The Charlotte Hornets were one of the offseason’s winners.

It may not have been the flashiest offseason by any measure, but compared to previous years, it felt like the Hornets were actively serious about building something for the long term.

Step one was to draft well.

And if you’re a fan of the Hornets, you can understand some trepidation when it comes to drafting the right players.

Are the days of Sean May, Adam Morrison, James Bouknight, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist behind us?

It’s been a hit or miss area for Hornets brass over the years, though it’s looking like we’re in the midst of a turnaround.

LaMelo Ball, while consistently on the injury report, has fit the bill and Brandon Miller looks like the alpha that Charlotte has been looking for since Kemba Walker.

This previous draft was also an overwhelming win, indicating that the Hornets were looking for culture builders, not just straight skill players.

It started with Kon Kneuppel, the sharpshooting forward out of Duke, who Hornets brass fell in love with during the Draft process. But not just that, adding players like Liam McNeeley and defensive stalwarts in Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner instantly raise the ceiling of Charlotte’s future.

Both Kneuppel and McNeeley play a balanced and smart game, while being a major threat to shoot from the outside.

And in terms of James and Kalkbrenner, they will be mainly focused on the defensive side of the ball. James is a decent shooter, who can put the ball in the hoop, but after being named to the ACC All-Defense, being a perimeter defender will likely be his calling card.

Kalkbrenner is a beanstalk who played five years at Creighton and dominated the Big East at the rim. In the past three seasons, he led the Big East in blocks per game, and for four consecutive seasons, captured the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He can also chip in on the offensive end if needed, and is a capable shooter from outside.

For the Draft, Bailey gave Charlotte an ‘A’ grade.

For both the “Continuity” and “Offseason” portions of this piece, Bailey gave Charlotte a ‘B’ grade.

We discussed how Charlotte keeping Miller will only help grow this franchise, and the starpower Ball only raises the ceiling of the Hornets.

But the offseason moves that they made are critical to building a long term winner.

Nothing the Hornets did was overly spectacular. After all, they’ve been in a never-ending rebuild, and the only right way to handle this is by avoiding impulse moves.

Charlotte had added Collin Sexton, Mason Plumlee, Spencer Dinwiddie and Pat Connaughton to the fold, although looking at the roster, there are a lot of guards that likely would expect playing time.

One option is to trade Dinwiddie before Opening Night, depending on how he does in Camp.

Connaughton is a locker room tone setter. He’s the type of player that can shoot the lights out of the ball, while also being a pest on defense.

Similarly, Sexton is the ultimate locker room guy. For the first six years of his career, he hasn’t had the same kind of team success as some of his peers, but he’s a bull in a china shop. Should Charlotte reach the playoffs, Sexton is the type of player you want to go to war with.