NBA: 30 Storylines Driving The 2015-16 Season

Apr 12, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) gestures from the court during the second quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 116-77. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Charlotte Hornets – Searching for a Direction

It’s the age old question in the NBA: Up or Down? As in try and compete for the playoffs with what we have now, or let this ship sail and start anew with some young kids we get in the next couple of drafts. The Charlotte Hornets are facing that decision right now. Last season the team was a major disappointment in a conference that already has a tendency to disappoint.

The poster child for this let down was Lance Stephenson, who the Hornets overpaid a year ago after he had a standout season as the wildcard in an otherwise systematic Indiana Pacers offense.

The Hornets parted ways with Stephenson in the offseason, arguably their biggest move. They also lost Noah Vonleh (which was an odd piece to give up siting his age and potential to be a legitimate building block) and Gerald Henderson (who I swear is destined to be that guy coming off the bench on a winning team who makes a signature playoff moment by hitting the biggest shot of the year to win a series).

The roster that the Hornets will send out onto the floor this coming season can be summed up by this one phrase: “Hey remember that time he had that really good year?”

I mean look at some of the players they have:

• Kemba Walker – Nobody says “hey that’s Kemba Walker from the Charlotte Hornets.” They say “hey look it’s Kemba Walker from UConn.” He’s known for having that awesome run in college, and while he’s certainly held his own in the NBA, he hasn’t done anything to measure up.
• Jeremy Lin – One word…LINSANITY! Yeah, remember that? It’s literally the only reason most people know who he is.
• Spencer Hawes – He had that one really good season in 2013-2014 with the Philadelphia 76ers. He shot a ridiculous percentage from beyond the arc and managed to be a glimmer of hope for an otherwise bleak and depressing Sixers squad.

Among the rare exceptions to that rule is Al Jefferson. He had a couple of really good seasons, one of which came two years ago (his first season in Charlotte). Before that, he did his thing in Utah and Minnesota for a few years as well. Additionally, you have a couple of players who we’re waiting to have that one really good year: Frank Kaminsky (their lottery pick in the draft, whose game may or may not translate to the NBA), Jeremy Lamb (we’ve been waiting for him to have that breakout year for a while now it feels like), Cody Zeller (he’s like the mid point between Lamb and Kaminsky, the jury is till out on his potential and he has had a bit of experience).

For some reason though, I don’t feel like Michael Jordan and company in the front office is necessarily alright with bottoming out seeing as their team just had a long run down there in the not so distant past.

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