Brooklyn Nets
1 Biggest problem: Cam Thomas has complicated all their math
Heading into this season, the overwhelming belief was that the Brooklyn Nets were going to be one of the worst teams in the league. After trading Mikal Bridges, the Nets were clearly pivoting toward a rebuilding of their roster. However, to start the season, the Nets haven't been that bad. They're 4-5 and have shown flashes of potential competence as a team. However, if there's one "problem" that has managed to complicate everything for the Nets moving forward is the play of Cam Thomas.
Thomas has completely changed the math for the Nets not only this season but also heading into the offseason. Thomas is enjoying a breakout season and in the final year of his current contract with the team, he's going to force the Nets to make a big decision one way or another. Brooklyn is either going to have to commit to Thomas long-term or they're probably going to be forced to trade him at the NBA Trade Deadline. Above all the other moves Brooklyn has to make to continue to pivot toward the rebuild, the play of Thomas has certainly added another complicated element.
Charlotte Hornets
1 Biggest problem: They have a young talented roster without an alpha
As expected, the Charlotte Hornets have been pretty up and down this season. With a young roster, that's not exactly surprising. But while the Hornets continue to show flashes of potential behind this young roster, I also can't help but wonder if it's fatally flawed. For as talented as their young roster may be on paper, I believe that one of the Hornets' biggest problems is that they have a young roster without a clear alpha or No. 1 option on it. In the NBA, that's the most difficult element to find when building out a team.
While the Hornets can continue to be patient in their building of the roster, if they're unable to find that face of the franchise, it's hard to envision how this build is going to pay off for the team long term. Without a No. 1 option, the Hornets are not going to be able to compete much with how talented the Eastern Conference is. This is a very real problem that the Hornets will have to attempt to address at some point in the future. The question is, how will the team effectively do that?