The Charlotte Hornets had nothing going for them in the 2014-15 campaign and ended up being one of the league's biggest disappointments. Other than an anomalous January where they won 10 of their 14 games, the Hornets finished below .500 every month and failed to even finish strong, going 2-7 in April.
Charlotte Hornets 2015 roster: Hornets reload after that terrible Lance Stephenson experiment
The Hornets were one of the league’s most disappointing teams last season, but they’ve made some changes in an attempt to get back to their 2013-14 level.
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After making the playoffs in 2013-14 with 43 wins, the hope was that Charlotte would continue to foster their gritty defensive identity while developing a slightly more potent offensive attack. Newcomer Lance Stephenson failed to help that cause at all, turning into a complete disaster and finishing the year with 37.6 percent shooting from the floor and 17.1 percent from the line.
Stephenson is gone and the Hornets are hoping for a fresh start with newcomers Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lin. Even while struggling, the Charlotte defense stayed strong, finishing in the top 10. With a little more shotmaking and better injury luck, the Hornets have a chance to return the playoffs in the East.
LAST YEAR
RECORD: 33-49 (11th in Eastern Conference)
PLAYOFFS: missed
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 97.6 (28th)
DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: 101.0 (9th)
ROSTER
No. | PLAYER | POS | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | COLLEGE |
| 2 | Marvin Williams | PF | 6-9 | 237 | 29 | North Carolina |
| 44 | Frank Kaminsky III | C | 7-0 | 240 | 22 | Wisconsin |
| 00 | Spencer Hawes | PF | 7-1 | 245 | 27 | Washington |
| 14 | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | SF | 6-7 | 232 | 21 | Kentucky |
| 15 | Kemba Walker | PG | 6-1 | 184 | 25 | Connecticut |
| 7 | Jeremy Lin | PG | 6-3 | 200 | 27 | Harvard |
| 19 | P.J. Hairston | SG | 6-6 | 230 | 22 | North Carolina |
| 22 | Brian Roberts | PG | 6-1 | 173 | 29 | Dayton |
| 25 | Al Jefferson | C | 6-10 | 289 | 30 | High school |
| 30 | Troy Daniels | SG | 6-4 | 205 | 24 | Virginia Commonwealth |
| 40 | Cody Zeller | PF | 7-0 | 240 | 22 | Indiana |
| 3 | Jeremy Lamb | SG | 6-5 | 185 | 23 | Connecticut |
| 5 | Nicolas Batum | SF | 6-8 | 200 | 26 | France |
| 50 | Tyler Hansbrough | PF | 6-9 | 250 | 29 | North Carolina |
Coach: Steve Clifford
Assistant coaches: Patrick Ewing, Stephen Silas, Bob Weiss, Pat Delany, Steve Hetzel
OFFSEASON CHANGES
IN: Jeremy Lin, Nicolas Batum, Tyler Hansbrough, Jeremy Lamb, Frank Kaminsky III, Spencer Hawes
OUT: Noah Vonleh, Mo Williams, Gerald Henderson, Gary Neal, Lance Stephenson
Charlotte performed a flurry of trades this offseason, ditching the disastrous Stephenson contract and sending Vonleh to Portland in exchange for Batum. Williams had a resurgent scoring season for the Hornets, but the team let him walk and brought in Lin instead as a combo scoring guard. They also drafted Kaminsky and signed Hansbrough.
DEPTH CHART
POINT GUARD | SHOOTING GUARD | SMALL FORWARD | POWER FORWARD | CENTER | |
STARTER | Kemba Walker | Nicolas Batum | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | Cody Zeller | Al Jefferson |
RESERVE | Jeremy Lin | Jeremy Lamb | P.J. Hairston | Marvin Williams | Spencer Hawes |
RESERVE | Brian Roberts | Troy Daniels | Tyler Hansbrough | Frank Kaminsky III | |
RESERVE |
THE KEY QUESTION
6. Is the front office on the hot seat?
Steve Clifford’s job is safe as long as Rich Cho is in charge of what’s going on upstairs. That said, team owner Michael Jordan is notoriously impatient and nobody is really sure what Cho’s standing with him is right now. The team hasn’t drafted well, and failed expectations could cause Jordan to choose a different direction.
That said, it wouldn't really be fair to remove the same front office that had to spend two years getting out of all the garbage Larry Brown left them and thus has really only been given two actual offseasons to work with. Don't forget, the 2013 squad that made the playoffs was a surprise team, and that was the offseason that officially pushed the franchise towards a more playoff minded approach.
-Chris Barnewell, At the Hive. Read At the Hive’s full preview here.
PREDICTIONS
BEST CASE: In the third year of Steve Clifford's tenure, the Hornets come together, making the playoffs with a stout defense and an improved offensive attack. Walker has a career year, while Nicolas Batum is exactly the two-way player Charlotte has been needing to put next to him. Kidd-Gilchrist finishes in the top five of Defensive Player of the Year voting.
WORST CASE: The offense is better but the defense falls off thanks to a weaker bench. Al Jefferson turns 31 during the season and loses a half step, limiting his effectiveness throughout the season. Worst of all, the younger players -- Zeller, Hairston, Kaminsky, Kidd-Gilchrist -- fail to make much progress.
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