It isn't that the Hornets are a bad team or that their coaching staff is incompetent. Instead, Charlotte's recent string of awfulness shines a light on the larger mistakes of their front office. It's important to acknowledge that not every organization wants to win a championship—some view a consistent playoff ticket as more valuable than high-variance fluctuations that make legitimate runs for the crown possible. The Hornets aren't the only franchise that recently decided to step on the NBA treadmill of mediocrity, but they might be the only one that can't get off.
Charlotte is in a much worse position than, say, the Indiana Pacers or the Chicago Bulls, two teams that can either cash out on their franchise player and rebuild from the ground up, or catch a lucky break and add another All-Star to the one they already have.
The Hornets don't have a Jimmy Butler or a Paul George. Walker is a deserving All-Star, and his net impact on the Hornets has more than doubled since last season (from +4.3 points per 100 possessions to +11.0, per Basketball-Reference), but his position is too deep to command much market value. Batum is quietly having the best all-around year of his career, but he's also 28 years old and his contract doesn't expire until 2020 (with a $27.1 million player option in 2021).
No one else on the roster is coveted elsewhere in the league, and Charlotte isn't exactly a free-agent destination. Even if they were, the Hornets probably won't have the money: After inexplicably trading Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert to Milwaukee for Miles Plumlee, the owner of a top-five terrible contract, Charlotte is likely capped out for the next two summers.
As for the draft, there's not much hope there, either. Charlotte's picks aren't that valuable because they aren't bad enough to make the lottery, and they don't have anyone else's. The opportunity to draft a blue-chip prospect who can alter the course of this team has come and gone.
