Kemba Walker is 28 years old, has been in the league for seven years, has won exactly three playoff games, has lost 111 more regular season basketball games than he has won and now resides on a team with 11 players who have three or fewer years of NBA experience.
The Charlotte Hornets likely will not be any better than they were last year when they anonymously won 36 games for the second straight season. They even have a decent chance to be far worse than they were last year. Losing Dwight Howard, despite how venomous his presence in any locker room seems to be, will be a blow to what actually worked for them last season – the pick and roll.
The Hornets managed to be the fourth-best pick-and-roll team in the league despite going to that play more often than all but four other teams. The oil-and-vinegar attack they had in Howard and Kaminsky helped as one dove to the hoop while the other popped out to the three-point line. Kaminsky will now be asked to shoulder the load, and although his pick-and-roll stats look favorable, he is far from a rim-running big. At 7 feet tall, he managed to dunk just 15 times last season and completed just two (!) alley-oops all year.
As will become a theme, the players who will be asked to do the most this season all sit around the legal drinking age. The player that will need to be inserted into the roll aspect of that oil-and-vinegar attack is Willy Hernangomez. On 1.2 possessions per game last season, he landed in the 73rd percentile and scored 1.19 points per possession. However, he has never had to be such an integral part of a team before.
Malik Monk will have to crawl out of the not-so-small abyss that was his abysmal first year in the league. He will likely be asked to spread the floor and take over some ball-handling duties. The latter will be where the Hornets run into yet another issue. He made nearly the same amount of shots off the dribble as he did on catch-and-shoots last season but did so on 25 more attempts.
He needs to be slowly given ball-handling duties instead of having them thrust upon him like they may be this season. This role change for Monk is due to Nicolas Batum not being the player he is perceived to be. His stiff movements and lack of elusive dribble moves limit his ceiling to a reverse cathedral.
This is not to mention that he has shot just 33.6 percent from 3-point range over the last four years and will be 30 years old this season. His passing is superb and on a team where he is asked to be the fourth-to-sixth best player, he would fit perfectly. Unfortunately, he is the second-best player on this team, which is indicative of their inevitable poor record.
Batum will somehow cash in $24 million this year and $27 million in 2020-21. Being able to move him should be a priority but ultimately would be a minor miracle for a team that gets very few of those.
The Hornets will be asking a lot of their newest player, Miles Bridges, as well. The athletic and lengthy wing has a long way to go before being a good NBA player but will at least get the playing time to attempt to be one.
His negatives are evident and were on full display in the Summer League as he did not perform very well. He has a propensity to attempt ridiculous shots that will be unacceptable in the NBA, he does not yet have a trusted outside shot, and much like the majority of players on this roster; he cannot handle the ball.
The only player that can handle the ball with proficiency is the one the one player who had his list of un-accomplishments so sadly detailed in the opening paragraph of this piece. Kemba Walker has just one year on his contract left and may just waste another year of his prime on a team that will flirt with the cellar.
Trading him may be hard due to any teams lack of contractual control past this season. Although, moving him is made easier by the minuscule $12 million that he will be paid. The biggest drawback may be his defense. He has quick hands perfect for nabbing steals but he is mostly a minus on the defensive end.
On the other end, his offensive greatness is undisputed, and he has been scoring efficiently despite his teammates for some time now. Teams will come calling for him, but much like with Batum, it would be a miracle to move him for equal or greater value.
The Hornets are a middling team that will lean closer to god-awful than to simply awful. They have two players in their primes unlikely to be moved and have young guys whom no one is building their Twitter career around to stan for. If the Hornets move some of their older players, they may be a team that creates intrigue. If they do not, they will likely be as anonymous as they were the last two years and on their way to yet another 36-win season.
