I actually disagree regarding the timeline. I actually think it lines up rather well. Giannis has shown no signs of decline and doesn’t have an extensive injury history. He projects to remain at or near an all-nba level, at least through the duration of his current contract. Assuming we could hang onto Lamelo if we were to trade for him, Lamelo would be squarely in his prime and Brandon would be entering his prime at a time when Giannis was still elite. That would give us a 2-3 year window during which we could contend, and that would be worth shooting our shot imo.
Even if it didn’t result in a title, at a minimum it would transform our image from that of a doormat to a team viewed as having credibility, which is almost just as valuable.
I agree Giannis is far from aging, injury wise he’s been pretty clear of any major injuries. I would pull the trigger it also shows other top players that we are an attractive destination
Well, lol, he’s absolutely aging. That’s kinda indisputable In reality, I’m not saying he’s aged out today, he’s 31 before the season starts. That’s prime time for NBA players. I am however saying “we’re not on schedule” to take advantage of that. We need some playoff experience before we can take advantage of a player as such and by the time we get that, he WILL be on the glide slope downward.
Two lottery picks that year and now we have neither player we could have had. lol fun times. Still the most baffling trade ever, to just throw away a lottery pick bc of money.
The most inept thing I’ve seen this franchise do. It highlighted how ill prepared Mitch, and that front office, was. The contrast to Peterson is, thankfully, so very, very stark.
On the draft: “We had the best draft in the league. Of course, 29 other teams will probably say the same thing,” a Hornets front office executive said. “But we’re fired up. We wanted guys who could complement LaMelo (Ball) and Brandon (Miller) and to help open up the floor for them. Kon (Knueppel) and Liam (McNeeley) can do that. But we didn’t want one-skill guys. We all saw Indiana and the Thunder, right? You have to be able to be versatile. We’re getting there. And we hit in the second round with Sion (James) and Ryan (Kalkbrenner) too. We considered both of them at 29, but knew that Liam wouldn’t come back around. So, we held our breath and still got both guys. Internally, we’ve said we feel like we have four first-rounders, because all four guys we got had first-round evaluations on our board.”
On a full roster: “Yeah. We’ve still got some work to do, for sure. That’s what the rest of this summer will be about. There are some difficult decisions coming, but that’s not bad thing, right? Better that than not having enough guys,” a Hornets front office executive said.
On frontcourt depth: “I get why you are asking. But we think we’ve got guys who can play. Mason (Plumlee) will help with his experience and his passing ability. We’ll have Grant (Williams) back and he’s a great connector. We love Moussa (Diabate). He plays with such great energy and he’s awesome on the glass. And Ryan (Kalkbrenner) has been awesome out here (Summer League). We think he’ll shoot it eventually too,” a Hornets coach said.
On LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller and their health: “Those guys are still our anchors, pillars, foundation, whatever you want to call it. But you are right, we have to get them on the floor. They played like 20 games together last year. That’s not going to cut it. We have to figure that out, and we’re confident we will. Our roster moves at the draft and beyond were about building around those two guys with complementary and connecting pieces to them,” a Hornets front office executive said.
It’s great to see an unambiguous full endorsement of Melo and Brandon as pillars but this is not enough. Pinning hopes and dreams on Grant is just crazy. Grant is an acceptable backup and that is it. I love Moussa (I called for his hiring on this very board a month before they signed him) but he’s a 3rd string center who seems to be a more natural back up 4. Both Mason and Ryan are also backups at this point in their careers.
We’ve got at least 2 or 3 moderately desirable guys (mostly guards) and a bunch of picks to acquire a legitimate starting NBA center. I imagine that camp starts soon so there is still time.
Give Charles, Melo and the team the best opportunity to succeed.
You totally ignore context with Lamelo’s injuries. Wrist was one thing but the ankles have been a ton of bad luck and every time it has involved stepping on another player’s foot. While I agree that he needs to be more durable and I think steps are being taken on that front, we aren’t talking about a guy suffering nothing but non-contact injuries.
Repeated injuries are not bad luck. He has easily injured ankles and now wrists.
He is fragile. That is the context. He plays basketball for a living like everyone else in the league. Ankles are frequently twisted in basketball. Some guys just can’t recover and play again. Melo is one of those types.
That was the take on Curry. Did Golden State go all short sighted w a trade? As I recall they won multiple championships w a dude who’s not as talented as Melo. Steph is more focused but not as talented as Melo.
As for the medical staff - competency matters. New staff in 2024 and all of a sudden Melo plays most of the season? That’s not a coincidence.
Here’s a boring, safe comment that is the ultimate fence straddling response: Melo is injury prone AND I do not believe Melo or any other hornets until recently were receiving the proper care and PT.
I mean, the medical staff was woefully understaffed and was a skeleton crew. It’s why it was overhauled and wildly expanded.
At the end of they day were talking about a player (Melo) who has played 105 games in three seasons. Yikes
In reality, I’m not saying he’s aged out today, he’s 31 before the season starts. That’s prime time for NBA players. I am however saying “we’re not on schedule” to take advantage of that. We need some playoff experience before we can take advantage of a player as such and by the time we get that, he WILL be on the glide slope downward.