Dream offseason mode: How the Hornets could rebuild without blowing it all up

The Charlotte Hornets have yet another offseason to try and turn things around. It's the ninth year in a row their offseason has begun before other teams, which means it's high time things changed. There is a path to a much better team this offseason, though it might be a dream.

For the purposes of this article, we'll try to be at least a little realistic. Trading everyone but LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller would be sweet and would really help them rebuild in the next couple of years, but it's not at all realistic.

First things first, they need to trade Miles Bridges. While he was their most consistent player last year and one of their healthiest, he's on a costly $25 million salary and is going to be 27 by the time next season begins. That's far from ancient, but it ages him out of the current core. This also frees up some cap space, although Charlotte may have to salary match depending on who they send Bridges to.

Secondly, they also need to trade Josh Green. He's not as old and not as costly, but he's just been far from impactful in Charlotte. This would clear up some space, but not much. It's mostly about moving on from a failed experiment and opening up a spot in the lineup.

With some savvy moves, the Hornets can open up some cap space. Currently, they don't have much at all, but with trades like these, they can create some flexibility. If they do, they need to make a run at Naz Reid.

Reid was Minnesota's best offensive player (tied with Anthony Edwards in offensive rating), and they made the Western Conference Finals. He was also the fourth-best defender on the team among players who hit 40 games played, so he was a well-rounded player. Reid is a little bit undersized, but the Hornets can use him at power forward alongside Mark Williams down low.

May 28, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) during the second quarter in game five of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Finally, they can use their three picks to nail the draft. With the fourth pick, they should probably take either Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe, whichever one falls to them. If both fall, then Edgecombe might be the smarter pick, but the incredible upside of Bailey is tantalizing.

With picks 33 and 34 in the second round, the dream scenario would be to trade up into the back end of the first round and take Drake Powell. Powell is a solid offensive player with good defensive instincts, the player mold that head coach Charles Lee likes.

While they might have more options if they stick at 33 and 34, it's hard to bring in three rookies to an NBA team, so the Hornets could go for two better ones by trading up. That would give them a starting lineup of (eventually, since Bailey or Edgecombe might not be ready for that immediately) LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, VJ Edgecombe/Ace Bailey, Naz Reid, and Mark Williams.

Their bench would be stronger, too, with Nick Smith Jr., Jusuf Nurkic, Moussa Diabate, Josh Okogie, Tidjane Salaun, Drake Powell, and the players they got back in the Green and Bridges trades. This revamps the roster enough that it won't be like running it back with the same awful 19-win roster, but it's not a complete overhaul that an NBA team would never do. That said, this is still fairly unrealistic.

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