NBA Power Rankings: Boston Celtics look vulnerable; Knicks rounding back into form?

28. Charlotte Hornets

It's been another rough year for the Charlotte Hornets. However, the good news is that the front office has somewhat begun to waive the white flag when it comes to this current balancing act between veterans and young players on the roster. Over the course of this season, the Hornets parted ways with Terry Rozier, PJ Washington, and Gordon Hayward. In the long run, those are the types of moves that will help this team as they evolve into a true retooling of the roster around their younger pieces.

On paper, the Hornets do have some strong young core pieces with LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Mark Williams. the question the Hornets will be challenged with over the next few months is whether this is a talented enough core that they'll be able to properly build around. If the Hornets want to get back to relevancy in the Eastern Conference, they need to be sold 100 percent on the core before building back up.

The last thing the Hornets need is to start building on a foundation that is not completely solid. That's essentially what they'd be doing if they don't believe in their current core.