The Charlotte Hornets apparently have a young star in LaMelo Ball. Adding a complementary roster around him should be the number one goal of the front office right now – and it looks like CEO Mitch Kupchak is doing his best to achieve that goal, adding several interesting things that should help Ball maximize his skills. coming season.
Charlotte Hornets: Karl-Anthony Towns would be the ideal business target
Creating the ideal business target for the Hornets isn’t exactly a simple task. Being in a small market significantly reduces the list of “tradable” stars.
One of the most important aspects of a trade involving Charlotte would be the length of the contract left to the player for whom the trade is being made. Put simply, the Hornets should trade for a player with over 2.5 years on his contract, rather than bringing in a star on an expiring deal (ex: trading for Ben Simmons would be more favorable than trading for Bradley Beal. , since Simmons has four years left on his contract under Beal’s expiring agreement).
Additionally, the ideal business target for the Hornets should likely be a frontline player. There’s nothing wrong with having an elite backcourt suit that includes LaMelo Ball – but getting a frontcourt player who could be the target of lobs would also be really captivating.
There are really only a few players who can be acquired in the short term for the Hornets – and they’ll have to be careful of who becomes available. That said, Karl-Anthony Towns does the trick.
Towns, the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise player for the past few seasons, has experienced all kinds of turmoil and recently spoke out about it at a press conference.
Now, I don’t want to describe this as a request from Towns out of Minnesota – because he didn’t. He has stated in the past how he wants to build something with the Timberwolves – and things have (at least slightly) improved over the past year with the additions of D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards.
That said, I want to point out that Towns is more likely to ask for a trade than other stars. As someone who has covered the Timberwolves, I can tell they’re not exactly a well-run organization.
Speaking more of the fit on the pitch with Towns, his combination with LaMelo Ball would be just amazing. What Towns does well is bring a hyper-modern perimeter skill set offensively – that encourages spacing, off-ball movement, and hasn’t exactly been built well in Minnesota.
Let’s say the Hornets dispatch a few assets (for this exercise we’ll say Terry Rozier, PJ Washington and several future picks) for Towns. A possible long-term starting lineup could be Ball / Bouknight / Hayward / Bridges / Towns.
* Note: The package mentioned here would definitely not be the actual offer, it’s unclear if the Timberwolves would want any winning coins or future assets.
This range… well, it’s pretty good! While the Ball / Hayward / Towns trio might not be the Eastern Conference champions, it would certainly push Charlotte to the top level of the conference – and make the surrounding plays for the Hornets much more important.
You see, Towns has only made the playoffs once in his career – the Jimmy Butler season. He hasn’t had great rosters in the past – it would be one of the most talented teams he’s played for – and would dramatically change the course of the franchise for the Charlotte Hornets.
That’s not to say that a Karl-Anthony Towns trade is necessary for the Hornets – but if the team is to move all-in on LaMelo Ball and his potential, securing a second star should be the top priority for the team in this regard. moment – and keeping an eye on Towns’ status in Minnesota is essential.
