Why the Hornets' Rebuild Isn't Going to Work Out Like the Thunder's

The Charlotte Hornets have often been compared in their rebuild to the Oklahoma City Thunder in theirs. They are an up-and-coming team with very young pieces and a truthfully ridiculous horde of draft picks to work with in the next seven years.

Obviously, no one expects the Hornets to become title contenders as the Thunder did, and there's a good reason for that. It's the same reason the Hornets' rebuild isn't going to work out quite like Oklahoma City's did, and it's ultimately just a bit of luck.

The Hornets made their blockbuster trade to get more draft picks and a player by trading LaMelo Ball for Naz Reid and a 2033 first-round pick (among other things). The Thunder traded Paul George for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and picks.

Those are functionally the same move. The Thunder and Hornets were admitting that they didn't believe they could reach NBA title heights with their respective players, so they traded the superstars.

The difference is in the return and how lucky the Thunder got. The Hornets got Naz Reid, while the Thunder got SGA. He was a young, unproven player who morphed into an MVP. Reid is not that. He's not young, not unproven, and he doesn't have a leap in him as a player.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket defended by Charlotte Hornets guard Sion James | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That is ultimately what turned the Thunder into contenders. They landed a future MVP, and the Hornets did not. No one could've predicted this for Gilgeous-Alexander, but that's what happened, and it's not really replicable.

The draft picks have helped the Thunder, but having the MVP on your roster is about as much of a title boost as any team can have. The Hornets don't have that, which makes their climb a little steeper.

They are hoping that Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel, both top-five picks in the draft, can develop into superstars, but it's unlikely there's anyone in the world who believes anyone on the Hornets' roster is a future MVP like Gilgeous-Alexander was.

That's not to fault the Hornets for their attempt at a rebuild. The vast majority of rebuilds are slow and take time, and they do not yield future MVPs in trades. The Thunder lucked out on that one, because pretty much every other trade to kick off a rebuild in modern NBA history didn't work out like that.

The Hornets are still on the right track (mostly), but don't expect it to work out as it did in Oklahoma City.

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