Charlotte Hornets Roster 2021 Charlotte Hornets Roster

2021 Charlotte Hornets Roster Top Roster Questions

Replacing Kemba Walker

Replacing a player of Walker’s caliber is never easy. If you’re a major market team, you could’ve easily handed out some money to a Kyrie Irving or D’Angelo Russell but Charlotte isn’t that type of team. Instead, they signed Terry Rozier out of Boston for a massive three year, $58 million dollar contract. While this isn’t a good look on paper, the Hornets had no choice but to hand out this ridiculous amount for a bench player who played to prove his worth last year.

Rozier is by no doubt a good basketball player. But paying that much money for a guy who came off the bench for 9 points, 2.9 assists, and 3.9 rebounds last year is almost crazy. The Rozier deal is simply overpriced and there’s serious concerns about whether he’s really worth that contract. Nevertheless, the Hornets will get likely an average point guard that they’ll hope to groom into a 15 point scorer by the end of the year.

Who will take over as the face of the franchise?

With Kemba Walker now gone, who will take over as the franchise’s next star? Terry Rozier seems like the most viable candidate as he replaces Walker’s spot in the lineup but he wasn’t even a starter in Boston. Instead he was overshadowed by the big names of Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford. Could they look for rookie PJ Washington to be their next star instead? Both these players have some degree of lack of experience and aren’t likely to be Charlotte’s next star, at least not yet.

Will we instead see one of the veterans in Shelvin Mack, Nicholas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, or Marvin Williams take the helm? The answer is, there probably isn’t one clear answer to the face of the Hornets franchise for the next few years. These veterans are all well known names in the NBA community but all lack the skill set and track record to truly make them pillars of a franchise. Instead, Charlotte's face of the franchise is likely still developing in school, waiting to be drafted in the near future. For Hornets fans, look forward to using the next few years to rebuild your franchise and find that next big core of young talent.

What does PJ Washington have in store in his rookie season?

With the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected PJ Washington. However, what exactly does Washington bring to the Hornets team. First, he decided to pass on last year’s draft to improve, once played alongside Rookie of the Year runner-up Trae Young, and was among the highest ranked prospects in his high school class. Last year at Kentucky, he averaged 15.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. By returning to school for a second year, Washington improved his draft stock and wound up as a top 15 pick in 2019.

His skill set includes great length and athleticism for the power forward position. He’s a go-to scorer and ability to shoot from range while being a great decision maker. On the defensive end of the court, he’s mostly a low-post defender as he sometimes lacks the ability to aggressively switch onto guards. However, his length makes up for it with blocks and clogging up the passing lane. He’ll make for a fine developmental piece for the Hornets as they search for their next big star.