Indiana Pacers: Evaluating the Charlotte Hornets as a prospective trade partner
By Josh Wilson
What the Hornets need
The Hornets this season have given up the sixth-most field goals within six feet of the hoop of all NBA teams, 21.2 per game (the league-worst is 22.2). Clearly, their last line of defense has been porous.
The team’s starting centers have been Bismack Biyombo and Cody Zeller, neither of which are supreme rim-protecting centers. Within six feet of the rim, opponents shoot just 0.1 percent worse when Zeller is guarding them. Biyombo is better, forcing opponents to shoot 8.6 percent worse within that range.
Biyombo, at 6-8, doesn’t have the size to hang with the most physical of centers, though, and has a tendency to foul frequently.
As Borrego said, the team needs to address their rim protection. Especially with smaller athletic guards manning the perimeter defense, a good amount of players are going to be able to break players like Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier down and drive into the paint. The Hornets need a final failsafe to prevent easy buckets at the rim, especially from guards.
The Hornets, entering a rebuild, want to be modern and, as Borrego put it, “can never have enough shooting.”
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Charlotte attempted 34.3 3-pointers this season, pretty much middle of the road in terms of shots from beyond the arc. Zeller attempted 1.3 3-pointers per game, Bismack Biyombo did not attempt a single three.
Myles Turner’s defensive prowess speaks for itself. He led the league in blocks in 2019 and has a defensive ceiling that rivals that of Rudy Gobert.
On the offensive end, Turner has shown that he can add shooting this season as well. While it’s not the most comfortable skill he brings to the table, Turner attempted over four 3-pointers per game this season and hit them at a rate above 30 percent.
Turner is a really good blend of the rim protection and outside offensive game. While other bigs like Karl-Anthony Towns bring better shooting to the table, the downside on the defensive end of players similar to Towns would not be helpful for the Hornets right now.
Turner is actually a really good fit for the Hornets system and their needs at present.