The Hornets bench desperately needs an overhaul to be competitive

The Hornets need to start over on the bench unit. Again.

Apr 9, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr. (8) passes against Toronto Raptors guard A.J. Lawson (0) during the third quarter at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Gone are the days of seeing big minutes from Bryce McGowens, JT Thor, and Brad Wanamaker. The Charlotte Hornets no longer need to rely on players who are probably not even NBA-level to fill out their bench. Right? Wrong.

Those days may be gone, but the bench unit is still not good. And in many instances last year (because of injuries), the starting unit was not good because those players were pushed into those spots. They may not have McGowens, Thor, and Wanamaker playing a lot, but they still have players who have no business getting all these minutes.

For the sake of this article, let's say Tre Mann re-signs. That would give the Hornets a primary bench unit of Mann, KJ Simpson, Nick Smith Jr., DaQuan Jeffries, Moussa Diabate, Jusuf Nurkic, Josh Okogie, Tidjane Salaun, and Damion Baugh.

A competitive NBA team, not even necessarily a good one, would probably have Mann, Okogie, Diabate, Nurkic, and maybe Smith Jr. in their rotation.

Jan 29, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Josh Okogie (12) drives to the basket against Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson (45) during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Hornets have neither depth nor talent off the bench. Sure, Smith Jr. and Simpson could take leaps since they got to start a lot before they otherwise would've been considered. Salaun, who is still extremely young, could develop, too, and he also got a lot of minutes he otherwise probably shouldn't have.

Those players can get better and become crucial bench cogs, but the Hornets can't necessarily guarantee that. It would be a bit of a surprise if those three players became good NBA bench players and not just Hornets bench players.

The Hornets need an overhaul on the bench if they aim to be competitive next year. It's clear that they can't rely on LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, and Brandon Miller to all stay healthy. When one of them goes down, the Hornets desperately need someone who can step up and play. Preferably, it would be someone who deserves minutes, not someone who gets them because there's no one else.

The path to getting that is not clear, though. The Hornets have virtually no money in free agency. Any trades they do are most likely going to send decent players out as opposed to bringing them in. Maybe the hypothetical leaps of those recent draft picks are all Charlotte can hope for.

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