The Biggest Free Agent Mistakes in Charlotte Hornets History

The Charlotte Hornets haven’t been major players in NBA Free Agency over the years, opting instead to build through trades and the draft. That said, they’ve still managed to make major mistakes when it comes to putting pen to paper.

Here are four of the worst.

Tyrus Thomas, five years, 40-million dollars

Arguably, the one that started it all, but you can’t put all the blame on Charlotte management for getting it wrong. Acquired in a trade in 2010, Thomas performed well, scoring ten points a contest while grabbing six rebounds. In fact, he appeared to have done all the right things to earn himself another deal in the Queen City. But here, looks were deceiving. The then Bobcats made the playoffs in 2010 but never returned when Thomas was still with the team. Injuries played a big factor in limiting him to just 121 games between 2011 and 2013. He wouldn’t even make it to the end of his deal, as he was released in 2013, never to be seen again in NBA arenas.

Nicolas Batum, five years, 120-million dollars

To be fair, a lot of teams were interested in the versatile forward’s services back in 2016. Leave it to the Hornets to get stuck with this dud of a deal. While he did average 15 and 6 in his first year with the franchise, Batum’s numbers took a nosedive the following season and never recovered. Batum ended up on the bench before he was waived at the start of the 2020 season. To his credit, he’s still hanging on to his NBA career.

Terry Rozier, three years, 57-million dollars

The ramifications of this signing are still felt, not only within the team but also in the entire league due to Rozier’s ongoing legal situation for allegedly being involved in an illegal gambling scheme. Back in 2019, the Hornets were in a bit of a crisis with fellow guard Kemba Walker leaving town for the Celtics. This came after Charlotte allegedly low-balled Walker on a new deal. Rather than circle back, the Hornets changed course with a sign-and-trade to land Rozier, Boston’s backup. In his four-plus years with Charlotte, Rozier put up his best career numbers, averaging 20 points a contest, but during Terry’s time in Buzz City, the Hornets never made the playoffs.

Gordon Hayward, four years, 120-million dollars:

Of course, the Hornets' lack of success during that period wasn’t all on Terry. There was an even more costly blunder in that same era (or error) in the form of another sign-and-trade with Hayward in the summer of 2020. Even then, league insiders felt Charlotte overspent on a veteran forward, who was still returning to form as he was almost three years removed from a fractured tibia at the start of the 2017-2018 season. Injuries followed Hayward for the remainder of his career as he never played more than 50 games through the course of a single season. His modest 16 points per game average wasn’t helping his cause either.

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