The Future of the Hornets Backcourt
The Charlotte Hornets come into the 2020–21 season with a plethora of young backcourt talent. With this comes questions as to who will become a part of the Hornets long-term plans and who Michael Jordan/Mitch Kupchak choose to move away from. The first half of the season will paint a clearer picture of what the future of the Hornets backcourt may be. We’ll dive deeper into those possibilities for Malik Monk, Terry Rozier and Devonte Graham and how LaMelo Ball fits into all of this.
Malik Monk
Malik Monk first caught my attention during the beginning of the 2016 NCAA season where he absolutely lit into the eventual champion Tar Heels (shoutout Luuuuke) with 47 points, showcasing unlimited range and an ability to produce in clutch time. After averaging almost 20PPG in his one year at Kentucky, Monk was selected 11th by the Hornets in the 2017 draft in hopes relieving pressure off Kemba Walker on offense. Unfortunately, his three year stint in Charlotte so far hasn’t been as successful as others drafted after him (i.e. Donovan Mitchell, Luke Kennard). Though he shot 39% from 3 in college, he hasn’t been able to crack the 35% mark in his professional career and couldn’t crack 30% this past season. His shooting struggles, which arguably would be his greatest strength, alongside his lack of defensive presence has moved him in and out of coach James Borrego’s rotation for the past two seasons.
On the bright side, Monk is still young. Only 22, there is still hope he can become a solid shooter and general bucket-getter in this league given his success in college and flashes we’ve seen as a pro. Monk is a bit undersized but has the ability to get create shots off the dribble on top of his 3pt potential. His main role throughout his tenure in Charlotte has been off the ball but he does have underrated value on the ball as a distributor in his limited time at PG.
In the interim, Monk is to be an unrestricted free agent next year. At the rate he has been playing, Monk is comfortably the 4th best guard on this team. Monk is still talented but may not have a place on this team and GM Mitch Kupchak could find a suitor for him as a rental for the season, likely one with playoff hopes and looking to add backcourt depth. Monk still has the potential to be a great sixth man, playing the Jamal Crawford/Lou Williams role in the right situation. Coach Borrego still has high regard for Monk given his struggles and hasn’t fully removed him from his rotation yet. Given his two appearances in the preseason (Monk was out with COVID-19 earlier), Monk hasn’t been impressive and will have to earn his minutes at this point of the season or may be moved elsewhere. I personally am still holding out hope for Monk in hopes of regaining that confidence we saw four years ago.
Terry Rozier
Terry Rozier made a name for himself after an exceptional performance in the 2018 playoffs for the Celtics, showing the ability to lead a team in a deep playoff run and produce in pressure situations. The following year, Rozier was overshadowed by starter Kyrie Irving and never had the chance to continue proving his worth as a starter in this league. At 26, the Hornets ended up making a big splash for him last offseason in a sign-and-trade for Kemba Walker in hopes of making him the point guard of the future. As things turned out, he wasn’t necessarily the replacement we expected (see next section) but still had real success with the team.
The curveball we have today is the addition of LaMelo Ball. Ball, who will begin the year coming off the bench, is regarded as a possible franchise player for the Hornets for years to come. Though the Hornets backcourt last season had success, mainly consisting of Devonte Graham and Rozier, Ball may be able to step in and take the team to a higher level and relieve some of the scoring pressure off the backcourt. Both Graham and Rozier both averaged 18PPG and shot well from long-range, but the Hornets backcourt ranked 22nd in efficiency last season and could use additional help with a more pass-first mentality. If Ball’s potential comes to fruition, this would leave Rozier and Graham in a unique spot to fight for the starting SG spot. Last season, Rozier played well at SG last year alongside Graham. Graham didn’t play much two-guard last year but has been thrown into the spot during the preseason with LaMelo at PG — it seems Borrego has been working out which guard fits better with Ball on the court throughout the preseason. I don’t see the Hornets being able to keep all three guards long term given their age and talent level, but if Graham can prove to be as good as Rozier at two-guard, the Hornets have real questions to be answered regarding Rozier’s role in the future.
Rozier, who has two years left on his contract, was involved in trade rumors last month but never resulted into anything. A championship contender with a lack of backcourt depth could be in search of someone like Rozier’s services, especially with his proven playoff success. Alternatively, the Hornets could find a way to keep him happy with his role and contributes to the team’s success. A three guard lineup of Ball/Graham/Rozier would be enticing for the Hornets to use but hasn’t been seen yet in the preseason. Either way, Rozier’s contributions cannot be overlooked and the Hornets have to explore every option and decide sooner than later on what his future looks like with Charlotte.
Devonte Graham
After a rookie season going back and forth between the Greensboro Swarm and Hornets, Devonte Graham solidified himself as a starter for the Hornets in year two and threw off the original plans of having Rozier be the leader of the backcourt. Year three for Graham comes around at a unique time, where the Hornets have three legitimate guards in their backcourt. Between Rozier and Ball, Graham may be the most flexible of them all for his ability to play both on or off the ball at any stretch. If Ball shines at PG, Graham could get pushed to the two-guard spot and taking over Rozier’s starting role. Though Rozier was at the top of the league in catch-and-shoot three’s last season (45%), Graham was not far behind (42%) and is capable of thriving at the two-guard. On the other hand, Ball staying on the bench throughout the season would keep Graham at his normal PG spot and Rozier playing the two. If both Graham and Rozier continue their development together, this could turn into one of the better backcourts in the league. As much as I love LaMelo Ball and his potential, we cannot deny the skill of both Graham and Rozier whom have both played well in the preseason.
This does still leave the question as to how highly GM Mitch Kupchak views Graham given the success of Rozier and the addition of Ball. Graham, a restricted free agent next offseason, has been the replacement for Walker as the face of the franchise both on the court and on billboards, though Ball is may end up replacing him there. Rozier, who is also coming off a breakout year, signed a 3yr/$56mil contract last year in the sign and trade that sent Walker to Boston. Expect Graham to get a pay day around the same range as Rozier when the time comes, but the question remains if the Hornets believe in him as an integral part of their future. If Graham continues the development he proved last year, his stock will rise and raise interest throughout the league.
