Post by James Kay on Jun 7, 2020 22:38:36 GMT
Hornets Team History |
Results
‘13-14 Season: 24-58, Missed Playoffs
‘14-15 Season: 42-40, Lost E. Conf. 1st Round
‘15-16 Season: 58-24, Southeast Div. Winner, Won Finals
‘16-17 Season: 59-23, Southeast Div. Winner, Lost E. Conf. Finals
‘17-18 Season: 61-21, Southeast Div. Winner, Lost Finals
‘18-19 Season: 64-18, Southeast Div. Winner, Lost E. Conf. Finals
‘19-20 Season: 58-23, Southeast Div. Winner, Won Finals
'20-21 Season: 51-31, Lost E. Conf 1st Round
'21-22 Season: 50-32, ?
2013-2014 Season
24-58, Missed Playoffs
Finals: (4) Portland Trailblazers v. Miami Heat (1)
Starting 5: Mike Conley, Eric Bledsoe, Hedo Turkoglu, Nerlens Noel, Bismack Biyombo
6th Man: Reggie Jackson
Notable draft picks: 1st, Andrew Wiggins
Details: Kemba Walker was immediately traded for Reggie Jackson, Tristan Thompson, and two 1st Round picks, as the Hornets embraced the tank to increase their odds of landing the number one overall pick with their own draft pick. Two late season trades saw the Hornets sending out SIX 1st rounders for Mike Conley, Eric Bledsoe, and John Henson. This added some wins to the Hornet’s total but the draft gods blessed them with the 1st overall pick anyway. The Hornets added Serge Ibaka to a 5-year $75 million dollar contract.
42-40, 7th Seed, Lost E. Conf. 1st Round
Champion: (4) Golden State Warriors v. Miami Heat (0)
Starting 5: Mike Conley, Khris Middleton, Andrew Wiggins, Serge Ibaka, Robin Lopez
6th Man: Reggie Jackson
Notable draft pick: n/a
Details: Just past the half-way mark in the 14-15 season, an expiring Bledsoe was sent out for the injured Julius Randle, moving Middleton to the starting SG position. A late season surge sent the Hornets to the playoffs as the 7th seed. Alas, with Ibaka and Randle out with injuries, the Hornets served only as fodder for the then-juggernaut Miami Heat, led by Lebron James on their way to the Finals.
58-24, 1st Seed, Division Champion, Won Finals
Quarterfinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Brooklyn Nets (0)
Semifinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Milwaukee Bucks (0)
E. Conf. Finals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Toronto Raptors (2)
Champion: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Oklahoma City Thunder (1)
Starting 5: Russell Westbrook, Khris Middleton, Andrew Wiggins, Serge Ibaka, Nerlens Noel
6th Man: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Notable draft picks: 2nd, Brandon Ingram
Details: The Hornets made an early season move to send out an expiring Mike Conley for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and two 2nd Rounders, promoting Reggie Jackson to the starting position. But just a month later, Reggie was on the move as well. The Hornets convinced the Sacramento Kings to commit to one of their two star point guards – Damian Lillard – and send the Hornets Russell Westbrook, in exchange for Otto Porter Jr., Robin Lopez, Will Barton, Kent Bazemore, 3 1st rounders, 5 2nd rounders, and 11 million in cap relief. The recent signings to make the salaries work for this trade resulted in the ‘James Kay’ rule.
The Hornets ended a 20 game win streak with a loss in the final game of the season, but continued their run into the playoffs, sweeping the Rodney Hood-led Nets and an injury decimated Bucks team. The Hornets ran into some real competition in the E. Conf. Finals against a Raptors team with Lowry, DeRozan, Korver, Draymond, and Horford, but scraped by with just 2 losses. After defeating a powerful tandem of Demarcus Cousins and Kevin Durant in the Finals, the Hornets shocked the league by trading Andrew Wiggins AND their 2020 1st round pick in order to draft Brandon Ingram, and shed ~20 million of bad contracts for the next season. That cap space did not pay off this off-season, as the Hornets came in 2nd place in the free agency chase for Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant, and ended up only re-signing Westbrook for a 5 year deal worth $175 million.
2016-2017 Season
59-23, 3rd Seed, Division Champion, Lost E. Conf. Finals
Quarterfinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Cleveland Cavaliers (2)
Semifinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Milwaukee Bucks (2)
E. Conf. Finals: (4) Chicago Bulls v. Charlotte Hornets (2)
Champion: (4) Golden State Warriors v. Chicago Bulls (3)
Starting 5: Russell Westbrook, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Khris Middleton, Serge Ibaka, Nerlens Noel
6th Man: Goran Dragic
Notable draft picks: 27th, Damyean Dotson
Details: Ingram was not as ready to contribute as Wiggins was, so a mid-season trade with the Suns sent out 5 2nd rounders for Goran Dragic. Despite ending the season with a higher win count than the previous season, the Hornets only earned the 3 seed, falling short of the Bulls and the Bucks.
The Hornets clashed with the higher-seeded Bucks, again, in the E. Conf. Semifinals, and somehow came away with a 4-2 win despite a very competitive series. In the East. Conf. Finals, The combined star power of Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, and Kawhi Leonard was too much for the Hornets. This off-season saw the departure of KCP for a 1st rounder as well as the departure of Brandon Ingram, moved for Josh Jackson and a 1st rounder to make cap space for the Hornets biggest Free Agency signing yet – Paul George to a 3 year, $95 million contract, including a soon-to-be-controversial player option in the 3rd year.
2017-2018 Season.
61-21, 2nd Seed, Division Champion, Lost Finals
Quarterfinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Boston Celtics (0)
Semifinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Toronto Raptors (3)
E. Conf. Finals: (4 Charlotte Hornets v. Chicago Bulls (0)
Champion: (4) Golden State Warriors v. Charlotte Hornets (1)
Starting 5: Russell Westbrook, Khris Middleton, Josh Jackson, Paul George, Serge Ibaka
6th Man: Nerlens Noel
Notable draft picks: n/a
Once again adding to their win total, the Hornets were still unable to claim the 1st seed as the Bucks tied their record and had won the season series tiebreaker. In the E. Conf. Semifinals, the Hornets nearly lost to a revamped Raptors team – having added Millsap and Vucevic to their strong Lowry, DeRozan, and Draymond core. But, after going down 1-3, a lineup change to place Paul George at the PF position ignited an 8 game win-streak that swept the Hornets past the Raptors and the Kawhi-less Bulls, and earned them the first win in the Finals against the Warriors. Yet, with Lebron, Curry, and Klay were not to be denied, and rallied off 4 straight to claim the Warriors’ third championship.
That summer, the Hornets moved Ibaka for Al Horford, who was quickly included in a blockbuster trade that sent Horford, Josh Jackson, Malik Beasley, the 6th overall pick, and the 20th overall pick in exchange for Kevin Durant.
64-18, 2nd Seed, Division Champion, Lost E. Conf. Finals
Quarterfinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Miami Heat (0)
Semifinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Orlando Magic (0)
E. Conf. Finals: (4) Milwaukee Bucks v. Charlotte Hornets (3)
Champion: (4) Milwaukee Bucks v. Denver Nuggets (1)
Starting 5: Russell Westbrook, Khris Middleton, Paul George, Kevin Durant, Robin Lopez
6th Man: Nerlens Noel
Notable draft picks: n/a
Details: For the third consecutive season, the Hornets improved their win total, and still narrowly missed grabbing the 1st seed. However, the Hornets ended the season strong after a bumpy start, going 50-10 in their last 60 games. After crushing their first two round opponents, the Hornets found themselves up 2-1 against frequent rival Milwaukee, when Kevin Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles and was ruled out for the season. Despite collecting one more win to go up 3-1, the Hornets were unable to hold onto the lead with Durant out, and ultimately fell to the Bucks. A delayed off-season included much controversy as Paul George picked up his player option, followed by a shocking, but predictable, trade that saw an injured Durant sent off to rehab alongside an injured Curry and Klay on the Warriors, while Lebron made his way to the Hornets.
58-23, Division Champion, 3rd Seed
Quarterfinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Orlando Magic (1)
Semifinals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Milwaukee Bucks (3)
E. Conf. Finals: (4) Charlotte Hornets v. Boston Celtics (3)
Champion: (?) Charlotte Hornets v. Denver Nuggets (?)
Starting 5: Russell Westbrook, Khris Middleton, Paul George, Brandon Ingram, Montrezl Harrell
6th Man: George Hill