2016 Charlotte Hornets

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Charlotte Hornets (Last Year: 48-34)

2016-17 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Cody Zeller/Spencer Hawes

PF: Frank Kaminsky

SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

SG: Jeremy Lamb/Troy Daniels/Aaron Harrison

PG: Kemba Walker/Jorge Gutierrez

NBA Free Agents:

C-Al Jefferson (UFA)

SF-Nicolas Batum (UFA)

PF-Marvin Williams (UFA)

SG-Courtney Lee (UFA)

PG-Jeremy Lin (UFA)

C-Tyler Hansbrough (UFA)

SG-Troy Daniels (RFA)

PG-Jorge Gutierrez (RFA)

2016-17 Team Salary: Approximately $38.4 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. A Star: With five of their top-seven scorers hitting the free agent market, the Hornets have a ton of money to spend this summer. Realistically, Charlotte is not going to land a Kevin Durant or marquee free agent, but the club needs to make a serious run at one of the next-flight guys available to assist Kemba Walker is being one of the faces of the franchise.

2. Frontcourt Help: With Al Jefferson and Marvin Williams free agents, addressing the need for frontcourt help is a must for the Hornets. While they have young big guys like Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky, the Hornets should not feel confident with those two guys as their starters heading into next season. Williams could be brought back at a reasonable rate, but Jefferson is likely to want more than Charlotte should be willing to pay him.

3. Wings: Courtney Lee provided a nice boost late in the season after he was acquired from Memphis and Nicolas Batum was a terrific addition. Batum’s tenure in Charlotte is likely short-lived though as a number of contenders should be hot on his trail this summer. Lee could be brought back without breaking the bank, but either way, the Hornets need to add some talent and depth on the wing.