The Boston Celtics are coming off a season that saw them make the Eastern Conference Finals. Along with the talented young core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, and a solid veteran group of Gordon Hayward, Daniel Theis, and Enes Kanter, the Celtics were been bolstered by their big offseason addition of Kemba Walker. The four-time all-star joined the Green last summer following a sign-and-trade with the Charlotte Hornets, who Walker had spent the first eight years of his career. Despite the ability to offer Walker, who was vocal about wanting to stay in Charlotte, even if it was on a smaller deal, a supermax deal worth $221 million, the Hornets reportedly offered Walker under $160 million, prompting the team's star to depart. It was the end of a story that saw Charlotte waste the best player in the franchise's history and end up with close to nothing to show for it. How did we get here?
2011 Offseason
This story begins on June 23, 2011. The then-Charlotte Bobcats found themselves with the 9th in the 2011 draft, which they'd use to select Kemba Walker, the star out of Connecticut who had just led the Huskies to a National Championship. The Bobcats were coming off a poor season where they went 34-48 and were looking to blow it up and rebuild, which included a new general manager in Rich Cho, and Walker would be a great base to build off of. The Bobcats would also hold the 19th pick in the draft, and used it to select Tobias Harris. Harris has gone on to become a borderline all-star in the league and would be someone who could strengthen the young core the Bobcats were trying to build. However, as part of their rebuild, the Bobcats sent top scorer Stephen Jackson to the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade also with the Sacramento Kings. As part of that trade, Tobias Harris was sent to the Bucks, receiving a talented veteran in Corey Maggette and 6th pick Bismack Biyombo. They'd also draft Jeremy Tyler with the 39th pick, three picks ahead of a solid role player, and a three-point specialist in Dāvis Bertāns. Due to the NBA lockout, the season and free agency were delayed until December, where the Bobcats failed to make any significant signings, the best being Reggie Williams and Derrick Brown. The Bobcats would also trade a second-round pick for the little-used Byron Mullens (from THE Ohio State University) from Oklahoma City Thunder.
2011-12 Season
The 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats are arguably the worst team to ever step foot on an NBA court. A rookie Kemba Walker played well but didn't dazzle, averaging 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. Outside of Walker, Gerald Henderson was arguably the best player on the team, but that's not saying much, averaging a then career-high 15.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Corey Maggette was still good, averaging 15 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, but nowhere near the player he was with both the Clippers and the Warriors. Their offseason additions of Mullens, Williams, and Brown were solid off the bench, but not earth-shaking. Boris Diaw, who was a quality veteran the previous season, regressed harshly and would be waived before the season's end. DJ Augustin, another young point guard, also regressed from a solid season the previous year. Tyrus Thomas would also regress from the previous year after a strong season. And Bismack Biyombo had a rough rookie season, averaging 5.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. All of these lackluster stats translated to the court, as the team posted a record of 7-59 in the lockout-shortened season. It's the worst winning percentage in the history of the league. Unsurprisingly, only three of the 16 players on the roster during this season (10 of which were 25 or younger) are still in the league right now.
2012 Offseason
After posting the worst winning percentage in NBA history, the Bobcats unsurprisingly let go of head coach Paul Silas, who ended his Bobcats tenure with a record of 32-88 (a winning percentage of .266.) Two months later, the Bobcats hired Silas' replacement in Mike Dunlap, a first-time head coach in the NBA coming off a stint as an assistant at St. John's, but had been a successful head coach in Australia's National Basketball League and in the NCAA Division II with Metro State. Days before the draft, the Bobcats would also make another big move, sending the regressing Corey Maggette to the Detroit Pistons for a first-round pick and Ben Gordon. Gordon, once one of the league's brightest young stars and a former 6th Man of the Year, had fallen off after signing a massive five-year, $55-$60 million deal, which the Bobcats were now saddled with.
Come the 2012 draft, the lottery would not fall in the Bobcats favor, as they ended up with the 2nd pick, denying them the top prize and one of the best players in the NBA today in Anthony Davis. Their consolation prize...Davis' Kentucky teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Kidd-Gilchrist was a top prospect coming out of high school and college but would disappoint in the NBA. The Bobcats picked MKG, passing on 3rd pick and future all-star Bradley Beal and 7th pick Harrison Barnes. Damian Lillard was also available, but that can be forgiven due to already having Kemba Walker. The Bobcats would also use the 31st pick to select Jeff Taylor, who would be out of the league in three years, and passed on future all-star and Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green at 35. Free agency saw the departure of DJ Augustin, who departed for the Indiana Pacers. Replacing him is Ramon Sessions, who was coming off a solid season and a half with the Cleveland Cavaliers and half a season with the Los Angeles Lakers. But aside from veteran big man Brendan Haywood, there were no other notable free-agent signings.
2012-13 Season
While there was nowhere to go but up from last season, the Charlotte Bobcats still had a disaster of a season. The season started off well enough, as they went 7-5 to start, already matching their win total from last season. Kemba Walker had a strong sophomore season, averaging 17.7 points and 5.7 assists per game and establishing himself as the best player on the team. Gerald Henderson continued to play well, averaging 15.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, while Ramon Sessions provided a strong veteran presence off the bench with 14.4 points and 3.8 assists per game. However, the Bobcats' good fortune ends there. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was decent, averaging 9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, but not what you'd want out of the #2 pick. Ben Gordon was also fine, averaging 11.2 points point per game, but not worth the team-high $12.4 million the Bobcats were paying him. Byron Mullens can score a bit, but he's inefficient, shooting under 40% from the field. Brendan Haywood can't do much anymore while Tyrus Thomas wasn't any better. And Bismack Biyombo, unlike Walker, continued to play poorly in his second season, averaging just 4.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. After their decent start, the Bobcats immediately lost 18-straight games to fall to drop to 7-23. The Bobcats would win just 14 games for the rest of the season, ending the year with a 21-61 record, the second-worst record in both the Eastern Conference and the league.
2013 Offseason
Mike Dunlap's Bobcats' coaching career was not long for this world, as was fired shortly after the season ended. Replacing him was Steve Clifford, a long time assistant coach coming off a season as a Lakers' assistant. Once again, the lottery was not kind to the Bobcats, as they fell from the second pick to the fourth pick in the 2013 draft. The team would use the 4th pick to select Cody Zeller, a decent player, and likely the best selection they realistically could've made. Free agency would actually see the Bobcats make a pretty big move. Along with re-signing Gerald Henderson, the Bobcats added Al Jefferson to the squad. Jefferson, while never a top player in the league, was a strong scorer and borderline all-star, something the Bobcats needed, but was also 29 at the time.
2013-14 Season
I don't think anyone saw this coming. After two straight seasons of hanging around the bottom of the standings, the Charlotte Bobcats came through big. Kemba Walker continued to play well, averaging 17.7 points and 6.1 assists per game, while Al Jefferson proved to be a bigger get than anyone imagined. Jefferson would have his best season since his early seasons in Minnesota, averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, a performance that would earn him an All-NBA third-team selection. Along with Walker & Jefferson's quality play, Gerald Henderson continued to play well, averaging 14 points and 4 rebounds per game, while a midseason trade brought in Gary Neal, who played well off the bench. The season wasn't without its hiccups, though. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was still very underwhelming, averaging just 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while Cody Zeller followed suit, averaging 6 points and 4.3 rebounds to disappoint as a top 5 pick. Ben Gordon has gone from a decent back-up to a complete black hole on offense, shooting under 35% from the field and only appearing in 19 games before being waived. Going back to Bobcats' recent draft picks, Bismack Biyombo...where to start. 2.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Just awful.
Despite this, the Bobcats would not only greatly improve from the previous year, but actually went 43-39, a 22-win improvement from last year and good enough to grab the seventh seed in the playoffs, just the second playoff run in the franchises' history. Unfortunately, the good times wouldn't last long, as the Bobcats were matched up with the defending champion Miami Heat. It was easy pickings, as the Heat swept the Bobcats, with the Bobcats only losing by less than 10 once in the series. Walker & Jefferson had strong performances in the series, but it wasn't enough. But there's hope and a base to build around.
2014 Offseason
Before the draft, the Bobcats officially rebranded, bringing back the Charlotte Hornets name for the first time since the original team moved to New Orleans in 2002. The team's first act as the Hornets was to bomb hard in the draft. The Hornets found themselves with the 9th pick from the Pistons thanks to the Ben Gordon trade. They use that pick to select Noah Vonleh, four picks ahead of Zach LaVine, and five ahead of Bubble God TJ Warren. They'd also have the Trail Blazers' 24th pick thanks to the Gerald Wallace trade in 2011. They'd use that pick to select Shabazz Napier, a quality point guard. Unfortunately, LeBron James was also a big fan of Napier, so the Heat made the trade with the Hornets in a failed attempt to get James to resign. The Hornets got a package including 26th pick PJ Hairston, who would be out of the league in three years. Had they kept that pick, however, they could've picked 25th pick Clint Capela. Then came the 45th pick, which the Hornets used to select Dwight Powell, another solid role player. They'd trade him the next day to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Alonzo Gee, who would never play a game for the team. And to make matters worse, the Hornets' original pick, which they had traded in 2010 for Tyrus Thomas, became the 16th pick Jusuf Nurkić. An F rating might be generous for this performance.
Free agency in 2014 wasn't the strongest but it would see the Hornets have another (relatively) big free-agent signing, as they added professional LeBron James-irritant Lance Stephenson, who was coming off the best season of his career, to the squad. They'd also add veteran big man Marvin Williams to the team. Unfortunately, the Hornets would say goodbye to Josh McRoberts, who had a decent season with the team, this same offseason. So, with a poor draft performance (in hindsight) combined with a decent enough outing in free agency, would the Charlotte Hornets be able to build off last season's playoff run and continue to establish themselves as a strong Eastern Conference team.
2014-15 Season
No. No, they wouldn't. Kemba Walker seemed to stunt as a player, averaging 17.3 points and 5.1 assists per game. Al Jefferson, one season removed from his All-NBA third-team selection, regressed significantly, averaging 16.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Gerald Henderson was fine but also regressing from his best years. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finally had a good year, averaging 10.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, but he's still an underwhelming pick at #2. Gary Neal failed to replicate his strong performances from the small sample size he had last season, and he'd be traded midseason to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade for Troy Daniels and Mo Williams. Both would play well for the Hornets, but neither would be on the team by the end of 2016.
Speaking of underperforming, Lance Stephenson, who averaged just 8.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, shot below 40% from the field and didn't defend like he did in Indiana. Marvin Williams would also disappoint compared to how he'd played in the prior years. Cody Zeller is still progressing slowly for a top-five pick. Noah Vonleh would barely see the court due to injuries and stints in the D-League, while Bismack Biyombo played just as poorly as he has since he came into the league. Just a bad season overall for the team, and their record shows. It wasn't all bad, as the team locked down Walker with a four-year, $48 million extension, but this season can only be seen as a bust. The Hornets went 33-49 on the year, a 10-win decrease from last season and putting them at 11th in the East.
2015 Offseason
The 2015 offseason started with the Hornets wasting no time making trades. Lance Stephenson was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes, while Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh were sent to the Portland Trail Blazers for Nicolas Batum. The 2015 draft presented the Hornets with a huge opportunity for the future. The Hornets held the 9th pick, which drew the attention of the Boston Celtics, who had their eyes set on Duke's Justise Winslow. They reportedly wanted Winslow so bad that they were willing to offer six draft picks, four of which were future first-rounders, to move up from 16th to 9th in the draft. The Hornets said no.
Instead, they'd select Frank Kaminsky with the 9th pick, two picks ahead of 11th pick Myles Turner and four ahead of future all-star and 13th pick Devin Booker. While it's never been specified what picks they were (as the Celtics had a boatful of them thanks to the infamous Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce trade) or what kind of protections there were, the possibility that the Hornets could've gotten the picks the Celtics used to select Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum or put them in position to select guys like Pascal Siakam, Kyle Kuzma, or Derrick White is a total gut punch to Hornets fans. They'd also use the 39th pick to select Juan Pablo Vaulet, who they'd trade for two second-round picks, over 40th pick Josh Richardson. On draft night, they'd also trade Matt Barnes to the Memphis Grizzlies for Luke Ridnour, who they'd send to the Thunder for Jeremy Lamb. Free agency would see the Hornets go out and find Walker a veteran back-up in Jeremy Lin. While the days of Linsanity were pretty far gone at this point, Lin was still a quality player and a decent addition to the team. The Hornets would also sign college basketball star turned struggling NBA big man Tyler Hansbrough to the squad. They'd also let Bismack Biyombo walk in free agency to the disappointment of nobody. Not a single person.
2015-16 Season
Following their disappointing outing the previous year, the Hornets came back with a vengeance and put together another surprisingly quality season. Kemba Walker had his best season at the time, averaging 20.9 points and 5.2 assists per game, and is starting to look like a future all-star. Nicolas Batum would also have the best season of his career, averaging 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. Marvin Williams bounced back and had his best season in a long time, averaging 11.7 and 6.4 rebounds per game. Finally, Jeremy Lin was a solid back-up point guard, averaging 11.7 points and three assists per game.
There were some rough spots for the team. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist separated his shoulder in a preseason game, causing him to miss the first four months of the season. Seven games after returning, during which he posted a solid 12.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, Kidd-Gilchrist would tear the labrum in the same shoulder and be out for the rest of the season. Al Jefferson has continued to regress, averaging 12 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. That's a decent stat line, but not what you want out of the highest-paid player on the team. Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky both struggled and underwhelmed, neither playing up to the level of the draft picks they were selected with. Jeremy Lamb wasn't anything special, averaging 8.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Their other addition via-offseason trade, Spencer Hawes, was even worse, averaging just six points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Despite those struggles, the Hornets had a big improvement from the previous down year. The team went 48-34, a 15-win improvement from the previous year and good enough to lock down the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference and a spot in the playoffs. In the first round of the playoffs, the Hornets would be matched up against the Miami Heat, the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs two years ago. However, with LeBron James returning to Cleveland, the Hornets had a legit shot of advancing to the second round. After dropping the first two games with the Heat winning by double digits each time, the Hornets rebounded with a 96-80 win in Game 3, which was followed by two narrow victories to give the Hornets a 3-2 series lead, just one game away from the second round. Unfortunately, the Heat pulled out a close victory in Game 6 before running rough shot over the Hornets in Game 7, winning 106-73 and eliminating the Hornets. But hey, they made the playoffs, they almost made it to the second round, and they almost won 50 games. There's something to build off of.
2016 Offseason
The 2016 draft saw the Hornets use the 22nd pick to select Malachi Richardson, five picks ahead of the 27th pick, and future all-star Pascal Siakam. Free agency would see the Hornets lose key players in their rotation, as Jeremy Lin would sign with the Brooklyn Nets while Al Jefferson would leave for the Indiana Pacers. Another player who was a free agent was Nicolas Batum, who had just had the best season of his career. Not wanting to let him go to another team, the Hornets offered him a five-year, $120 million deal. In what is now considered one of the worst contracts in the NBA today, maybe even of the decade, Batum has regressed to the point where, in 2020, he averaged just 3.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and three assists per game, shot below 35% from the field, and barely found the court. Marvin Williams would also sign a multi-year deal to stick with the team. Replacing Jefferson & Lin were the returning Ramon Sessions and Roy Hibbert. Hibbert was a former all-star and All-Defensive second team member but was two years removed from his disastrous 2014 playoff run where he posted four-scoreless games and had fallen off significantly since then. Additionally, they'd also sign little-used big man Christian Wood. Finally, the Hornets opted to send their draft pick Malachi Richardson to the Sacramento Kings for veteran sharpshooter Marco Bellinelli.
2016-17 Season
And back down to mediocrity the Hornets go. After an up-and-down three years, Charlotte experienced another down year after posting their best record since coming back into the league in 2004. It wasn't all bad, though. Kemba Walker had another standout year, averaging 23.2 points and 5.5 assists per game, and was named an all-star reserve, the first Charlotte Hornet since Gerald Wallace to earn a selection. Nicolas Batum improved on the previous year, averaging 15.1 points 6.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. While that might not be worth the $20.9 million he was making that year, that's still a solid stat line. Future seasons would not be as good, to put it politely. Marco Belinelli had a solid season off the bench, while Frank Kaminsky & Cody Zeller both had decent seasons, and while Zeller's 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds might not be ideal for a 4th round pick, it's still a step in the right direction.
However, the downs of this disappointing season are also very present. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is still not playing up to the status of a #2 pick, averaging 9.7 points and seven rebounds per game. Jeremy Lamb was also underwhelming, averaging 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert both disappointed, and they'd be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Miles Plumlee, aka the worse Plumlee. Ramon Sessions also played poorly, as he was leaning towards the end of his career and nowhere near worth the $6 million the team paid him. And Christian Wood struggled to find playing time with the Hornets. He wouldn't play another game with the team beyond this season and, in 2020, is a solid young role player in the league. The team would end the year going 36-46, a 12-win decrease from last year that put them at 11th in the East.
2017 Offseason
The 2017 offseason would see the team find Kemba Walker arguably his best teammate when he traded Marco Belinelli, Miles Plumlee, and a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Dwight Howard and a second-round pick. While Howard was far from the high-caliber player he was in Orlando, he was still a quality player. Come the draft, the Hornets used the 11th pick to select Malik Monk ahead of 13th pick Donovan Mitchell and 14th pick Bam Adebayo, both of whom have become all-stars. They'd also select Frank Jackson with the 31st pick, only to trade him to the New Orleans Pelicans for 40th pick Dwayne Bacon. Free agency was relatively quiet for Charlotte. Their only notable free-agent signing would be Michael Carter-Williams, the former Rookie of the Year who had fallen off hard due to injuries.
2017-18 Season
After making a relatively big move this offseason, the Hornets were likely hoping for a big jump in wins. That didn't happen. But let's start with the positives. Kemba Walker had another all-star season, averaging 22.1 points and 5.6 assists per game. Dwight Howard had his best season in a long time, averaging 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. Jeremy Lamb had a solid season for himself, averaging 12.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. And Frank Kaminsky had another decent season, averaging 11.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
On the downside, Cody Zeller would miss the majority of the year due to injuries. Nicolas Batum had a decent season, averaging 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, but was regressing and putting up numbers nowhere near good enough to be paid $20 million a year. A midseason trade brought in the underutilized (and Basketball Section favorite) Willy Hernangómez from the New York Knicks...who the Hornets would proceed to underutilize. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is still underwhelming, as usual. Malik Monk played poorly, averaging just 6.7 points per game while shooting below 40% from the field, and would end up spending time in the G-League. And speaking of playing poorly...Michael Carter-Williams. The former Rookie of the Year would average just 4.6 points and 2.2 assists per game, shot just 33% from the field and 24% from three-point range, and would spend time in the G-League before he suffered a posterior labral tear in his left shoulder. The Hornets finished the year 36-46, the same record from last year, and putting them 10th in the East. With the lack of improvement, it was unsurprising that general manager Rich Cho was let go midseason and replaced with former Lakers' general manager Mitch Kupchak.
2018 Offseason
With the general manager, goes the coach, as Steve Clifford was let go after five seasons, ending his Bobcats/Hornets career with a record of 196-214 (.478) and a playoff record of 3-8. Replacing him is James Borrego, a longtime assistant coach who's only head-coaching experience was as an interim coach for the Orlando Magic in 2015. Come the draft, the Hornets would use the 11th pick to select Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the league's brightest rising young stars and the clear best player the Hornets could've picked in hindsight...it's just a shame they traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers for 12th pick Miles Bridges and two second-round picks. Along with drafting international prospect Arnoldas Kulboka with the 55th pick, the Hornets would also send a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for Devonte' Graham. I won't cover it in this post, but Graham is arguably the best player on the Hornets today. However, this trade could come back to bite them, as that pick turned into Bol Bol, but I digress. The free agency period saw the Hornets trade Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets for Hamidou Diallo & Timofey Mozgov, who would both be traded for...not much. The Mozgov trade did bring back Bismack Biyombo from the Magic...because that's what they needed. The team would also bring in a veteran point guard and former all-star and Finals MVP Tony Parker.
2018-19 Season
This was the final year of Kemba Walker's contract. While Walker has said that he wants to stay in Charlotte, a good-year and a potential playoff run would just be more of a reason for Walker, the best player in the history of the franchise, to stick around. One person who was committed to keeping the Hornets strong...Kemba Walker, who posted a career-best 25.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game on route to becoming a three-time all-star. Jeremy Lamb also had a career year, averaging 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Cody Zeller rebounded from injury and had a decent year, maybe not one you'd want from a 4th overall pick, but still decent. Unfortunately, that's where the good ends for the Hornets this season.
Nicolas Batum has regressed big time, averaging just 9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. He was making $24 million to post those numbers. Another big earner on the Hornets was Bismack Biyombo, who made $17 million to average just 4.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Tony Parker was far from the player he used to be and averaged just 9.5 points and 3.7 assists per game. Frank Kaminsky seemed to regress from his solid play the last couple of seasons. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, once again, had a disappointing season. As did Malik Monk, who once again shot under 40% from the field, and Miles Bridges, who by his own admission played like ass. In the end, the Hornets ended the year 39-43, a three-win improvement over the last two seasons but not enough to get them into the playoffs.
2019 Offseason
The 2019 offseason began with the draft, where they select PJ Washington with the 12th pick, Cody Martin with the 36th pick, and Jalen McDaniels with the 52nd pick. But that wasn't the key to this offseason. The key was simple...re-signing Kemba Walker. They had the ability to offer Walker a supermax deal worth $220 million. Even then, Walker was willing to take less if it meant helping the Hornets build a stronger team. It was a perfect situation for them...and they blew it sky-high.
On July 6th, the Boston Celtics acquired Kemba Walker through a sign-and-trade with the Hornets. And we've come full circle. The Hornets reportedly offered Walker a deal worth less than $160 million. The best player in the history of the franchise...and they low balled him. They did receive Celtics' backup Terry Rozier in the deal, but that doesn't match up to Walker.
In Conclusion
Kemba Walker is the best player the Charlotte Hornets have ever had. At the very least, he's the best player the team has had since they came back into the league in 2004. He was a humble, loyal player on a small market team who was willing to take less than the supermax if it meant the small market team he played for had more cap space to build a stronger team. And what did they do? They low balled him and lost him in the process, and now look where we are. Walker is one of the best players on a team that's fighting for a spot in the NBA Finals, while the Hornets are a middle of the pack team with no direction, stocked with young, raw prospects and veterans who eat up cap space. Sure, they have Devonte' Graham and PJ Washington, and Malik Monk and Miles Bridges are starting to come into their own, they're still looking like a team that will consistently come up short when it comes to locking down a playoff spot, stuck in a position where they're too good to secure a top pick but too bad to compete in the playoffs if they make it there at all.
But what about when they had Walker? How did build around him? Terribly, that's how. Including the year Walker was selected, the Hornets had 16 draft picks they used. None of them became all-stars, while six players that were drafted within five picks later that became all-stars. That doesn't even include players Zach LaVine, Harrison Barnes, Jusuf Nurkić, and TJ Warren. The two best players the Hornets drafted, Tobias Harris and Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, were both traded without ever playing a game for the Hornets and are now borderline all-stars. The Hornets are arguably just as bad at drafting as the Sacramento Kings. Free agency was a bit kinder to the Hornets than the Kings, but they still struggled to surround Walker with quality talent. Their best signings, Al Jefferson and Dwight Howard, were either at the end of their primes or well past it. The others were other well-past their veterans or expendable role players, with a few bright spots that quickly fizzled out like Ben Gordon or Nicolas Batum.
The Hornets had one of the best point guards in the NBA. They failed to build around him for years, and even that wasn't enough to drive him right into the arms of a big market team. And even then, they disrespected him when they could offer him more money than anyone, and they got exactly what they deserved.
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