The Hornets were beaten by the Hawks in the play-offs, and Pelinka on the West Coast may have smiled.
You see, the opportunity is coming.
Against the Hawks, the game was a win or home ball, and the Hornets suppressed the Hawks' Trae Young shot to 8 of 24 through a crazy pinch, but the result was that the Hornets swallowed a fiasco 103-132. The Hornets did reduce Trae Young's offensive efficiency, but they lost sight of each other, with six Hawks scoring in double figures, 52 percent overall with a 33 percent shooting percentage from the home.
They are 22nd in the league in regular season defensive efficiency, but the Hawks' defense is worse than theirs, defensive efficiency is only ranked 26th, why did the Hornets only get 103 points, 12 points lower than their regular season average?
The Hornets averaged 28.1 assists per game in the regular season, the first in the league, and their assists were 21 this game, 10 fewer than the Hawks, the team lacked effective tandem, multiple attack points, strong three-point ability features were not shown, 37.8% shooting rate firmly labeled as inefficient.
The team is out, it is bound to enter the stage of the pot, as the only All-Star player on the team, the "three goals" must be backed by a pot, 26 points and 7 assists seems to be good, but the projection of 7 in 25 shots is really hot eyes, more iron than the opposite Trae Yang, the assist is also 4 times less than the "Yang Shaoxia".
As the big boss of a team with an average age of 25 years old, the "three goals" are still young.
Counting this time, the Hornets have not made the playoffs for six consecutive years, and the last time they played in the playoffs was in 2016, when the "three-goal" brother Langzo Ball had not yet entered the NBA.
It's no denying that the Hornets have been rewarding young players over the past six years, with Bridges and the "three-goal" both growing, but there is still a gap between them and the playoffs. If the goal is to return to the playoffs, the Hornets still need someone to take it with them.
With such a player, should the Hornets consider it? He has played 111 playoff games in his career, played in the playoffs in two years, played in triple-doubles, won MVP, scoring king and assist king, the contract is only one year left, if the effect is not good, give up after one year, there is no long-term impact.
Is this person you're talking about...?
That's right, Westbrook.
Do you have a "vendetta" with the wasps and want to pit Jordan? Wei Shao has played a basketball comedian this season, do you still want to make him whole?
Don't worry, Wei Shao has really not played well this season, but is this not good all about his ability? In the Lakers' season farewell interview, Wei Shao said this: "Some things are beyond my control, I have a lot less possession of the ball, playing different positions on the court, I failed to do some of the things that I could do last season, I still averaged triple-doubles last season." ”
In the five years leading up to this season, Westbrook averaged a season triple-double four times and brought the team into the playoffs. You say that Wei Shao brushes the data, but he can brush it out and guarantee the playoffs, which is also a skill.
The Lakers just think that Wei Shao can pay for the playoffs, so he will not hesitate to exchange him for blood, but Wei Shao is obviously not satisfied, he touched the ball at the Lakers average of 75.5 times per game, a new low since the 2013-14 season, of which the average direct contact with the ball (defined as directly bringing basketball actions after touching the ball, such as shooting, assists, fouls, mistakes, etc.) 37.4 times, which is the lowest value in a single season since he introduced player touch tracking data in the NBA, and the data in the Wizards last season was 53.3.
Simply put, Wei Shao is not suitable for playing next to a giant star holding the ball, which will only magnify his shortcomings and cover up his strengths.
Wei Shao's most successful basketball environment is a group of fierce young people around him, giving him the ball to handle, leading everyone to rush, this style of play playoffs is not far away, but in the regular season has been proven to be effective, spelling out a playoff ticket is still a play.
After the Lakers' play-off, there were many rumors about The Westbrook's deal. The Lakers are eager to get rid of Wei Shao, because he is not suitable for pairing With Zhan Mei at all, and occupies the salary space, the Lakers want to use Wei Shao to "exchange the whole money for change" and find some teammates who can really play an auxiliary role for Zhan Mei.
The Hornets appeared in the rumors of The Westbrook's trade, Jordan admired Westbrook, and the Hornets could indeed come up with actionable solutions, such as using Hayward + Oubre, exchanging Westbrook + two first-round picks (2027 and 2029).
This deal plan for the Lakers somewhat "poison for poison", Hayward's contract is less than Westwood for a year, and the durability is far less than Westbrook, but Hayward in the time he can play, his projection is significantly better than Westbrook, and more than two meters tall, three or four positions can play, may also be cameo possession, the Lakers are too lack of height and projection.
In fact, the Lakers sent away Wei Shao almost impossible to have a perfect plan, can use Wei Shao in exchange for a more balanced lineup of players, improve the depth of the configuration is not bad, Hayward + Oubre is a choice that can be considered, the Lakers really do not pick and choose the conditions.
For the Hornets, they have gradually lost patience with Hayward, who has missed 61 games in two seasons, and Oubre, who has an annual salary of 12 million, also has the momentum to go to the chicken ribs, using them to exchange them for Wei Shao, rushing to the playoffs, and at the same time can also get two first-round picks, isn't it beautiful?
What if the obstacles to The Hornets are mainly focused on the "three balls"? "Three-ball" has reached 28% of this season, if Westbrook comes, it can bring experience help to "Three-Ball", but it is bound to take away the ball rights of "Three-Ball", which is a problem that the Hornets will focus on, are they willing to reduce the "three-ball" drama in exchange for the possibility of returning to the playoffs?
The Lakers and The Hornets will be very cautious about the deal involving Westbrook, after all, this player's strengths and weaknesses are too prominent, use the playoffs I came, with a bad regular season finish is gone, and if the Lakers in order to send away Westbrook, not only to receive Hayward and Oubre, but also to build two first-round picks, is equivalent to further overdraft the future, can they make this decision?
Whether the transaction can eventually become a reality or not, it will take time to verify, but at least the opportunity has emerged, after this playoff was eliminated, the Hornets have gone to the crossroads, whether to continue to insist on building a team around the "three-ball", waiting for the opportunity step by step, or betting on a change of power to rush the playoffs, Jordan to do a choice to go left or right.
Perhaps, Jordan can help Old Zhan this time and bring Wei Shao, who has no chemical reaction with the Lakers, to Charlotte.