Swallow 3 garbage contracts + Husband s intercept champion puzzle! The Hornets are violently rebuilt, just to break the 30-year spell

On July 8, 2025, Pat Connaughton wrote a long article on social media to bid farewell to the Bucks: "Seven years ago, the Bucks gave me a chance to be cut and persuaded to play baseball. Now when I leave, I am a father and an NBA champion member." The gratitude and pride of a counterattacker are soaked in the lines. This tough guy, who ranked fifth in the league (359 games), was the fifth in the league (359 games). He just executed the $9.4 million player option and was traded to the Charlotte Hornets.

While Bucks fans were still moving to Connaughton's farewell, Hornets' management was quietly planning a disruptive reconstruction. Over the past six months, this team has operated with almost cold precision: 23-year-old potential center Mark Williams was traded from the Lakers in February 2025; Reggie Jackson, who was given to clear the space, and three second-round picks.

Now, they use trading exceptions to take over the championship puzzle Connaughton, and Charlotte's locker room is injected with a long-lost element - the winner's gene.

Connaughton's farewell is not the end, but a legendary milestone. Seven years ago, the second round pick to today's championship veteran, his transformation witnessed the most glorious era of the Bucks. "The language cannot fully express what these years mean to me," he wrote in his farewell letter, "but please believe that this is not the end station, but a time-to-term station in the future."

data reveals his underestimated value: on the list of regular season wins in the past seven years, he ranked fifth in the league with 359 games, only behind Tatum, Jokic, Jaylen Brown and Antetokounmpo. This second-round pick who returned to the basketball court from the baseball court, used rebounding, key dunks and a smile that was always on the corner of his mouth to pour his championship gene into Milwaukee.

When the transaction news came, he chose to turn around in the most decent way. Execute player options to show professional attitude, and every word of farewell letter is profound and meaningful. The annual salary of $9.4 million is an instant supplement to the Hornets, and it is the starting point for Connaughton.

Charlotte's operation has shown its thunderous skills recently. In February this year, General Manager Pelinka made a decisive move, using rookies Kennett and Redishga's unprotected first-round pick in 2031, to exchange center Mark Williams, who averaged 15.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game from the Hornets.

This deal made Lakers fans cheer for "People's deity", but also allowed the Hornets to gain rebuilding chips.

More exquisite operations were staged at the end of June: the Hornets transformed into the "Contract Recycling Bin" and took the Nuggets' free defender Reggie Jackson, and won three additional second-round draft picks. This operation not only clears up salary space, but also accumulates future assets, paving the way for subsequent major moves.

There is a bolder blueprint circulating within the league - the Hornets have explored three-party deals, trying to exchange Lamelo Ball for Kyrie Irving, while taking over Lakers center Gafford. Although the transaction has not yet been launched, it has exposed the management's determination to build a new lineup.

Charlotte's team history is always shrouded in a curse: the chosen genius will always become the cornerstone of others. In 1996, the Hornets selected Kobe Bryant at the 13th pick, but traded him to the Lakers for Vlad Divac.

Kobe later won five championship trophys for the Lakers.

The nightmare reappeared on the 2018 draft night: The Hornets selected Shea Gilgers Alexander (SGA) with the No. 11 pick, and sent him to the Clippers a few minutes later for No. 12 pick Miles Bridges and two second-round picks. In 2025, Alexander led the Thunder to win the championship and was elected as the MVP of the Finals.

"Two MVPs, two draft night deals, no time to wear the Hornets jersey." US media ClutchPoints summarized the Hornets' tragedy in this way, "Talent appears in Charlotte... but has never been left." This history is like a shadow covering the team until the summer of 2025 ushered in a turning point.

Connaughton's arrival marked a strategic transformation of the Hornets. This champion defender brings not only data, but also a winner mentality. When Brandon Miller quickly grew into a sharp striker, Lamelo Ball was still the first choice at the critical moment (usage rate as high as 39.1%), Connaughton's tenacity filled the most scarce spiritual attributes in the locker room.

Hornets have begun to show their strength: inside pillar Mark Williams protects the penalty area, Lamelo Ball controls the whole game, and Brandon Miller provides wing firepower. Connaughton will play the adhesive—empty cut, defense, locker room leadership—the skills that the Bucks depend on for survival during their time are the last puzzle for the young Hornets to hit the playoffs.

As Connaughton appeared in Charlotte in a Hornet robe, a journey to end the spell has begun. When the reporter asked about the new role, his answer was concise and powerful: "I came with what Milwaukee taught me - the champion's heartbeat never stops by changing jerseys." On the whiteboard in the Hornets' locker room, next to the photo of Kobe and SGA's winning championship, the moment Connaughton holds the championship trophy in his hand. The glory of superstars that Charlotte failed to retain for thirty years is now being compensated by a blue-collar champion in another way.

When Connaughton first rushed to the sideline to save the ball, Milwaukee's toughness had been melted into the Hornets' blood. What he took away was not only a championship ring, but also injected the second round pick's counterattack gene into a "cursed" team. Every "premium contract" that the Hornets' management has swallowed in the past six months is laying the groundwork for ending the curse that has lingered the team for 30 years.

The cycle of the basketball world sometimes begins with a affectionate farewell and finally a silent rebirth.