76ers’ Paul George says Hornets’ lack of ‘winning culture’ would keep him from joining Charlotte as free agent

When Paul George becomes a free agent again — which won’t happen until 2028 at the earliest if he declines his player option — we certainly know where he’s not going to sign. While talking with Baron Davis on George’s podcast, the All-Star forward called out one specific team for not being a desirable franchise that players would want to compete for.

“If I’m in free agency, I’m not picking Charlotte, just because there’s no winning culture there alone,” George said. “Regardless, Charlotte is an amazing city, would love to play for [the Hornets] because of the city, like I could see myself living there. But in terms of a basketball standpoint, my career’s over with if I’m going there.”

George did give a shoutout to the city of Charlotte for being a great city, and while he kind of hedged his criticism of the Hornets by saying he could see himself playing there, the comment still stands — and he’s not wrong, either. The Hornets haven’t made the playoffs since 2016 and have only one winning record in the last nine years.

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While the conversation about the Hornets was done so in the context of how LaMelo Ball needs to improve, the overall team culture in Charlotte also became a target for criticism.

“When you look at the Hornets roster, you’ve got to pick a direction,” Davis said. “LaMelo needs stability around him. You can’t have a bunch of young dudes flying around him. We’ve seen that in NBA history. Yes the talent’s gonna be great, be exciting for fans. But when you’re trying to win, you got to have some people that stabilize the consistency everyday. … They don’t have, to me, the right mix of veterans, good players and young talented players that have the ability to over-index.”

That’s not an entirely unique opinion on the Hornets, that’s been the general consensus on them for several years now. But it’s not too often we get a current player like George, and Davis who spent the first six years of his career playing for the franchise, including when he relocated from Charlotte to New Orleans, come out extra critical of a team. 

While the Hornets have been in lottery purgatory the last few years, there should be some optimism heading into next season. Ball will be fully healthy, as will Brandon Miller, who played just 27 games after having wrist surgery. They’ll also be getting Grant Williams back after he played only 16 games following tears to his ACL and meniscus last season. A healthy roster should fix some issues the Hornets have had in the past few seasons, and the addition of Kon Knueppel, who the team selected with the No. 4 overall pick, should certainly aid in Charlotte ranking 28th in 3-point percentage a season ago.

But to George’s point, it’s going to take more than just one season of success for the Hornets’ reputation around the league to change. If they don’t want to be a team viewed as a place where, as George said, somewhere a player goes if their career is over, it’s going to take several years of sustained success to alter that public perception.