Brooklyn Nets
New Year's Resolution: Find a new cornerstone to build around
After the Brooklyn Nets traded Mikal Bridges during the offseason, it quickly became clear that this team was going to head down the path of another rebuild. Even though they've been a bit more competitive than most expected them to be so far this season, I'm not sure much of that sentiment has changed. The Nets are still in the early stages of tearing down their team so they can begin a new build. Heading into 2025, the argument can be made that the team's biggest New Year's resolution should be to find a legit new cornerstone to build around.
Ideally, the team would be able to find that young player in the 2025 NBA Draft. However, considering the Nets aren't on pace to finish with a top 3 pick at the moment, that could be difficult for the team to pull off. Maybe that changes with the moves the Nets make at the NBA Trade Deadline but no matter how the rest of the season ends up playing out for the Nets on the floor, the goal for this team heading into the 2025 calendar year remains the same - to find a new prospect to jump-start the build.
Charlotte Hornets
New Year's Resolution: Add another certified star player
The Charlotte Hornets have seen some small improvements to their roster and outlook with the way they've played to begin this year. However, there are still plenty of big-picture questions that surround this team at the moment. The biggest of them all is the fact that they need to find another certified star player to build next to Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball. That could end up being the key to truly unlocking this team's potential heading into the future.
If the Hornets are able to accomplish this New Year's resolution for the 2025 calendar year, this is a team that is going to be in a great spot heading into the future. On paper, the Hornets have a good amount of young talent. They just need to find the leader the franchise needs. For as good as Ball and Miller have been, it's pretty clear that they need another supporting star to help this franchise put everything together. If the Hornets can get that via their projected top 5 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, it could completely raise their ceiling even higher.