NBA draft prospect V.J. Edgecombe talks about playing for the Charlotte Hornets, Coach Charles Lee's defensive focus, and his journey to the playoffs. By FOOTAGE BY ROD BOONE| PRODUCED BY DIAMOND VENCES
Slightly rested following his first season at the end of the bench guiding the Charlotte Hornets, the ever-present smile on Charles Lee’s face offers all the necessary insight.
With a crucial stretch forthcoming that will go a long way in determining how the franchise’s 2025-26 roster will look, the Hornets coach is eager to get things going. The NBA Draft, being held June 25-26 at Barclays Center in New York, is barely a month away and Charlotte drew the fourth overall pick during the league’s annual lottery in Chicago a week ago.
Adding another young contributor is just the beginning of the next phase.
“I’m excited about our offseason,” Lee told The Observer. “We have clarity with our draft pick. I think that our team is in a much better spot this year than we were last year. There’s also clarity with who the coach is and what’s expected of you in the offseason.
“So, I think that we’ve laid out a great schedule for our guys to just continue to get better. We’ve created a great environment for these guys to be able to come in and work, and be around each other, our staff, and just to try to build some more winning habits.”
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee during the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks at Spectrum Center. Jim Dedmon USA TODAY NETWORK
At the forefront of the charge is Miles Bridges. The Hornets’ longest-tenured player suggested the day after Charlotte wrapped up its 19-63 season in April he not only planned on staying in the Carolinas much more than he typically does to work out to get in better shape heading into his seventh year, but also intended on being at the forefront of organizing voluntary sessions with his teammates — similar to what Terry Rozier did during his tenure with the Hornets.
“I love that Miles wants to spearhead that,” Lee said. “I think a big part of any type of culture or organization is your best players kind of driving things forward. And him being the leader and wanting to make sure he puts all the guys together in order to work and in order to grow and to learn from one another, I think it’s really important. And he’s kind of set a tone from last year and he wants to continue that ball rolling forward in terms of what work ethic looks like, what professional habits looks like.
“So, I love that he’s saying the right things and doing the right things, and I think that we can expect our guys to be around as much as they want to be, because it’s also the NBA and we can’t force them to be anywhere. But I love that they want to be in town and be around each other.”
Those gatherings should include the team’s star point guard, too.
LaMelo Ball had arthroscopic surgery in March to address right ankle impingement, and his right wrist was also operated on in a separate procedure.
Ankle issues have plagued Ball for most of his pro career, including 2024-25 when he made just 49 appearances, and he’s played in more than 51 games only once, coming in his All-Star season in 2021-22. Full basketball activities haven’t arrived yet for Ball, but he’s coming along during the process.
“Yeah, I’ve seen great consistency with him just trying to get himself back after his procedures,” Lee said, “getting in the gym, doing everything he can physically and mentally to get his body right. Because then that next phase after he gets himself back mentally and physically is to hit the court and try to work on some of those skill acquisitions.
“But again, body is going to be one of the most important things so we can continue to have him durable.”
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee talks with guard LaMelo Ball (1) during a time out in the fourth quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Ed Szczepanski USA TODAY NETWORK
Ball isn’t the only Hornets guard whose health will be paramount.
Tre Mann, scheduled to be a restricted free agent this summer, missed the bulk of this past season with what initially was described as a lower back injury but changed to disc herniation weeks later. He hasn’t spoken publicly since November and he was out of town doing rehabilitation the day after the Hornets’ season ended.
“I would just say Tre is making really good progress,” Lee said. “Physically, he’s doing a good job, doing everything he possibly needs to. Our performance team is doing a great job of staying in touch with him and making sure he’s doing all the necessary stuff to make sure he’s ready for the season.
“And I think on the court he’s making progress every day. And so that’s all we can ask for, is to celebrate the small wins and continue to make progress. And that’s what he’s focused on.”
Mann got off to a hot start, averaging 14.1 points, three assists and 2.9 rebounds in the 13 games he played in before getting injured just before Thanksgiving. He was one of the league’s best sixth men, courtesy of increasing his career scoring average from the 9.4 he posted in his first three seasons, and the Hornets’ backcourt simply was never the same without him.
That, along with Mann’s injury possibly damaging his ability to cash in with a lucrative long-term contract right away, could lead to a reunion between both sides. Lee surely would be in favor of it, knowing how much easier Mann made his job because of the number of tasks he could juggle effectively.
“Tre, he’s a phenomenal player, even better teammate and person,” Lee said. “ And so when you don’t have a guy who can fill it up on the board, can guard, who’s competitive, can make life easier for Melo, and Miles, and Brandon (Miller), and Mark (Williams) or whoever is out there on the court, he’s just such a great talent. So, to miss him to out there and his skill set was definitely unfortunate.
“But also, to just have him around on the court, vocally or at practice or teaching guys — because he does have such a high basketball IQ. But, yeah, I think he brings so much value. It’ll be nice to have him back in the mix hopefully next year.”
The Charlotte Observer
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly. Support my work with a digital subscription