In order to completely understand the moves a team makes the timeline of events must be listed as well.

Pre Draft

• Waive Davis Bertans partially guaranteed contract saving 10.75 million in salary

• Waive Aleksej Pokusevski's non guaranteed contract

Draft

• Trade Cody Martin, Seth Curry, a future FRP swap and Pick 6 to the Kings for Kevin Huerter and Pick 13.

  • Explanation: The drop off from 6 to 13 isn't much so adding a known shooter with size and a future swap is a good return for the Hornets.

• Pick 13 the Hornets select Stephon Castle

• Pick 42 the Hornets select Baylor Scheierman

  • Explanation: Castle falls out of the top 10 and Hornets luck into a guy they would have considered at 6. His size and defense pair nicely with Lamelo and Miller for their future.

Free Agency

• After losing Miles Bridges the Hornets go out and pay for a replacement in Tobias Harris. They sign him to a 3 year 75 million dollar deal with a player option in the final year.

• Sign Baylor Scheierman to a 4 year deal with the final 2 years being team options.

• Sign Dario Saric using the room MLE to a 3 year 21 million dollar deal with the final year being a team option.

Start of Season

Starting lineup:

• Lamelo Ball

• Kevin Huerter

• Brandon Miller

• Tobias Harris

• Mark Williams

The bench is a bit of a mix with Micic being an experienced playmaker and Castle being a rookie. The wing depth is improved with Grant Williams off the bench and Baylor Scheierman getting immediate minutes. Nick Richards still does a great job off the bench rebounding.

During the season

As expected the team isn't winning a lot but they are much improved from last year. The shooting brings a great offense but the defense is bottom 5 in the league. They're able to beat anyone on any given night but only pace out to win 22 games on the year. Great year by Miller gives hope to stardom and Lamelo staying healthy helps the team see a path for greatness in the near future.