After an impressive 2015-16 season and playoff run, the Charlotte Hornets had back-to-back 37-win seasons. Frankly, for a team looking to win now, these seasons were a letdown. This left the Hornets in a precarious circumstance: not good enough to tank and certainly not convincing enough to go all-in and risk future assets.
Most teams in the league start the season with playoff aspirations, looking to win as many games as possible. So, of course, finding themselves out of playoff contention or losing more games than expected would be the worst-case scenario for almost any team in the NBA.