Why The Charlotte Hornets Do The Deal 

Impressively, the Hornets are 2-1 to start this season despite being without LaMelo Ball. Does that owe to the Ewing theory? 

For the uninitiated, the Ewing theory holds that sometimes, a team plays better in the short term without their best player. That’s because teams have to shift their game plan – who is the Hornets’ best player if it isn’t Ball, and how do we stop them? 

So far, the answer to that question has been Rozier. Still, make no mistake – this is LaMelo Ball’s team. Moreover, they probably aren’t equipped to make a deep playoff run this year, early success aside. Realistically, they’re still more likely to join the race to the bottom. 

With that logic in mind, this deal is partly about securing top lottery odds. On the other hand, it’s also about acquiring two extremely valuable assets.

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If the Hornets land a high pick in what’s expected to be a historic draft, and have these two picks to work with moving forward, their future outlook suddenly becomes exceedingly bright. 

In fact, it should point to an inevitable outcome the Hornets will have no interest in delaying.