More help coming? The top free agent centers left on the market for the Hornets

With day one of NBA free agency complete, the market has become incredibly dry. An already weak free agency class, teams rushed to sign the players that were available to try to push their way into potentially holding the Larry O'Brien trophy next June.

For the Charlotte Hornets, the team signed a familiar face: center Mason Plumlee.

While many were not happy with the squad signing Plumlee, it does show that they are aware of the situation at the center position. After dealing Jusuf Nurkic to the Jazz and Mark Williams to the Suns, the squad's center depth consists of Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Diabate is the likely starting center, however, who knows if the franchise views him as a center or a power forward in the long term.

The Hornets still have the non-taxpayers MLE and the bi-annual exception to use. Their free agency is likely not done yet, but is their chase after free agent centers complete? With several centers remaining on the market, here are the top names:

Name	Prev Team
DeAndre Ayton	Portland Trail Blazers
Myles Turner	Indiana Pacers
Al Horford	Boston Celtics
Mo Wagner	Orlando Magic
Jaxson Hayes	Los Angeles Lakers
Sandro Mamukelashvili	San Antonio Spurs
Thomas Bryant	Indiana Pacers

Out of the names remaining on the market, the top three stand out. Each would come in and immediately become the squad's starting center, however, let's be realistic.

Ayton likely will sign with a contender. DeAndre Ayton has all the talent in the world, but he suffers from one thing: mindset. Ayton had a free path to be a 20-25 point per game scorer on the Trail Blazers, but rarely tries on both sides of the ball. It may be because he was not on a contender, but Ayton had no drive to be as good as he could have been.

Turner will likely return to the Pacers. The franchise is coming off its first finals appearance in over 20 years, and reportedly will look to bring back their starting center from the run. Turner is expected to receive a contract in the $25 million per year range, which is not something the Hornets can afford.

Horford has experience with Charles Lee in Boston and Jeff Peterson in Atlanta, and could be a great mentor for the Hornets squad. However, Horford is not the player to leave Boston for a rebuilding team at this point in his career, even with the Celtics entering a retooling year. If Horford were to leave the Celtics, it would likely be to play with a contender to get a shot at a second championship ring, with the Warriors, Nuggets, and Knicks all in play for the big man.

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