The Charlotte Hornets introduced Jeff Peterson as their new head of basketball operations at a 25-minute news conference on Wednesday. Eight times in those twenty-five minutes, the term “premier franchise” was used, referring to the NBA’s elite team. As lofty as Mount Everest was the goal that Peterson, co-owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, kept bringing up. They would not stop talking about how they wanted to make this location the best NBA club. And that’s a noble goal. However, Peterson will appreciate my doubts as he is a native of Missouri, the Show-Me State. It is all acceptable to say. You’ll have to show me, though. Additionally, you will need to portray the fervent yet irate supporters of the Hornets, who are currently experiencing a 15-47 season. “Rick and Gabe have communicated very clearly that we want to turn this into the premier franchise in the NBA,” stated Peterson in his opening remarks. And that is precisely what we want to do. Any new manager taking over a team like this obviously needs to portray a hopeful picture. That is the only logical conclusion. But let’s be practical as well. The Hornets have the longest playoff drought in the league, having missed the playoffs since 2016. They have never advanced to the NBA Finals or the Eastern Conference Finals, in addition to never having won an NBA championship. Although Alonzo Mourning’s shot from 1993 is the most well-known in franchise history, it doesn’t say much about the 31 years that followed. A premier team? I’d be content with “relevant franchise” right now. For heaven’s sake, just make the playoffs. The bar isn’t that high: 16 NBA clubs out of 30 (53.3%) get into the playoffs each year. The Hornets, on the other hand, have seen two visits in the play-in tournament, when they laid an ostrich egg, as their high point over the previous eight years. Two times.
Throughout the whole press conference, Peterson avoided providing many specifics, referring to the final 20 games of the current season as an evaluation phase. Despite being only 35 years old, he has advanced rapidly in the NBA front office ranks, and it’s safe to say that his prior relationship with Schnall from the Atlanta Hawks helped him land this position. Although Peterson’s official title is “executive vice president of basketball operations,” I’ll just call him the new general manager to keep things simple. He is the director of the team’s daily basketball operations and general manager of the roster, but Schnall and Plotnik continue to be involved in personnel choices (much like Panthers owner David Tepper, albeit Tepper gets a lot more flak for it). It made sense that Peterson refrained from stating, “Yeah, we’ll probably turn over at least half this roster in the offseason, because it’s just not getting the job done,” given that nearly the entire Charlotte roster was present at the press conference, which was attended by about 100 people, the majority of whom were Hornets employees.
However, even with the trades that helped in February, this is a club that requires significant renovations. LaMelo Ball is an excellent player who struggles with health. Mark Williams is a talented athlete who struggles with his health. In my opinion, Brandon Miller is Charlotte’s most valuable player for the 2023–24 campaign. He is an outstanding rookie. Miles Bridges likely demand a large salary in order to stay, so Peterson will have to decide whether he’s worth it. In his second season as head coach of the Hornets, Steve Clifford has failed to establish the team as a strong defensive unit, despite his hiring. Everywhere there are decisions to be taken, and someone in that building needs to put an end to the overused justification that “But our guys are always hurt.” To be honest, Peterson leaves a positive impression. He used to play basketball for a college and seems like he would get along with almost anyone. Because he enjoyed the team colors, he used to play video games as the Charlotte Hornets when he was little. He graduated from Florida State with a master’s degree. That makes sense—the Hornets hired him. But aside from winnings, nothing matters to a general manager. “Leadership organization?” Yes, it does sound pleasant. We’ll need to see you, though.
