Charlotte Hornets
This offseason, the Hornets have an absolutely critical decision to make regarding the future of their superstar point guard Kemba Walker. Re-sign him, and stay in mediocrity for the next five years, or let him chase a championship elsewhere, giving the team financial flexibility for the future. Does this sound like a similar situation that may or may not have happened just a year ago? How’d that turn out for them?
If he does decide to take off, though, the Pacers and Mavericks immediately come to mind as really interesting fits; he might not win a ring with those franchises, but it’d be fun to watch a Kemba-Oladipo or Doncic backcourt. Nevertheless, the Hornets cap situation is currently a toxic wasteland of bloated contracts, regardless of whether they bring back the All-Star point guard or not. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams, Bismack Biyombo, Cody Zeller, and Nic Batum are all making more than $13 million next year, with the latter two’s contracts running thru the 2020/21 season.
They won’t be able to sign any free agents, and keeping Kemba will only prevent them from getting high draft picks. This situation will only grow worse if he makes any of the All-NBA teams this year; the Hornets will have the option to sign him to a five-year, $221 million deal.
If you haven’t gotten the memo by now, they’re stuck in the same situation that the Wizards were in when they re-signed John Wall, and we can only hope the Hornets front office learns from their Eastern Conference counterparts. Building through the draft and developing Miles Bridges (and hopefully Malik Monk, who already is looking like a whiffed pick) will be their best option for the next two years, and they will be well set up for 2021 free agency, which has a stacked crop of players.