What Does the Charlotte Hornets' Worst-Case Scenario Look Like?

Five factors that could hinder the Hornets next season

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Being pessimistic is neither fun nor always useful, but sometimes it's needed to evaluate the possible future of an NBA team like the Charlotte Hornets.

So, without further ado, let's take a critical look at the problems Charles Lee's squad could face next year.

1. Knueppel and Miller can't handle the higher usage

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Barely anyone will expect Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, who now lead this team in the absence of LaMelo Ball, to be able to recreate the former in the aggregate. They are, of course, wholly different players from Ball, who lack the passing skills and handles that Ball provided.

What many people, including the Hornets' front office and staff, do expect is a significant improvement for the duo. That especially pertains to the moments when they have the ball in their hands, of which there will be many more than last year.

According to databallr.com, last season LaMelo Ball had the ball in his hands 42% of the time when he was on the court and the Hornets had possession, one of the highest marks in the NBA. Miller comes in at 20.8%, and Knueppel trails even further behind with 13.5%.

Those numbers for Miller and Knueppel will undoubtedly rise. It's very possible that it will take them a year or more to adjust to the bigger load.

The rookies cannot contribute

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Hornets faithful should know not to read too much into Summer League performances (Victor Wembanyama went 2 of 13 from the field against Charlotte in his first-ever Summer League game), but it's also fair to take something from those games.

For the Hornets' rookies Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr., that something could look fairly similar. They took some time to find their footing, but played much better toward the end, with Steinbach especially making his mark.

They also each have distinct weaknesses that realistically could keep them from contributing in a positive way in this upcoming season.

Steinbach has questions surrounding his defense and positioning, plus an offensive skill set that is so versatile it's almost hard to figure out exactly how to use him best.

Anderson Jr. has never been an impactful player on the boards, will have to fight to hold up defensively, and in the very small and very much not reliable Summer League sample size, he struggled adapting to the NBA's three-point range.

There is also a lot of good to the German duo, and they each have a lot of upside and promise. But it's certainly not set in stone that they'll be useful immediately.

Coby White isn't good enough of an initiator

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Even if you believe in Knueppel and Miller making significant self-creation jumps offensively, they certainly won't turn into primary table setters overnight. Dennis Schröder will help to some extent, but he's no ball-handling wiz at this stage of his career.

The biggest burden falls on Coby White, who will replace LaMelo Ball as the starting point guard. The 26-year-old has handled bigger loads before, both as a starter during his Chicago days and as a backup for the Hornets since coming over via trade recently.

His passing and assist numbers have always been fine, and when watching him play, you'll often see him complete passes that would be fitting for someone who averages six or more assists.

But alas, White has never come close to reaching that mark over the course of a whole season, even though he had a considerable amount of offensive (definitely not defensive) talent around him in Chicago.

For the Hornets' offense to work well again next season, the flashes of great passing need to become consistent, because the driving ability is definitely there.

Despite playing only 25.0 minutes per game last year, he averaged 11.5 drives and 6.2 points per drive on a solidly efficient 51.9% from the field.

Charlotte's end-of-bench youngsters stagnate

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We've talked about the rookies already in this article, so it's important to also bring the younger players into the picture who have already played one or more seasons for the Hornets.

That would be Liam McNeeley, Tidjane Salaün, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Sion James, all of whom have shown promise but also revealed some stark weaknesses throughout their young NBA careers.

For Kalkbrenner and James, it's safe to say that they are end-of-rotation NBA players. They proved that last season over a large enough sample size.

But it's also clear, both by their play last season and their Summer League performances, that they aren't exactly primed for bigger roles anytime soon.

Kalkbrenner can only be relied on in certain matchups, and even then, he still has ways to go as a rim protector and screen setter.

James, despite the Hornets' best efforts to develop that part of his game, hasn't shown that he can handle the ball efficiently at the NBA level. And his three-point shooting is also still somewhat in question.

That brings us to McNeeley and Salaün. The latter is physically ready to play in the NBA, without having proven that he can process the game fast enough so far.

McNeeley, on the other hand, looked like a more technically polished prospect in this year's Summer League, but is his body ready to hold up against NBA-level wings?

The point is that none of these players are primed to make a jump in minutes or output this year, apart from possibly Liam McNeeley, who was so unimportant last season that a jump wouldn't do much.

5. Naz Reid is "only" a great 6th man

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Everyone should be able to agree that Naz Reid was one of, if not the best, 6th men in the NBA over the past couple of years. His offensive output and leadership were a crucial part of the Timberwolves' teams that made deep playoff runs again and again.

For someone who almost played as many minutes as a starter, you might ask yourself what will change for Reid if the playtime he gets simply comes at different times of the game.

Of course, on one hand, there's the added mental pressure of being entrusted with a spot in a starting five. But also, the offensive and defensive matchups change.

Reid regularly closed games for the T-Wolves in recent years; he is definitely familiar with taking on tougher matchups. But from now on, he'll have to face that type of competition on a nightly basis.

There are no let-up games when the opponent's second unit lacks size. It'll be starter-level matchups night in and night out.

Even the Brooklyn Nets, who the Hornets will face in their first game of the season, have a starting power forward in Julius Randle who can put up 30+ points if he isn't being defended well.

Naz Reid doesn't need to be much better than he was for Minnesota. But he'll have to find a way to keep his level of production up against tougher defenders and more capable scorers.

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter for the latest news and updates on the Charlotte Hornets