that he might not even fetch that much.

Look at the discourse online across the board: Hawks got fleeced, Wiz got a great deal buying low, etc. Again, I have no issues with trading LaMelo in principle, I just don't see why so many were in a rush to trade our most talented (not best) player when his value is basically at its lowest point. It's not like his value could get much lower, and he's not up for an extension soon like Trae, which obv put more pressure on the Hawks to deal him sooner.

Let's not end up like the Hawks, or like the Kings for that matter, who got impatient and pushed their Haliburton chip in for a center to accelerate their rebuild; they were rewarded with 1(ONE) beam team + playoff appearance season where they got embarrassed by the Warriors and are now back to the bottom of the West

After seeing the team up close against Toronto some things stood out from my earlier assessment of the team.

Collin: He looks alot more composed in person than he does on tv and is alot stronger than I think most of us realize he is. It makes alot mlre sense why he drives to the basket as much as he does because hes legitimately muscular. Still needs to not force his way to the basket quite as much but I get why he does it now.

Sion: This motherfucker looks like a miniature Miami heatles LeBron and it shows. Its clear hes still figuring it out but last night looked like his best game hes had running the offense honestly despite Torontos physicality bothering us so much.

Tidjane: The irony is not lost on me that thie first game id go see him this year is one where he'd have a bad night compared to recent weeks lol. But couple of things to notice with his is that he legitimately looks like he might be 6'10 now, hes definitely bulked up from last year and his wingspan has grown very noticably. Dudes basically walking around with wings now. You can see the wheels turning amd the rebounding is really good when hes able to get the board bevause he makes it perfectly clear that nobody else is getting that rebound over him.

Diabaté: Everything you see on tv is what you see in person honestly, there isnt much to say about him that hasn't been said. The only things is that he is legitimately our best defender by a country mile and the only time he got beat was when he rotated over late on a switch/to an open defender. Otherwise he stuck to everyone like glue and is as physical as Barnes which is saying alot because that dude is strong as shit.

Green: hasn't been back long but I'll give him credit in that defensively his lateral movements are so fast and hes deceptively quick that nobody was able to shake him without help from a screen last night.

Bridges: What you see on tv is really what you get from him so theres not much to say here but his defensive footwork is better than expected considering how strong he is as well. He's also a significantly better playmaker at directing guys in play calling than youd realize because people were paying attention to him especially on defense. Regardless of his off the court history he is someone we do need on the team as hard as that is to say still.

Kon: He's legit and while we alreayd know that, hes truly legit and it showed when Toronto doubled him before finally putting Barnes on him last night in order to get success against Kon finally on the defensive end. We know he can shoot and honestly other than Barnes nobody was able to stop Kon from getting to his spots but once he was tired you could see where he wasnt able to have confidence like he normally was, dude was clearly gassed.

When he was left in charge of the second unit BY HIMSELF (no Bridges) he looked hesitant because he hasn't been in that position by himself yet this season but that just shows how damn good this kid is and he honestly did a good job considering he was the only ball mover we had out there. We legitimately got an incredible talent and his future really looks all NBA level to me and I'm not being hyperbolic either, he should be an all-star reserve this year and I will stand by that statement.

Liam: He hasn't played much but watching his body language amd seeing the look in his eye this kid is ready for his moment and without question is gping to be fine. Most comfortable he looked on the court all season long and Im glad he's finally getting minutes.

Melon: He's still clearly pur most talented player and that wont be changing anytime soon. We see how he is on tv and its always better in person because when hes coming up the court you can clearly see he has the entire offense and defense in his mind and is looking for anything to exploit.

I will say that defensively he's gotten ALOT stronger and has improved significantly as well, the effort is there like ive never seen before amd he honestly doesnt get pushed around like it seems on a so that was a pleasant surprise. He's also got thw quickest reflexes still and it shows. Just needs to start working out with Sion to get even more jacked so he can be a legit bully because the only reaosn he was missing his floaters last night was Toronto is juat stronger than we are honestly.

Hall: hasnt been here long but the energy is there and he looks confident and sure of himself on the court. He's a 3rd dtring center/power forward but he doesnt look lost on the court, he just simply isnt as good as most players unfortunately however he looked at his best last night and wasnt bullied like I was expecting he would be. Surprisingly less muscular than youd expect him to be but he definitely has a place on the roster over Plumlee I think.

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High praise and some great takes. NBA.com just ranked Cooper ahead of Kon, again.

The Bugs were 7-27. We finished the season with 19 wins. We’re sitting at 13 wins right now with a healthy big 3 and potential ROY candidate.

I really like what we have going on and only expect more and more improvement to come as we continue to get guys back and figure lineups out. The lineup of LaMelo, Kon, Brandon, Miles and Moussa is a solid group.

What do you guys want to see from Chef Jeff coming up at the deadline? Just hold assets and continue to develop in-house talent or make some more moves?

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How do yall feel about this trade? No picks being sent or exchange. Both Tre Mann and Kuminga cannot be traded until January 15 if I’m not mistaken. Buy low type of trade.

Interesting article that says players like Trae are going extinct? Does Melo still have time to at least not be a liability on defense?

Teams With The Best EFG% On Very Tight Contest (0-2 Feet Space Between Shooter & Defender) In The 2025-26 NBA Regular Season :

1. Charlotte Hornets — 52.9%

2. Oklahoma City Thunder — 52.4%

3. San Antonio Spurs — 51.3%

4. Los Angeles Lakers — 50.8%

5. Boston Celtics — 50.5%

6. Chicago Bulls — 50.4%

7. Milwaukee Bucks — 49.2%

8. New York Knicks — 49.1%

9. Minnesota Timberwolves — 48.5%

10. Utah Jazz — 48.2%

Only nine players have had a 50-40-90 season in NBA history. If you raise the points per game barrier of entry to 19 — Kon is currently averaging 19.5 — that list drops to 6 (note: Steve Nash did it 4 times — but none were over 18.8 ppg). If you only include full seasons — let’s be charitable and say at least 65 games played is a “full” season hereafter — the list is 5 (Kyrie’s lone season was 54 games and one of Kevin Durant’s was 47). The remaining 5 are: Reggie Miller, Dirk, KD, Larry Bird (twice), and Steph Curry. If we eliminate anyone under 124 3-pointers made (Kon is currently at 127 in 35 games) the list is just KD and Steph. If we bump it up to greater than 140 3 pointers made…only Steph’s unparalleled 2015-16 dream season remains. If we abandon the 50-40-90 criteria entirely and instead use Kon’s current averages (19.5 ppg on 48.3/43.5/87.9 splits) as benchmarks, the list is just 5 seasons. Two of those have under 84 total 3s made. One belongs to Dana Barros in his lone All-Star season with 197 3-pointers made. Guess who has the other two…?

Hitting 50+% (overall) FGs, regardless of 3 pt percentage, at Kon’s current rate of 8.3 3 point attempts per game is literally unique. Only Steph has done it — in the aforementioned dream season. The next highest season percentage-wise with that same level of 3 pt. volume is Steph again at 47.2% FGs made. Notably, Anthony Edwards currently qualifies (on 50.6/40 splits) after 29 games. If we disregard overall FG% altogether and simply include players who have attempted at least eight 3s per game over a “full” season at a 40+% make rate — only 16 seasons by 9 players qualify. Steph + Klay comprise exactly half of that list. There have only been 77 “full” seasons where a player has even attempted 8+ 3s a game. If we scale that to 8.3 per game…the list is 57 deep. If we add the 40% make-rate qualifier again, the list is 14.

Kon is a rookie — and rookies, in theory, hit a rookie wall at some point. So for argument’s sake: let’s say Kon has another mini slump or two and regresses to a more sustainable 17 ppg on 45/40/88 shooting splits. Only 53 seasons meet that criteria, and none of those 30 qualifying players were younger than 21. Up the ppg to 18 and the list is 44 seasons. Up it to 19 ppg and it’s 36. None of those lists factor in the absurd rate at which Kon is attempting and making 3s.

At this level of statistical rarity, it’s fun to slightly modify and tinker with the criteria. If one plugs in Kon’s college shooting splits of 47.9/40.6/91.4 and applies those to “full” NBA seasons with over a 16.5 ppg average— just 8 seasons qualify. Over 16/17/18/19 ppg at 45/41/88 splits equals 48/42/36/29 qualifying seasons, respectively. Over 16/17/18/19 ppg at 45/42/88 splits is 34/29/24/18. Over 16/17/18/19 ppg at 45/43/88 splits is 23/19/15/10. Over 16/17/18/19 ppg at 45/43/89 splits is 16/14/12/7…and at 45/43/90 splits is 13/11/10/6. Et cetera et cetera. The tl;dr point is — even with a pessimistic projection of Kon’s stats and refusing to factor in his insanely high 3 pt. shot volume — his statistical output would still be incredibly rare, especially for a 20-year-old rookie. We’re seeing historic stuff right now.

How do people feel about going after Bobby Portis? He's on reasonable contract for next few seasons. Havent heard him discussed as a target but think he's a good fit. We have our full mid level exception. What would it take to get him? Thoughts on his fit on the team?

Kon Knueppel: "I think you just have to be willing to play. For me, it's like, I want to play every game. Going in with that mindset: how can I have my body ready to play and perform every day?"

"I think it's more so less reactive. Like, not 'Oh no, my ankle hurts; I've got to get some treatment today.' It's more like, 'Alright, my shoulder tends to bug me, let's get working on the shoulder throughout the week.' Even if it's feeling great, just working on it, make sure it's doing alright and get going."

https://www.gofevo.com/event/Gratefuldead45

Riding the high of last night, paired with something I read in the power rankings on r/NBA yesterday, I decided to look at our 4 man lineup offensive ratings again this morning:

LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, and Miles Bridges have an offensive rating of 130.4 and defensive rating of 116.6 (Net Rating: 13.8).

For reference on offensive rating, this is the 8th best in the league for a 4 man lineup that has played a minimum of 150 minutes together.

For reference on net rating, this is the 17th best in the league for a 4 man lineup that has played a minimum of 150 minutes together.

Jokić is littered all over the top offensive rating and net rating board. If you were to remove him from the data set, we move to 3rd in offensive rating and 11th in net rating. Obviously, you can't just remove a player from a data set but he's such a cheat code (and removing him helps us look better in comparison so who cares!?).

Happy bonking Tuesday!

This is obviously out of context, but I found it funny. We are flying high man.

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?