{"id":173108,"date":"2025-09-27T13:39:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T13:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/173108\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T13:39:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T13:39:08","slug":"nba-writer-says-hornets-have-franchise-player-but-it-isnt-lamelo-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/173108\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA writer says Hornets have franchise player (but it isn’t LaMelo Ball)"},"content":{"rendered":"

To be a winning NBA team, establishing a roster hierarchy is important, and this is something the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> should keep in mind as they continue to build around LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. More often than not, hierarchies work themselves out. <\/p>\n

An alpha player asserts himself \u2014 through his play \u2014 as the leader of the wolf pack, and the rest of the pack falls in line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All of the best NBA teams have a clear hierarchy at the top, even teams featuring two or more superstars. <\/p>\n

The current Boston Celtics \u2014 winners of the 2024 title \u2014 have two superstars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and while Brown has had stretches where he\u2019s outperformed Tatum, everyone inside Boston\u2019s locker room \u2014 Brown included \u2014 understands that Tatum is the team\u2019s primary option.<\/p>\n

Most Playoff Wins Since 2018:<\/p>\n

Boston Celtics: 74
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum: 72
Golden State Warriors: 57
Denver Nuggets: 51
Milwaukee Bucks: 45 pic.twitter.com\/6HZyhjLfvA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ian Inangelo (@iinangelo) September 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Sometimes, hierarchies aren\u2019t clear right away. Personalities clash, politics emerge. The Tatum and Brown situation hasn\u2019t always looked pretty, but both guys are winners who respect each other\u2019s games, so that\u2019s helped everything work out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking back at the Miami \u201cHeatles\u201d squad that featured LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, it\u2019s crazy to think that Bron wasn\u2019t the obvious alpha from Day 1, but the reality was that it took an entire season for Wade to learn to be deferent to LeBron, and for LeBron to feel okay about taking the steering wheel.<\/p>\n

\"Former<\/p>\n

Former Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. \/ Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

NBA history tells us that establishing a hierarchy is a crucial step towards building a clear vision for your team, and that\u2019s something that the Hornets currently face with Ball and Miller.<\/p>\n

With LaMelo being the longer-tenured star in Charlotte and the higher-paid of the two guys (only because Miller is still on his rookie deal), it makes sense for LaMelo to be considered the status quo alpha for the Hornets.<\/p>\n

But is that really the optimal situation for Charlotte, or would the Hornets get better, quicker if they considered Miller the center of everything, and Melo his All-Star running mate?<\/p>\n

One NBA writer who believes strongly in a Miller-centric blueprint for Charlotte is TrueHoop\u2019s David Thorpe, who recently appeared on The Kevin O\u2019Connor Show<\/a> to discuss the Hornets, among other teams. Not only did Thorpe question whether LaMelo has what it takes to win<\/a>, but he also outright asserted that Miller is the guy Charlotte should really be building around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am absolutely in love with Brandon Miller,\u201d Thorpe told O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he is a winner. If you watch that Alabama team, which I did \u2026 he made so many winning plays for them as a teenager. I think he can be fantastic and really, the first guy to get (the Hornets) out of where they’ve been.\u201d<\/p>\n

LaMelo Ball x Brandon Miller \ud83d\udcf8 pic.twitter.com\/WLKHvpVmLw<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 r\/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) September 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that when you can get one star moving in the right direction, (and) to me, that’s Brandon Miller, you could start seeing a path forward (for the Hornets),\u201d Thorpe continued. \u201cIf LaMelo decides to join the club, great \u2014 all of a sudden, they have two All-Star level players, and now, they’re a serious team to be looked at as the other guys develop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrandon Miller needs to not follow LaMelo\u2019s footsteps and create his own path, and play and defend with urgency,\u201d Thorpe added.<\/p>\n

Thorpe\u2019s take is an interesting one, and it\u2019s sure to rile up LaMelo\u2019s most ardent supporters. At the end of the day, though, there\u2019s no reason that both players can\u2019t thrive and earn max money doing so, with the Celtics being an obvious example to point to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Hornets don\u2019t need to worry about some sort of power struggle between Ball and Miller, either. They play different positions, for one thing. And if Miller is the dog that Thorpe seems to think he is, surely he\u2019ll assert himself as Charlotte\u2019s outright best player, sooner rather than later. <\/p>\n

Given how talented LaMelo is, though, that hasn\u2019t happened yet, and who knows if it will?<\/p>\n

Hornets’a Drew Peterson reportedly has another team ‘desperate’ to acquire him<\/a><\/p>\n

The Nick Smith Jr “era” in Charlotte was nothing but a pure disappointment<\/a><\/p>\n

Charlotte’s waiving of Nick Smith Jr. puts a bow on Hornets’ disastrous 2022 NBA Draft night trade<\/a><\/p>\n

Why the Hornets could still be the winners of last summer’s Klay Thompson trade<\/a><\/p>\n