The Charlotte Hornets had the best net rating in the NBA last season after January 1. This year, they are fifth-worst in that metric. The Hornets felt that they couldn't get better than that Play-In peak with the current roster, so they essentially blew it up.

Jeff Peterson made the hard decision to once again pivot to the future. There was an understanding that they'd take a step back this year, but what we've seen on the court so far has been unsightly, to say the least.

Evidence is quickly mounting that this was an embarrassing oversight by Peterson and company. You could argue that it was a future-based move, but the idea that the Hornets would be one of the worst teams in the NBA wasn't the plan.

Everything (except the Tidjane Salaün selection, which wasn't the worst thing in the world in a terrible draft class) Peterson did before trading LaMelo Ball was great. What he did after was pretty good, too.

The Hornets traded Ball in part because they didn't think he could stay healthy and keep his value up. Ball hasn't missed a contest this year, while the Hornets have gotten two and a quarter games from Coby White and Kon Knueppel combined.

The pivot also made the Hornets deeper. Instead of having a top-heavy lineup, Peterson filled the roster with a ton of shooters. Thus far, the Hornets are the worst shooting team in the NBA with a 52% true shooting mark.

That high-flying offense is nowhere to be found. After posting a 118.4 offensive rating last season, the Hornets have plummeted to 101.5. They honestly are fortunate to have three wins on the season, and it could be a while before they get many more.

On an individual player basis, the evidence is there, too. The Hornets' best offensive player is Ryan Kalkbrenner with a 114.9 offensive rating, and he is followed by Grayson Allen at 106.3. Those two numbers would've ranked 11th and 20th, respectively, last season.

Brandon Miller, the superstar who got a $209 million extension and was supposed to be the Most Improved Player and the face of the franchise, has the following stat line:

• 100.8 offensive rating
• 107.8 defensive rating
• -7.0 net rating
• 0.91 assist-to-turnover ratio
• 47% true shooting
• 9.8 PIE
• 22.0 points per game on 21.7 shot attempts
• 26.7% three-point shooting

I think the biggest piece of evidence in how this roster is a failure is Moussa Diabaté's performance. He was a breakout star and one of the most impactful on/off players in the entire sport last year. This year, he's been pretty terrible.

His offensive rating was second only to LaMelo Ball last year, and now he's the worst meaningful rotation member at 92.6. His defensive rating is 115.0, giving him an astonishing -22.4 net rating. He can still rebound, but that's it.

Here are just a few other stats that illustrate how bad everything is going for the players:

• Ryan Kalkbrenner's 9.9 net rating is the only positive mark on the team
• Sion James has a -13.9 net rating
• Naz Reid has a 100.4 offensive rating
• Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr. are averaging a combined 8.9 minutes per game
• Coby White has a 119.1 defensive rating

You could argue that injuries have played a role. They certainly have, as not having Coby White until now (and he's clearly rusty) and losing Kon Knueppel again after six minutes is not a good situation.

But if you are building a roster that quite literally cannot function without three players healthy all season at the same time, then you've failed. Look around the NBA. No one is healthy. Good teams have built themselves to withstand injuries. The Hornets, for all their depth, have not.

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost Anthony Edwards and kept rolling with LaMelo Ball and others. Every team has someone substantial missing, it feels like, but the Hornets get a pass for injuries?

No, they simply built a bad roster, and a defining moment for the franchise over the offseason is aging poorly.