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.