P.J. Washington’s laughter reveals REAL challenge for Hornets + why is Mark suddenly a starter lock?

P.J. Washington’s laughter reveals REAL challenge for Hornets + why is Mark suddenly a starter lock?

today on the lock on Hornets podcast PJ Washington has something to say is Mark Williams an Untouchable starter I’ll ask David Walker all these questions and more from the sicko Satchel that’s today on the locked on Hornets podcast let’s get it you are locked on Hornets your daily Charlotte Hornets podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day in the minute we live [Music] welcome in welcome in welcome in this is lockon htis we are part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday uh thanks so much for making locked on Hornets your first listen every day we are free and daily wherever you get Podcast and that includes YouTube where you can see me Doug Branson uh you can find my work on every Hornets box score.com you can see David Walker wearing a Franklin Barbecue t-shirt from Austin Texas a Max flight yeah what what would you call that hat this is a visor Doug not a hat it’s a visor it’s visor season when I was on with Walker and Wes Wesson walker uh I I pitched I I said what they asked me what gear should they grab from the golf course and I said you know take it old school take it traditional bring back the golf visor so it’s it’s golf visor season is a vis a visor is not a hat um I mean pretty sure visor is a hat is this like a hot dog as a sandwich type of conversation we’re having now I feel like we’re opening a can of worms here but I think a visor um is a hat anyway that’s David walk a hat has to have has to have cover the top of the head okay I well listen my definition of a hat is something that you he would settle this debate Walker is on vacation he can’t settle this debate uh you will see Walker later this week because we did do some pre-tapes and talked about some Evergreen stuff so you’re going to hear from Walker this week uh but right now you’re you’re seeing me if you’re watching on YouTube and I can’t help but address the elephant in the room right now if you are watching on YouTube and that is this I am not wearing a hat today also I’ve cut my hair it is short it is short now and and I know the the question is why did you do it that’s always going to be the question David was shocked when he saw it this morning uh and and the the answer is this it’s not because I have a job interview uh this is my job I can show you my bank I can show you my bank statements or lack thereof this is my job talking about the Hornets um it’s not because of a job interview it is not because uh it’s the summer it is it’s it’s very simple David it’s because I promise the listeners of this podcast that if the Hornets made the playoffs this upcoming season that I would shave my head which I’m upgrading slightly to a crew cut I will I will take my hair away I’m not going to go bald I’m not going to go bald for this reason David because I just felt my head the other day and I have a sneaking suspicion that I would be one of those people that shaved their head bald and I would have a wrinkly head you know people like discover that they have like a weirdly shaped head that would totally be me I I felt it I felt The Ridges I’m pretty sure my now producer Katie says everyone has ridges I think that I have deep ridges um and that my head would look weird so I’m not going to shave it I’m going to go crew cut if they make the play offs not the play in so the reason I cut my hair was simple I wanted this to be a a a sloping transition I did not want it to go from the long hair also you know what I can do whatever I want to with my hair I don’t view myself as a personal brand I am who I am whether I have long hair or not and and I don’t appreciate the way you’re looking at me right now David I’ll just say that right now you’re judging me I’m judging you for everyone that’s not currently on YouTube everyone that’s not currently on YouTube go pull it up on YouTube go take a look at this new do I I applaud it I think it’s great have you found now now here’s my question you haven’t gotten a haircut what since you lived in Nashville it’s been a long time yeah I was I had long hair while I was still in Charlotte it was been a long time and so the the the search process for a barber or or someone to cut it I mean was that extensive was that just somewhere you passed every day maybe it’s proximity there’s one in walking distance to me it’s called the beauty parlor and I said a walking distance deal Y and they made me beautiful I I’ll have to say they did great work okay enough about my hair because it’s not it can’t be great listening for the podcast folks although it is a great way to promote the YouTube channel like if you want to go see it you got to go and while you’re there subscribe and like videos speaking of judging people are judging a lot of hornet fans are judging PJ Washington right now because he was doing some kind of live video I’m not sure if it was X or Tik Tock or whatever it was but Tyler hero uh made a comment on his on some kind of live video that essentially was how how did you go from the Hornets insinuating the Hornets of the bottom to the NBA finals being the top and and I don’t I mean from what I’ve seen from the video P PJ Washington just laughed at that maybe made some kind of like comment that I didn’t really hear uh but people it has gotten under certain people’s crawl I’ll say I was on Mack and bone this morning on WFNZ and it was the first question yeah I just dropped that casually right move from I mean no offense to Wes and Walker but you know the morning show is the morning show um so I was on Mac and Bone and the first question they asked me David was about this PJ Washington thing which surprised me because you got draft you got free agency you got miles Bridges what are they going to do there and still yet people are talking about when when Terry Rosier goes to the Miami Heat and talks junk about the Hornets Kelly UB goes to the Philadelphia 76ers and has things to say about the culture this really gets at people and and David you had some interesting thoughts on this on on what on the state of the fan base you know and what it what it means when they when they sound off on PJ Washington like this yeah I just think think you know there’s there’s a bit of a tussle a little battle for the soul of the Hornets Collective fan base right now and it’s tough because look man I’m not gonna be I’m not gonna lie like the first thing when the first thing you see when you open up whatever social uh social media you know account you have is PJ celebrating the locker room and you know laughing you know saying from the bottom to the top and flashing over to Gafford and he was in Washington course so they can they can share they can share a little bit of that and like good for you you put a little context around it because it was Tyler hero you know kind of dropping that in the comments how do you go from Charlotte to I mean it’s pretty easy Tyler you you might want to get familiar with how trades work uh just saying it’s part of heat culture down there so if you don’t know he was traded that’s how that’s how it happened well how role players work how role players work right I mean this was my point on Mack and bone that like PJ fundamentally as a player did not change from Charlotte to the the Mavericks it’s just that they’ve surrounded him with uh you know Kyrie Irving they’ve surrounded him with LCA donic with players that can play and that that command attention getting him more open looks and more opportunities to do things in the open floor than he had to consistently do that in Charlotte and and so yes he’s going to go to the finals not because PJ Washington all of a sudden elevated his game or that there was something that Charlotte was doing necessarily to hold him down except be injured and not add sort of back stops and depth and players I mean that’s you know but this this is this is how I think people are reacting to this which is like and I think it’s the same way they reacted to the Tyler or Tyler the Terry Rosier stuff and the Kelly UB stuff which is this how dare they not say something while they were here to try to change the culture it’s easy to say it when you go to Dallas it’s easy to say it when you go to Miami it’s much more difficult to do that as a player in front of cameras or to the newspaper while you’re here and make some trouble here to make things better here because you were part of that culture whether you want to criticize it or not you were part of that okay but on the other hand I think people also say they kind of have a point about the Hornet I mean yeah that’s the thing when it keeps happening and and and people keep saying it when they leave here like that’s when you do have to look inwardly as the organization as a whole and that’s where you have to feel like look there’s obviously something to some of this right there’s obviously something that’s not clicking when people are here there’s obviously something that they did not do aside from being not being able to put a a competitive product on the court right um you know I think that I was trying to remember back I don’t think Kima I mean I think Kima had pretty good things to say when he left here or nothing I think a lot of people left here and had nothing I mean Lynn going to Brooklyn uh Big Al you know retiring I mean and and and Big Al I think did an interview with us and did an interview with radio when he was going on big three uh doing his big three thing and had nothing but good things to say about the there was a time when they were when they were making the playoffs when this organization did have its bleep together a little bit it wasn’t ready to be elite but it did have its stuff together and then I think post that playoffs and not reinvesting in that team that was the beginning of of MJ’s Detachment and what filled the gap of that Detachment was not like more expertise or more investment and so that’s why to me this whole talk of PJ actually matters because it hits at a central point which is that the biggest thing that the Hornets as an organization top down have to work on this offseason not going to solve it this off season but what they have to work on is changing the narrative because the most interesting thing about that PJ Washington video was not PJ Washington it was Tyler hero somebody that we’ve talked about adding to this Hornets roster and but that’s his perception of the Hornets as an organization and players around the league don’t I don’t think they pay close enough attention to go well the Hornets they changed ownership group and now MJ’s not as big a part of it and now they they also have a new GM like no they don’t pay attention to that they all they know is Hornets they lose they get injured they don’t you know I I’ve heard from Terry Rosier I’ve heard from Caleb Martin I’ve heard from all these guys about what kind of stuff they do there um and and so that’s the reputation they have to change that that’s the biggest you know we can talk about free agency we can talk about trades and all that stuff matters but fundamentally they’ve got to work on changing the narrative yeah and I can’t be mad at anyone that’s over you know that’s sensitive to that or that’s annoyed by the comments that have come out the the problem is now or the tough part to take it is now it’s like over the last year it’s been one after the other right UB thing then Terry and now PJ and like you know in reality it’s it’s like a flash on the pan it’s it’s a one morning thing that stings and you know if I’m not going to tell any orn fan to not uh you know take offense by that I guess or not be annoyed by that because it’s just been so long since they’ve been able to celebrate much of anything you know um it’s just been injury after injury losing season after losing season sure they were in the play in but that’s even seems like forever ago and so the Hornets fans are are are struggling right now it’s like gez you got to kick us while we’re down you gota you you know why can’t you celebrate you be Dallas have fun with that and kind of uh you know let the bygones be bygones but so I get that I totally get that from Hornets fans um and at the same time the ire obviously should be directed at you know the new regime who’s in the building now what are we going to do is this going to be a new kind of outwardly facing messaging that this that this group is going to have because that’s been the big frustration with me in the past it’s like we don’t hear much of anything about anything and it’s like there’s a bubble around the building almost you got to keep guessing at at what their what their thoughts are what their direction is and so that’ll be interesting for me to see because I don’t think it’s going to be a one season turnaround I’m just going to go out on limb and say I’m not sure that’s going to change over the course over the course of of the next you know 10 or 12 months so uh but look man it’s as War fans there’s nothing you can do but but be a little ticked off and sit here and be like H I guess man just just move on and be happy be happy with your Western Conference you know championship and and good luck to you good luck in the finals you mentioned the bubble uh that kind of takes me perfectly into the next segment coming up next lock down hornets podcast yeah well done don’t go to sleep on the Hornets just yet the Hornets bubble around the draft process actually getting a little tighter I’ve got that and a mock draft coming up for David in just a moment here on the lockon Hornets [Music] podcast today’s episode of the lockon Hornets podcast is brought to you by LinkedIn jobs when you’re hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role that’s why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help find the right Professionals for your team fast faster and the best part for free LinkedIn isn’t just another job board LinkedIn has a 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I can’t really back this up but somehow I think it would be better if the Hornets had not gone to those playin games and not gotten mud stomped um because it’s almost it’s the schro iners cat sort of thing where like you don’t know it’s like man if the Hornet just got into a play in they could I think they could really do some damage they could kind of sneak in there but you you have a little bit of evidence that they get into a postseason and crap the bed a little bit uh so they’ve got they’ve got to overcome all of those things um luckily the one thing that they didn’t have uh was Brandon Miller and I think that’s where you can hang a lot of Hope on Brandon Miller and some of these trade assets that they’ve brought in but they’ve got to do some work in this upcoming draft as well whether they make the pick at six or they trade back for additional assets um this is an important draft and you were mentioning that the bubble around the organization what they’ve said about their future plans getting tight the coaching process the coaching hire process was a bit of a black box but it resulted and I think what everyone consensus thought was the right hire in Charles Lee um but the bubble is getting tighter around the draft process this coming to us from uh James plowright from SI and British buzz on Twitter he says Hornet’s draft update Charlotte’s New Management have opted against publicly listing their pre-draft workouts or allowing media access has done so in past years this has become more frequent League wide in recent years with Peterson’s pre Jeff Peterson his previous team Brooklyn having the same policy David what do you think about this fair or foul not making this draft process more available to the public uh I mean Sly obviously it’s annoying uh but you know it’s like like uh plow right said there you know it’s becoming a little more common practice across the NBA so if that’s what they want to do you know knock yourself out I think the only thing that ultimately we care about is they make the right pick or they make the Right Moves to improve the team it’s a little uh you know content wise obviously it stinks I feel like some of the stuff gets leaked out though you know here and there you get rumors or stuff or we know some people that that will not work out for them so uh I mean you can kind of do your own homework there I mean I don’t know how much you know how how many years do we go through this and and read the list of people that’re working out and you know I guess they’re could be some surprises here and there but they’ve drafted people they’ve not worked out before they’ve certainly brought in like a ton of guys when they’ve had second round picks that are kind of interesting but you know that whole kind of dog and pony show of bringing the guys in and working them out I I don’t know how much you can ever glean from that uh you know in in my opinion it’s it’s stff to talk about and it’s interesting to look at especially in a draft that we know so little about uh but ultimately you know know if they want to do it that way just get the right pick well listen I think if if a lot of guys decided not to work out for Charlotte this year then it’s probably in Charlotte’s best interest from a PR perspective not to release that information and you would release that information via releasing everyone else that worked out for you people would be going why didn’t Stefan Castle want to work out with you why didn’t Donovan kingan want to work out with you and I’m not saying that those are the names I’m just saying like you know that that would be the perception at that point right but but also we didn’t get a ton from those interviews as a as a public um those interviews with prospects were there there were a lot of nothing Burgers although I will say this and it’s the same thing that I said when the owners came out and started taking a little bit of credit for the the trade process that brought in you know man and brought in poku and brought in Grant Williams be careful because if you take credit and if you put things behind a curtain it’s all great as long as you’re getting it right as long as Trey man comes in and plays well and Grant Williams comes in and plays well and you make a draft pick and that draft pick uh ends up being a stellar pick it’s all great but if you start messing that stuff up and there’s been no transparency and you taken and you want to put this image out there of ownership being involved what are fans going to immedi imately do they’re going to jump on it they’re going to say this is your fault you’re to blame and we because they don’t know and when and I say this all the time on the show when you don’t as an organization when you don’t develop a narrative to put out there then people will develop their own narratives yeah sometimes people will do that anyway and then it’s a you know it’s a kind of clash of narratives but if you don’t say anything if you put everything behind a curtain then you sort of have to live with the perception and you have to bet it all on you getting really everything right because as you said David it’s not going to be one decision that turns this thing around they’ve got a really if they want to get good quickly in enough time that matches the sort of timeline of Brandon Miller and of lamelo ball and of the things that they have now then they’ve got to really string together they don’t have to be perfect but they gotta be pretty damn near perfect yeah I’m gonna change my answer I hate this why honestly because the more you talked about that it’s like what so all right let’s talk this is why I like having you on I talked for a little bit and I change your mind this is beautiful what’s the what’s the advantage you you’re you’re just because agents are still GNA talk right and players are going to talk right so like the agents will know who’s worked out here the players will know you’ll have a group of players that work out together obviously they’ll know I guess some of it could get out like what’s the big advantage in this just to theoretically you’re saying well we’ll keep it all under wrap so no one will know who we really like is that I mean is that is that the goal I guess or is it like just because if this is more you know along the lines of a larger we’re keeping everything in house we’re not going to say anything about anything about anything moving forward then that’s another frustrating part about being kind of in this this Hornet fan bases that you never know what’s going on what it seems like part of a larger Trend in the NBA to limit media access whether it be going to the locker rooms you know they’ moved that all out into sort of very carefully um carefully orchestrated uh all little mini press conferences after games uh again it’s if you do that um you know I I think you’re taking yourself a little bit out of the conversation for a while um so I I don’t know I think there’s probably positives and negatives I think all organizations are looking for what can we do around the margins what can we do what can we do that’s proactive and this is something taking that away is something they can do that they feel like may give them just a little bit of an advantage when it comes to uh what they want to do with the pick because look with this sixth pick I think the Hornets do have some opportunities to trade back and so being a mystery not just to fans but being a mystery to other teams about what you want to do with that pick um and I’ve said honestly they should they should really hype up the idea that they’re going to take bronny James with that you know picking the 40s uh just so they could uh you know get the get the Lakers or Phoenix biting on a possible trade opportunity uh so it’s very interesting I do want to get to this mock draft um that has from cbssports.com uh latest one from them this was 19 hours ago from David Cobb and I’m just going to skip down to the end where the Hornets are selecting at six well let me tell you who went SAR at one Reet at two that’s boring three is Stefan Castle it’s the highest I’ve seen him go in a while Nika Topic at four that almost seems like planted I don’t know like four at topich I’ve seen that a lot with San Antonio picking topic uh Dalton connect goes five so a lot of interesting opportunities here for the Hornets they could go Holland they could go kingan they could go Shephard uh but Cobb has them taking kingan at six and this was another thing that came up on Mack and bone is do the Hornets take kingan even though they’ve made a big show seemingly making a big show of Mark Williams being healthy and being a big established part of their core is it okay to take kingan in this spot at six it is I mean from everything we’ve heard he would be the safest pick I don’t think fans are going to be super jazzed for that I think like if Reed Shepard Falls there and as much as he’s being talked up I mean people are talking about him measuring out not not like measurable as in vertical like all the all the measuring is that he might be the best player in the draft uh and he’s certainly the best shooter in the draft um I think a lot of people would be clamoring for him now some folks will have PTSD from uh Malik monk a Kentucky guard falling to them like all that stuff but I I think if Reed Shepard’s there it’s gonna be tough for them to pass up because and and obviously I’m coming around on this Doug but but like the thought of putting him in the back court with lamelo is is more appealing I think the longer we go here uh lamelo can play with anybody I think you know he’s played with Terry roier he’s played with with smaller guards in the back court there but for kingan uh yeah I mean and Nat was on here uh what last week and he’s pretty nervous about the whole Mark Williams thing I think anybody is until you see him go through a full season uh and not be hurt so I mean having some security there and some backup behind Mark Williams there does make sense it is safe it’s just not like a swing for the fences type thing yeah I’m glad they’re confident in Mar Williams health I’m glad that Mark’s confident in Mark Williams health I don’t know that I’m super confident until I see him play a full season that’s number one but the other thing is too like with all due respect to Mark Williams like what has he done on the court that would establish him as like core or like Untouchable starter like I just don’t understand that at all I really hope that all of that is a little bit of a smokes screen uh to to say that the Hornets won’t take kinging like I I hope that if it’s yeah if there isn’t a better opportunity you know maybe Castle’s a better opportunity if you can ignore the point guard stuff maybe Shephard is a better opportunity because like it’s just explosive scoring if it’s you know yeah if it’s not a Malik mon situation where he comes in and just forgets how to shoot then Shephard you know there’s a lot to there’s a lot to love there but if those options aren’t available to you and and you want to go clinging you should feel free to go CL I just don’t like it it honestly like blows my mind when people think that like oh well no they should have Defence towards Mark Williams why why like did he almost make an All-Star Game am I like crazy like there there’s stuff there obviously like Mark Williams say but why shouldn’t he have to fight for his spot like everybody like lamelo made an All-Star Game shouldn’t have to fight for the point guard spot Brandon Miller shouldn’t have to fight for his spot on the starter starting unit after scoring almost 18 points a game and looking like the best offensive weapon they have outside of lamelo ball like that shouldn’t have to fight for a starting spot but outside of that I just don’t get it no yeah and I mean uh like I said he’s going to be the safest pick probably uh over 7 foot uh without shoes or at at least seven feet without Sho and if he can shoot if he can shoot which it all accounts from some of the other teams that that are leaking stuff about their private workouts it looks like this guy can shoot so who had castle at three is that Houston Houston now but but Houston is the interesting sort of fulm point of this draft because they’re the team most rumored to be wanting to get out of that draft pick so you’re not thinking about what Houston wants or or if you’re doing a mock draft you shouldn’t think about what Houston wants you should think about some of the trade partners that they have available to them but that you know again if somebody wants that kinging shooting big they might jump up there and get him that’s what’s so difficult I mean I think three it seems like that SAR and Reay are locked at one two so it would be a shock if somebody else jumped into there because we’ve seen so much attention around those two at one two so then really the Draft starts at three and what happens there with that trade yeah and you’re going to be h i mean Castle sheer kingan uh I guess Dillingham um and uh um um our Julie guy well bz and Ron so like so like that’s the fun thing about this draft and intriguing thing about it is like there’s going to be someone there you know that you could talk to not only just talk yourself into but in this group uh that you’ve got to be able to find someone who can add some value to the team and and there’s going to be someone there that can do that right I mean at least as as you talk about this draft um some of those guys could be could be the picks of the draft could be the could be the best talent available so and I think that’s what they got to look at but I think to your point so when you’re talking about kinging you’re still talking about um you’re you’re you’re not drafting for fit I don’t think right you’re still not drafting for fit but because if you were then you’d be looking for something on the wing regardless of who’s there but like clinging uh you know like you said you I mean you’ve got Mark Williams but if you can add that um depth and and talent like they’re they’re not drafting for fit I wouldn’t think well this is what I said on Mack and Bone which is like look centers in today’s League don’t play 35 to 38 minutes a night anymore unless you’re yic unless you’re whatever you know plug in the best centers in the league like that’s not Mark Williams a mark you know you could do a mark you know 25 and kingan 18 or something like there’s there’s ways to do it where kingan is happy with the role and Mark is happy as starter like there’s just ways to do it just it’s absurd to me that anyone would think or write that the Hornets absolutely cannot take a center because they’ve got one locked up in Mark Williams like what give me give me evidence of that but yeah you know but as as Rod boon you know put out there last week I mean that might be the feeling though like the horn if that’s the what so what I’m saying is if that’s the feeling that is a mistake and the Hornets have been making that mistake and tripping over that particular you know issue for I don’t know since Big Al left I mean they they’ve been thinking ah we’re good at center it’s like no you are not no you are not and and so that’s where these workouts are really going to cause a big problem because you’ve already heard of them having difficult bringing guys in is that kinging is that castle I mean if they can’t even get a look at him that’s where I would say you know maybe yeah because again with kinging if he can’t shoot if you can’t get a good look at him and get an idea that if he can shoot or not it does make it more difficult to take him because you don’t you don’t look having two centers that can’t shoot is bad having three centers that can’t shoot and are due to make a lot of money because they’re you know lottery or right outside the lottery picks that is uh that’s going to be difficult ult so yes um it’s it’s it’s tough if he doesn’t decide to work out and we but the good news is we won’t know it ignorance is bliss uh and um that’s how I live my life so all right coming up on the lockdown Hornets podcast don’t go to sleep on the Hornets just yet we’ve got to dig into the sio Satchel uh and we’re going to be doing that all week I’ve got a question from Daniel I’ve got a question from Amber we’re gonna get to all that uh just ahead here on the lockdown Hornet podcast [Music] this episode is brought to you by our friends at eBay Motors passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed or you’re more of a power person or you uh like my hair you just feel stylist today then eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you’ll always find exactly what you’re looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or you get your money back because with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber and not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to make your C the MVP and bring home huge wins keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers more locked on Hornets ahead final segment here on the lockon Hornet podcast thanks so much for making us your first listen every day and as promised I’m going to rumage around this sio Satchel uh you filled it with lots of great questions I don’t think they’re silly enough they need to be sillier some of these are great serious questions and we’re going to address them but I need sillier questions in this sio Satchel I’m going to do another one later in the week so get it ready all right Daniel’s up first who is the most likely Big Splash qu in quotation marks Big Splash trade acquisition if we start next season hot David Big Splash so Big Splash in season trade acquisition if the Hornets come out on fire right it’s like oh these guys are are looks like they’re contenders I mean how much of Carl Anthony who how much can you take uh that contract when’s the last you looked at that contract dog well so what I I I haven’t looked at it in a long time it scares me to look at terrifying it’s terrifying but that would I think require both a hornet hot start and a Minnesota slow start right because right now I think they’re coming off the high uh and Anthony Edwards wants more than anything to disprove the haters he’s making commercial he’s making Sho commercials that are brilliant Sho commercial by by the way um of of keeping receipts and and wanting to answer the haters so they’re going to want to do that but and and to that point if they don’t I think Anthony Edwards is going to look for someone to blame and I think Rudy goar is definitely a uh someone that might catch some of that and Carl Anthony towns would be as well so if if it starts off poor for for Minnesota then I think absolutely that’s a name you know this is going to be the boring name I don’t know if this is Big Splash but M Bridges I think Brooklyn is intent on keeping M and seeing how that goes if it doesn’t go then I think they are going to be in more of a fire sale mode and so you know then the Hornets will theoretically if they trade back they’ll already have a number of assets but if they trade back they could have even more um so I think that that could be that could be a name as well yeah and and then they’ll they’ll have to compete with a lot of people for that male Bridges I think I mean he’s the proper name that’s kind of running around there as to who can Team X add right like a lot of people I don’t think I don’t think there’ll be as many suitors for towns just because of towns and his towns and his you know his his contract which is terrifying uh but but you know and I’m not saying the Hornets should do that but they would certainly be adding some Talent on a night in Night Out basis yeah I think they’ll be in a lot of competition if they want to make the move during like the draft or you know that time when there’s going to be a lot of people wanting to make moves in a lot of different directions and so we’ll see how disciplined Brooklyn is about seeing out I mean they say they want to see that plan out you know well when push comes to shove and and you’ve got Joe Dumars with two phones in his ears you know that’s when we’re really going to see how dedicated they are but if Mel survives that and we’re talking about inseason trade you know before the trade deadline then you know maybe they could go out and overpay a little bit or over you know over move out assets to get Mel Bridges if they really believe and that to me you know and we don’t really talk about this a lot but like there is a huge question mark around the Hornets of are they rebuilding or are they in let’s see what we have early in the season and look to win now or are they sort of dedicated to like no we’re still we’re we’re going to shed some money we’re not going to bring back Bridges we’re going to look to try to fill that Gap with a cheap alternative until you know we want to make our big move because they haven’t said anything we just don’t know so yeah and and I think you’re talking draft now but you look towards that draft next year and even after a guy like Cooper flag who is number one pick right now but who knows what’s going to happen like that there’s so much talent in that draft it’s going to be really hard for them not to say all right let’s just take it slow and low uh for one more season try and add what we can and hopefully get you know a high draft pick can add a real Blue Blood star Talent uh next year but you know I guess we got a long way to go till we get to that point final question here from Amber summer silliness is here and I want to know how this new regime can change how players see this place as a free agent destination is it as simple as winning games because Big Al was our only significant free agent signing in the last 10 years and that was after the Mike Dunlap 21 win season thank you Kima Walker by the way uh what else in addition to winning will help us I mean just like we talked about dude and y’all talked about it last week they’ve got to spend some money and they’ve got to upgrade these facilities they’ve got to upgrade the player experience you know we don’t hear too much about that uh ever unless it’s something like Terry leaving UB leaving by the way UB did want to stay here now I know he just wanted he wanted a deal he wanted a contract so of course he wanted to stay here and I love Kell I love the killer UB experience um but you’ve got to you’ve got to change it you’ve got to pull a full-blown Mark Cuban and you know uh put ps5s in the lockers you know put the big screen put the put the big screens on the walls give them figure out some like you know ergonomic design for all the chairs like do all this stuff they’re putting all this money they’re adding another VIP bar area underneath uh it’s for the fans yes they’ve got to do that stuff for the fans but they’ve got to make players you know feel like uh they are wanted and they are Valu valed and and and they’re doing the right thing around here and hopefully right hopefully Peterson and the new regime will be able to do that but we just don’t get that much insight into it we don’t hear about the new facilities we don’t hear about the new locker room or the new training staff or the whatever like the the perception to your point Doug is the perception of a losing franchise and until you know guys leave here and have great things to say about it or they start winning uh that’s not going to change yeah and like going back to an old logo or you know all this Nostalgia stuff it doesn’t even it only does things for a a small and getting smaller subset of the fan base that remembers those times and also it doesn’t do anything to recruit new players because these new players weren’t even born there are players in the league now that were not that did not exist that were not part of this planet the last time the Hornets won a playoff series there are players right a couple players on this team um that did that have never been in a world where that happen so um none of that matters uh it is all to what you say it’s that but it’s also I’ll add one more thing it’s getting more guys like Brandon Miller it’s getting more guys like Grant Williams that can bring an attitude and that um maybe have not just been sort of exposed as much that don’t that don’t buy into the the image of the Hornets that that really want to come here and relish the opport to change it there are look there’s players in the league that want to go to a team that already has an established culture and thrive in that um and then there are players that relish the opportunity to create a culture I think that’s Grant Williams to a T I think I think that’s why Grant Williams had problems in his other stops is because maybe he went into cultures that were a little bit more established and had that attitude of people were like buddy slow your roll but it’s perfect for the Hornets so go out and find a couple more guys like that and let them be your ambassadors that’s what’s got to happen the good news is it’s a blank slate I mean really you could do whatever you want to at this point and you you got to open the Sky Mall Budget the you got to open the Sky Mall magazine and find the vibrating chairs and the gadgets and the gizmos and just like and look you have to do it because you’re asking fans to pay more so if you’re asking fans to pay more that money has got to go to both things that will benefit fans but also things that will benefit players so that you have that um image around the league great points yeah cool yeah all right good show it’s fun it’s wonderful oh man GL I got to see on the premier haircut show yeah I didn’t know about it I know I know I didn’t tell you I didn’t I didn’t give you the heads up the hairs up um but what’s going to be weird is that like my hair’s going to change on the YouTube channel on and off because we did these pre-tapes pre haircuts so you’re just you know people are gonna be very confused tomorrow I can’t wait um and Walker’s going to be back next week but you’re going to hear some of his takes NADA is going to be back later in the week you got a big week here as we continue to break down this offseason I’m sure we’re going going to get some kind of rumors like we’re not going to know from the team who they’re working out but through these mock drafts through the reporting that woo and these other guys are doing we are going to get more information about what’s happening and we’ll bring it to you all here on the lockdown Hornet podcast so thanks for tuning in we’re on every day we’re on every weekday um and for David for ER for for the whole family here I’m saying go Hornets go America let’s War Charlotte see you tomorrow [Music]

David Walker joins to talk about P.J. Washington (and Tyler Herro’s) slight, the Hornets continuing to shroud their inner workings in mystery, why it seems like Mark Williams has been turned into an untouchable starter at the expense of drafting Donovan Clingan and the Sicko Satchel provides us a chance to talk trade targets.

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