Hornets abandon their latest lottery selection following a flurry of transactions
The fact that five players—Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, and Davis Bertans—were added and two players—Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington—were shipped out—might go unnoticed in the examination of the Hornets’ two transactions on Thursday.
This indicated that a roster crunch of some type was imminent. And soon after the deadline, we learned that James Bouknight, the 11th overall selection in the 2021 draft, will be waived by the Hornets.
It’s a somber but fitting conclusion to a disastrous lottery decision that occurred just 2.5 years ago. Both of the Hornets’ selections from the top 20 of the 2021 draft have since been released by the
Although Bouknight was a talented young player coming out of UConn, he hasn’t been able to establish himself in Charlotte and hasn’t shown that he can play in the NBA at either end of the court.
This was exactly such a heinous instance of front-office mismanagement of resources and poor assessment. While it is pointless to linger on the past, the franchise’s current situation is mostly because they received nothing at all from the selection.
This action, which concluded a day in which the team genuinely turned over a new page and completely transitioned to a long-term breakdown and rebuild, was rather therapeutic. Leaving behind guys like Terry Rozier, Hayward, and Washington.
It’s well known that the Hornets’ new owners are eager to make changes in the front office. According to Charlotte Sports Live reporter Mike Lacett, the owners are in charge of today’s choices.
Although I detest the notion of ownership influencing basketball-related choices in general, this could be an uncommon exception. There was no justification for allowing a lame-duck front staff to decide on matters that were vital to the franchise’s survival.
It is evident from the owners’ signals that this is a new administration and a clean slate. They haven’t spent any time in trying to take advantage of whatever value that remains of the former regime’s failures
