The Charlotte Hornets are 4-9 and showing no evidence of being a playoff team now or in the immediate future, despite having a young core of players that, on paper, looks like a potential nucleus of a future contender.

Kon Knueppel has officially entered the Rookie of the Year conversation. As Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer noted, the former Duke standout is leading all rookies in scoring at 17.2 points a game and has already hit 41 threes.

Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel has been the best rookie in the NBA this season. Does that sound like an exaggeration to you? It’s not. Yahoo Sports' NBA

The third-year swingman hasn’t played since suffering a left shoulder subluxation injury on Oct. 25. What about LaMelo Ball?

Bucks outlast Hornets 147-134 in overtime, improve to 2-0 in NBA Cup pool play with a win on Nov. 14. Eight players scored in double figures.

Knueppel has been an early bright spot on what has been a disappointing start to the year for the Hornets. Two prominent NBA analysts love what they have seen from Knueppel so far. While speaking on the Bill Simmons Podcast, both Bill Simmons and Tim Legler love what Knueppel has brought to the table in the early portion of his career.

Miller was cleared for on-court activity on Monday morning and immediately joined the Swarm for practice. It will be interesting to hear how his shoulder responded to the increased workload, and if he fared well, it's possible he could be back in the rotation for Charlotte sooner rather than later.

Norman Powell scored 25 points and the Miami Heat enjoyed a record-setting first quarter on the way to a 126-108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets in an NBA Cup game Friday night, giving coach Erik Spoelstra a win a day after his home burned down.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to return vs. the Hornets in the NBA Cup as the Bucks look to bounce back after Wednesday’s loss.

If the NBA trade deadline were today, would the Charlotte Hornets make some moves? They probably would, because they have assets to play with (namely, some expi