Highlights from Hornets media day – At The Hive

Monday was kind of the unofficial first day of the 2024-25 NBA season for the Charlotte Hornets. It was media day, where the team gets together to take pictures, make gifs, and get in front of media members to answer questions. We’ll summarize all the interviews that are available on the team’s YouTube channel.

Jeff Peterson

• He can’t yet comment on the Karl-Anthony Towns trade and what specifically the Hornets got back but reiterated that the Hornets will always try to get involved where they can
• Called Mark Williams’ injury a “minor setback” and “[nothing] serious”
• The goal for this season is to put out a competitive group and develop players. He dodged the element of the question asking about if playoffs were a goal.
• Credited Mark’s mental engagement along with his physical rehab while he was out; said his back is ready to go
• LaMelo is healthy, had a good summer in Charlotte, and has been challenged by the coaching staff to step up on the defensive end
• Kemba reached out to the Hornets and asked if he could do something with the team if he decided to retire. The front office was extremely excited to have him come on board.
• Wants Brandon Miller to shoot more threes, credited his physical development to help him this season
• Couldn’t tell who it was, but a reporter blindsided Peterson with a question about the passing of Dikembe Mutombo. Peterson was clearly a bit rattled and sent thoughts and prayers.

Peterson is really good at talking to the media. For a new general manager, he’s a pro at dodging questions that could lead to out-of-context quotes but still giving good information.

Charles Lee

• Really excited about the buy-in from everyone from ownership to the players to the community
• Also called Mark’s foot injury a minor issue
• Wants LaMelo to translate his joyful play to competitive joy
• Said the team is focused on developing consistent habits and constantly improving
• He learned from winning championships with two different organizations that it’s all about embracing the process and not getting bored with the grind
• He wants to unleash Mark Williams as a shot blocker
• Stressed the importance of playing with pace and said a lot of stuff about the principles of playing fast and creating advantages
• Wants the team to play with more defensive commitment than they did in the past

Lee, like Peterson, is a joy to listen to. He comes across as extremely intelligent, and the little nuggets he shares about how he wants the team to play bring a lot of excitement. There’s clearly a lot of thought put into how he wants the team to play and it’s very mapped out to get the players to buy in. For those that follow football, it seems very Shanahan-esque in terms of the emphasis on fundamentals but framing them in a more practical manner.

LaMelo Ball

• It was a very typical LaMelo interview where he gave a lot of short answers that didn’t reveal much of anything
• He did confirm that he’s wearing ankle braces and he found some that he likes
• He’s been listening to the training staff on how to manage his ankles
• His main goal for the year is to just stay healthy
• Said that Miles and Miller both have bounce, but Miller might have Miles beat

There were a lot more questions, but he tends to answer interview questions like he’s answering test questions. We know what we’re getting from LaMelo media at this point.

Brandon Miller

• Excited for the bonds they’re going to build at camp and how that’ll help them achieve their aspirations
• Looking forward to being an elite two way player
• Said LaMelo is the best playmaker in the game and he’s super excited to get back on the floor with him
• Referred to Miles Bridges as a big brother away from home and credits Miles with pushing him to be a better player
• Ceded that Miles has more bounce but he had to think about it for a while

Miles Bridges

• He’s in the best shape he’s ever been in so he’s super excited to play fast paced basketball
• Said the last two coaches here were more laid back “except for Cliff when he got mad,” but Charles Lee brings a lot of energy that he thinks the team needs
• Echoed Lee’s mantra of being obsessed with daily improvement
• He improved his diet over the offseason and credited the training staff for helping him get his bounce back
• Said that LaMelo has been working a lot on defense, even during times when most guys are just casually shooting around
• He expects to facilitate more this season with LaMelo and Miller shouldering more scoring but he’ll do whatever the team needs
• He’s very impressed with Miller and how much he improves and wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the All Star team
• Everything worked out perfect in the offseason and he always expected to stay in Charlotte

Mark Williams

• Hurt his foot last Thursday in a workout but “it’s nothing too serious” and he’s not worried about it
• He’s completely fine from the back injury and is very dismissive of the injury prone label
• He watched a lot of Brook Lopez film with Charles Lee
• Lee’s energy has been great and he’s looking forward to defense heavy practices
• The back injury was the first long term in season injury he’s had, so it helped him appreciate the game more and motivated him to attack his rehab
• Weights about 260 pounds now and has gotten a lot stronger since he was limited to the weight room during the rehab
• Doesn’t see a reason the Hornets can’t be a playoff team this season

Grant Williams

• It’s a blessing to be home in front of family and friends playing in his hometown
• Sees the team having great success both competitively and in terms of growing together
• Talked about how important it is for the team to win to get the city behind the team
• He’s ready to embrace whatever role Lee asks of him
• Shared how excited he is to play with LaMelo and shouted him for how much work he’s been putting in over the summer

He clearly as a lot of Charlotte pride, and as a fellow native Charlottean, it’s really fun to listen to. He has a lot of faith in the organization and the city to build a very enthusiastic fan base.

Seth Curry

• Main goal is to be efficient with whatever time he gets on the floor and pass along his experience and knowledge to the younger guys
• It’ll be his first time back at Duke in a few years and he’s super excited to be back there
• The organization has been great about communicating the plan to bring him back even after declining the option on his contract
• Wanted to be here and part of the new regime to help make the Hornets competitive again
• The crowd is ready to embrace the team if they come out and win some games
• Josh Green is a competitor and a Swiss army knife
• Kemba still has the first step and can cross guys up in coach v player drills

Josh Green

• Wants to play every game as hard as he can
• Looking forward to sharing the floor with LaMelo and credited his competitiveness
• Wants to be a defensive leader by example
• Hasn’t had much of an offseason after making the finals, getting traded, then playing in the Olympics but it’s motivated him to be better
• Was surprised to see everyone in the gym so early in September and hadn’t seen that much in his previous seasons
• When asked what he brings to the team, he said effort is his top priority and that he brings competitiveness and energy every night

Takeaways

There were a few common trends throughout a lot of the pressers. All of the players and Jeff Peterson talked up head coach Charles Lee’s energy and enthusiasm, and all of the players talked about how much buy-in there is already. There were a few comments that when taken with the praise of Lee could imply that the team is aware that their effort and focus wasn’t where it needed to be in seasons past. The expectation is that Lee is going to fix that. The always-sunny media day interviews are a good first sign that he has this team moving in the right direction.