Nata's Big Bag of Wind that contains Hornets takes

Catching up on what I missed over the past couple of weeks.

I know, it’s been almost three weeks since you’ve gotten a dispatch. But I promise that I have a good reason for being so late.

No, not the fact that I’ve been laid off by CBS Sports and am scrambling to look for a job (trust me, I’ve been doing that as well).

But on October 30th, I became a dad. Maybe one day I’ll share more of the story on my daughter’s arrival. That day will not be today. You didn’t come here for that, you came here for takes.

So let’s open the bag of wind, and enjoy my bluster.

(Editors note: Takes that JUST missed the cut and may be revisited in the future — Why the Hornets should deal the 2027 Dallas pick, maybe the Hornets shouldn’t deal Pat Connaughton and is Moussa Diabate the greatest Charlotte NBA development story?)

Take No. 1 — There is clearly some fractured trust between LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets.

Late Thursday afternoon, Yahoo Writer Kelly Iko broke news about how LaMelo Ball is open to looking for a trade out of the Queen City.

LaMelo, as seen below, gave his thoughts on Iko’s reporting.

https://x.com/MELOD1P/status/1991644767235764597?s=20

First things first, if you read Iko’s piece with any sort of scrutiny, if there’s a wandering eye in the marriage between Ball and the Hornets. It’s not from the LaMelo camp. In fact, the crux of the article to me is when Iko writes that league sources believe Jeff Peterson and co. are “increasingly hesitant about cementing Ball as a long-term foundational piece”.

In the interest of transparency, in the last two years I’ve had three different people with league ties tell me that Hornets ownership isn’t enamored with LaMelo. So some of this does track for me that there might be buyers remorse within the bowels of Spectrum Center.

The news also reminds me of how the Charlotte Hornets brass loved Mark Williams out loud and boasted they admired his work ethic and what he was about until they traded him to Los Angeles for Dalton Knecht and a unprotected 1st round pick at the trade deadline.

When the trade was rescinded, you saw the Hornets pretend to fight for Williams’ honor through appeals and public statements. The team kept trotting him out there in games that didn’t matter until it was time to shut him down. Then when the season was over, the franchise shipped that man out to Phoenix for a pick in the late 20’s.

I write all of that to say, the story stinks, on both sides. More importantly, that stench will now fester over a season with 57 games to go and the rumors of an impending divorce will only ramp up as the trade deadline comes closer. For a multitude of reasons (primarily financial), it doesn’t make sense for anyone to trade for LaMelo Ball. It makes less sense (also financial, but return-wise as well) for the Charlotte Hornets to trade Ball at this juncture.

Here’s to hoping common sense can prevail and perhaps some fences can be mended in season. But if we’re talking about people who aren’t getting traded in season…

Take No. 2 — Hornets fans probably need to get comfortable with Miles Bridges manning the 4 until AT LEAST this summer.

I get that fans are tired of Miles Bridges and his defensive lapses and his hero ball moments (even if that appears to be more about the passivity of his teammates), but #0 in your programs isn’t going anywhere…yet. For the first part, it doesn’t make sense to deal him when Grant Williams doesn’t appear close to coming back and Tidjane is taking a VERY necessary developmental trip through the G-League at this point.

At this point, Miles is necessary because he’s the only one that’s an NBA-level player at his position (if only barely). If you’re trying to establish culture, and some sort of winning identity, you’re going to need those kind of players, even if they’re not here for the long-term.

But if you’re wondering who likely replaces Miles Bridges in Charlotte for the long-term…

Take No. 3 — Bridges’ replacement isn’t in the trade machine, the answer lies in the 2026 NBA Draft

First, lets take any expectations for Tidjane Salaun and what he may or may not be long-term out of the equation for now. He’s where he’s supposed to be right now, in Greensboro.

Second, I’m not sure many know, but there’s a really good chance the Charlotte Hornets end up with two lottery picks this year. The Hornets have their own and the worst of the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies and the Washington Wizards. So let’s do some simple napkin math.

The Wizards currently possess a worse record than the Hornets and are projected to remain that way for the rest of the season, so that pick is safe. The Memphis Grizzlies currently have the same record as the Charlotte Hornets with a reasonable amount of discord with their star player, Ja Morant. So that pick is probably staying with them. The Phoenix Suns are currently 7th in the West at 9-6 BUT are slightly above the Golden State Warriors and are a Devin Booker injury away from falling into play-in territory. Most likely their pick is coming to Charlotte.

At some point down the line, there’s going to be a Charlotte Hornets guide of all the college basketball players to keep an eye on. But for an appetizer, three names to watch early Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Arizona’s Koa Peat and Houston’s Chris Cenac. If the Hornets end up drafting closer to 4th rather than 1st, those are the three names I’d bank on becoming a Hornet in June.

Take No. 4 — Hornets fans need to pump the brakes on Grant Williams returning this year.

To be fair, this is one of those instances in which the Hornets, the NBA and their relative vague silence around injuries has just muddied the waters around players and when they eventually return to the court. The initial commentary around Grant made it seem like his return was imminent.

The initial reporting around Grant’s injury was that it was MULTIPLE tears in his knee, including the MCL and LCL along with his ACL. That’s simply a different type of recovery. ACL injuries are usually those where you can reasonably expect the player back within a year of the injury. Most likely, there are far more steps involved when injury recovery involves everything that stabilizes a knee.

If Grant Williams plays basketball before MLK Day, salute that man for intense recovery and a love of the game that made him come back well before it’s reasonably time for him to come back. If he’s not back at all this season, understand that this likely means his knee injury was probably far more devastating than it was ever reported.

And now for my final gust of hot air..

Take No. 5 — The negativity over this team right now is overblown.

I’ve seen amongst Hornets twitter that this franchise should blow it up and start over (again), and I’m gonna be honest, I can’t get there. At this point in time last season, we were sure about MAYBE two or three pieces on this roster long-term — Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball. Right now on this roster, you’re feeling good long term about AT LEAST double that (Kon, Sion, Kalkbrenner, Moussa are the no doubters). Potentially adding Liam McNeeley and maybe Tidjane Salaun and whatever the Hornets get for trading Pat Connaughton, Collin Sexton , Josh Green and others in a few months and the outlook for the Charlotte Hornets going into June 2026 hasn’t been this high in a while.

I get that it’s easy to bite down on the negative when this franchise has given fans nothing but negative to primarily focus on. But there are silver linings to this season and tangible things to hold onto that we are seeing. I’m not going to say things are different this season, because I did that last season and it bit me in the ass. These are differences that you don’t have to squint to see, like you did last season.

Are things in the short term going to suck? Probably. But barring a season-ending injury, we’re not reaching the hopelessness levels of last season.

Fin.

(Final Editor’s Note: I’m not sure how many came here from my Hornets discord channel. However, if you’re not in there and would like to be. Leave me a message and I’ll send you an invite.)