Dennis Schroder didn’t hide how he feels about the move from Cleveland to Charlotte.
After the Hornets picked up Schroder and cash in a deal that sent Tre Mann to the Cavaliers, the veteran guard made it clear he sees a cleaner path with his new team. “When you have two legends in your position who bring the ball up the court and play a lot of isolation, then it’s just difficult,” Schroder said about playing for the Cavs.
He added that the Hornets will be “a better situation for me.”
For Charlotte, the move gives the team a dependable backup option behind Coby White. Schroder appeared in 70 games in the 2025-26 season, putting up 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from three.
The shooting numbers weren’t sharp, but Schroder still brings value as a veteran reserve. That matters for a Hornets backcourt that also includes Christian Anderson Jr., a rookie in the 2026-27 season who remains unproven at the NBA level.
Schroder can help Charlotte in more than one way, too. Beyond backing up White, he gives the Hornets a seasoned presence for Anderson as the young guard gets his footing.
Charlotte’s roster has been reshaped in a big way this offseason. The biggest move came when the team sent LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid and draft capital, a deal that opened the door for White to take over as the starting point guard and led to his three-year, $74 million extension.
Even with all those changes, the Hornets still have a competitive core built around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller.
In Other News...
Hornets Face A Frustrating Reality About This Roster
Charlotte spent last season on the playoff fringe before finishing 44-38 and again watching the postseason from home, and the offseason has brought a mix of continuity and change. The Hornets re-signed Coby White, added Dorian Finney-Smith, and used the draft to bring in Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson, while an expected starting group would feature White alongside Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Reid and Moussa Diabate.
Still, the broader read on the roster is less encouraging than the individual moves might suggest. With Jeff Peterson publicly expressing confidence in Miller and Knueppel after the trade of LaMelo Ball, the question now is whether Charlotte has enough high-end talent in place to do more than hover around the middle of the pack, or whether it will need to lean on future picks and swaps to chase another star before the ceiling starts to rise. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Face A Brutal Question Without LaMelo Ball
LaMelo Balls absence leaves Charlotte with the kind of roster question every rebuilding team eventually has to answer: who gets the ball, who creates, and who can actually handle the extra weight over the course of a season? The conversation naturally starts with Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, both of whom are expected to see bigger opportunities, while Coby White also factors into the picture as someone who could be asked to absorb more responsibility in the backcourt.
What makes the issue tricky is that each of those players is still working through something different, whether it is sharpening a skill set, expanding a role, or simply proving the workload is sustainable. Even the rookies, Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr., are part of the broader evaluation, though their promise comes with obvious limitations right now, which leaves Charlotte staring at a season defined less by certainty than by how quickly a new hierarchy can take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Are Sending A Clear Message About Their Next Step
After finishing 44-39 and putting together one of their better seasons in years, Charlotte is entering the next phase with a different kind of urgency. The front office has already sent a clear signal through recent trades that the Hornets are not trying to simply chase last years progress, but to shape the roster around younger pieces such as Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.
That approach may come with a step back in the standings, and NBA insider Tim McMahon expects exactly that in the coming season. For a fan base that had reason to believe the club was inching closer to respectability, the direction now looks more patient than aggressive, with the focus shifting toward a longer rebuild rather than an immediate push in the Eastern Conference. [Read more 🡒]