Charlotte Hornets: Michael Jordan Has No Choice But To Start Over From Scratch

The Charlotte Hornets reportedly had Kemba Walker on the trade block last season. However, according to ESPN, Michael Jordan wanted an All-Star in return. Has anything changed heading into the offseason? The Hornets already dealt Dwight Howard to the Brooking Nets this summer and now Jordan must decide if the Hornets are in complete rebuild mode or not.

Moving Walker is the Hornets only way of rebuilding fast. Sure, maybe the Portland Trail Blazers or Toronto Raptors can deal either C.J. McCollum or Kyle Lowry, but why should Charlotte want either with their hefty contracts? Walker still has one year left on his current contract at $12 million per season. The best move Jordan has here is to trade Kemba Walker for draft picks.

[MarkAds]

The Hornets have made the playoffs only twice while Walker has been in uniform. Obviously, something isn’t working here. By packaging Walker and possibly Nicolas Batum, it will give the Charlotte Hornets the opportunity to acquire a player and a possible lottery pick. This is how you get your team out of the abyss it’s in and build toward a brighter future.

With Jordan publicly stating he wants a fair market trade, most teams might be scared off. Look around the NBA. How many All-Star players, especially at the point guard position are on losing teams? Not to discount what Walker (18.9 points, 5.4 assists) has done in Charlotte, but facts don’t lie.

Jordan is saying all the right things for Charlotte’s benefit. However, his focus should be on the Hornets’ future. Even being in the Eastern Conference has not given the team much hope. There is no way to explain the disappointment the Hornets have been over the last few years. While the team is not as star-studded as the Boston Celtics or the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Hornets are not as depleted as the Sacramento Kings or Brooklyn Nets.

Take a quick glance at their roster and you could see that production may not have been the issue but cohesiveness.

Walker led the team in scoring with 22.1 points but what’s funny about that is– he’s the sixth-highest paid player on the team. What does that say about the Hornets when their star is paid less than second-tier players like Batum, Marvin Williams, Howard, Cody Zeller, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. There is something terribly wrong in Charlotte. But Jordan and his staff can change all that.

Will the process be complete overnight? No, but it will lay the foundation to better years. Walker should be the first to go. While he’s underpaid now, next season he will command a max deal and with what the Hornets are already paying out to players not close to Walker’s level, it’s not a good combination.

What the Hornets may be afraid of is the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets. Look how long it took both teams to crawl from under the rock that was holding them down. The Sixers just won 52 games and the Nets are finally able to reap the benefits of being one of the worse teams thanks to that awful trade involving the Celtics. But this is the reality the Charlotte Hornets are facing. The team has not won anything with Walker and it would be wise to get something in return while his market value is still high.

It may take some time to rebuild, but look at where the 76ers are from believing in their process. Jordan has to realize that you may have to take a step back in order to move forward in business.

[BXReporter]

Mark Wilson

Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.