The Charlotte Hornets are a team that lives and dies by the NBA Draft every single year, with the struggling franchise never being able to put it together consistently in order to compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Along with struggling year after year, the Hornets haven’t had much luck lately, with Charlotte finally getting a star to build around in LaMelo Ball, who has been injured every year with persistent ankle issues.
Fortunately for Charlotte, the team will get Ball back healthy for the start of the 2023-24 NBA season and were able to add another piece to the playoff puzzle in No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller.
Miller will have to prove himself next season in order to live up to expectations, but he may be the perfect sidekick for Ball in Charlotte that results in a playoff berth next season, which general manager Mitch Kupchak believes will happen, via Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
Mitch Kupchak: "I think we can be a playoff team this year."
He said he thinks the #Hornets have all the talent they need in the system. Mentioned they could possibly add a veteran and/or another ball-handling guard. pic.twitter.com/GYBLYCkLj7
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) July 19, 2023
Along with the addition of Miller, the Hornets will get Miles Bridges back in the fold next season, giving them a boost on both ends of the floor.
The Hornets also still have Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington, and Mark Williams to help round out the roster and get this team in the running to be a potential playoff squad in the Eastern Conference.
If Ball and company can put it all together next season, the very least they can hope for is a spot in the Play-in Tournament, and the best could be being a middle-of-the-pack team in the playoffs.
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