Identifying The Right Center For The Charlotte Hornets

Led by LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, the Hornets have one of the most intriguing young cores in the NBA, seen through a long-term lens.

The team has capable players at essentially all positions, running out Ball, Bridges, Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington, Gordon Hayward and Kelly Oubre Jr with a string of young players waiting in the wings, such as James Bouknight, Kai Jones and JT Thor.

With Hayward as the lone exception, this is a team for tomorrow. They rank 27th in defense on the year, which isn’t likely to win them many playoff series as of right now.

The Hornets have one obvious weak point, however. They don’t have a lot of size and could use a starting caliber center for the future, as they’re currently starting veteran Mason Plumlee who at this stage of his career is likely better suited as a backup.

As such, let’s take a look at three centers the Hornets could try to make a play for either before the trade deadline or during the offseason. 

Mo Bamba

Currently in his fourth year, Bamba is finally starting full-time after years of backup duty. His production in the starting lineup, however, has lessened dramatically on a per-minute basis, as the 23-year-old is netting 9.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 27.8 minutes.

Last year, Bamba put up a similar line of 8.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in just 15.8 minutes per game, primarily due to playing against second-string players.

That’s not to suggest Bamba can’t develop further and become a solid starting center moving forward, but it’s fair not wanting to potentially break the bank for Bamba after he enters restricted free agency in July.

In fact, it might even be worth it for Charlotte to make a move for Bamba now, simply to be able to dictate terms on a contract themselves, without Orlando holding him hostage. It’d also give Charlotte some data points with Bamba in the lineup to get a feel of his fit.

An additional benefit to making a play for Bamba now is a potentially lowered price tag, given his lessened production and contractual status. 

In theory, Bamba would be a suitable solution to Charlotte’s woeful defense given his shot-blocking prowess and 7’10 wingspan. Offensively, he’s both a rim-runner and a floor-spacer, and with Ball running the show, Bamba should get more chances simply by being in the right spot at the right time. 

Richaun Holmes

The Sacramento Kings center is one of the most efficient centers in the NBA, sporting a TS% of 72.3 on the season. He converts on 81% of his shot attempts from within three feet, an area that makes up for 50.5% of his offense.

Furthermore, the 28-year-old understands his role. He isn’t going to take shots outside of the flow of the offense, as he’s assisted on 75% of all his shots, nor does he hold the ball, which is good news for the Hornets.

While Holmes would make an obvious, and immediate, upgrade for the Hornets, the bigger challenge lies with getting the Kings to agree to make substantial changes given their mission of making the playoffs.

Put simply, Holmes might simply not be available.

Should the Kings, against expectations, be willing to give him up, Charlotte would also be acquiring a rock solid contract. Holmes signed a four-year contract worth just $46.4 million last summer, which seems like below market value for a high-efficiency center averaging 12.6 points and 8.7 rebounds on the season.

Of the three, Holmes represents the most sure thing in terms of being a known quality, which could play a role in how the Hornets approach the mission of upgrading their center spot.

Holmes would not just make a strong fit with Ball, but his offensive prowess would command a certain level of attention that allows Bridges to establish himself more from the perimeter, as defenses would get sucked in.

Bridges, who is expected to finish second in Most Improved Player voting, per FanDuel Sportsbook, has long needed someone on the inside who can draw attention, so he can make calculated cuts to the rim, or get more space to operate off the dribble. Adding Holmes would allow just that.

James Wiseman

This is definitely a long-shot for the Hornets given Golden State’s belief in the youngster, and he likely would be the most expensive to acquire due to his rather significant upside.

Listing Wiseman’s numbers from last year (11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds) doesn’t even remotely begin to tell the whole story, due to where the Warriors were as a team as well as the raw nature of Wiseman coming into the NBA off of just three played games in college at Memphis.

In short, Wiseman is a project. A major project in fact, and thus, a major undertaking for a franchise with already several young players on board.

But perhaps it’s worth the gamble for Charlotte – pending Golden State is even open to moving him, which seems unlikely – simply due to the idea of pairing Ball with a huge, athletic center who can catch lobs and shoot triples.

To reiterate, the Hornets would have to relinquish a ton, and it’s not certain they’re even willing to do that. That said, this would be the high-upside play that could catapult Charlotte into a whole new tier, should Wiseman become an All-Star caliber big man.