Going into a home outing against the Memphis Grizzlies back on Saturday, Feb. 10, the Charlotte Hornets were mired in their worst stretch of the season, having only won three games over the past two calendar months. The hosts secured a spirited 115-106 victory that night, thanks in large part to their trade deadline overhaul from 48 hours earlier that provided a badly needed jolt of energy and a jumpstart on the impending offseason.
It was a frustrating campaign as the Hornets’ 2023-24 season was derailed by injuries for the second consecutive year. In hindsight, perhaps the most noteworthy transgression was recognizing the need to pivot at the deadline and proceed forward in a different direction.
Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, and PJ Washington became Grant Williams, Vasilije Micić, Tre Mann, Dāvis Bertāns, Seth Curry, two protected 2027 first-round picks, and a reworked salary sheet for the Hornets, who also later signed Aleksej Pokuševski. Together, these players injected Charlotte’s rotation with leadership, ball-handling, floor-spacing, defensive versatility, and depth. That Memphis win was the start of a season-best four-game winning streak, though injuries would unfortunately soon catch up again.
Prior to Feb. 10, the Hornets posted a 10-41 record (.196) and sat in the bottom three in the NBA in offensive (109.0), defensive (121.3) and net efficiency (-12.2). After the reshuffling, Charlotte went 11-20 (.355), while ranking 26th in the first two areas (107.8 and 115.7) and 24th in the third (-7.9). Again, it’s tricky to get a truly accurate representation of how the newcomers meshed with the incumbent players, given the widespread injuries. LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, Cody Martin, and Curry all sat out the final six weeks of the season.
But just because the Hornets were never fully whole at any point during their post-All-Star-Break schedule doesn’t mean nothing can be extracted from this 31-game stretch. Charlotte conceded fewer fast-break (13.1) and paint (50.3) points, significantly lowered its opponents’ 3-point percentage – league-worst 39.7% to 34.8%, the fifth best – upped the takeaways (13.9) and cut down on the fouls (15.7). These before and after numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt, but they certainly aren’t meaningless.
“I’m very excited about our roster,” said Executive VP of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson, during his introductory press conference on March 6. “We have the young core group, some veterans, and some developmental pieces. I’m excited to take this time to evaluate and see exactly where we can tweak some things to get better. I look at these [21 remaining games] as a positive. It’s a small sample size, but it’s better than no sample size at all. Every day, you’re trying to collect a little bit more data and figure out how to factor that into your decision-making. Most of the time, in these situations, the turnover doesn’t happen until the summer.”
During the same press conference, the Hornets’ Co-Chairman & Governor Rick Schnall spoke about the deadline approach. “We set out to acquire assets,” he explained. “We brought in five unbelievably high-character guys, who have made a big difference for our team. We’re proud to have all five of the guys as Hornets. They represent what we’re about and I think they’ve changed the dynamics for the guys.”
Peterson’s arrival was also advantageous in itself, given that it allotted him a five-week head start to get acclimated to a new organization before the offseason officially began. “It’s a big summer ahead as it relates to player development,” added Co-Chairman and Alternate Governor Gabe Plotkin. “Typically, in the NBA, this [hiring] is somewhat unorthodox timing, but we thought it was really important for us and where we’re at to accelerate this process.”
The only thing more important than taking transitional steps in the NBA is knowing when to start them. Too often, teams choose to double down instead of realizing when it’s time for a change. Though the injuries complicated things, it became progressively evident that keeping the pre-deadline roster as constructed was no longer in the Hornets’ best long-term interests.
It’s still to be determined what moves Peterson and the front office will make this summer, but what they have in place already is a great framework to build around. Williams and Micić are both under guaranteed contracts through the end of the 2026-2027 and 2024-2025 seasons, respectively. Curry and Pokuševski both have team options for next season, Bertāns’ contract is partially guaranteed, and Mann is extension eligible, with restricted free agency also a possibility next summer. The Hornets have a lot of options if they choose to exercise them.
All six of these players brought something to the organization and were given an opportunity to showcase what they could do with a more expanded role. Likewise, the Hornets greatly benefited on the court from this sudden influx of talent, while also garnering some valuable insight that will be used to make necessary roster adjustments in the coming months.