The Charlotte Hornets knew trading LaMelo Ball would come with risk. What they may not have expected was how quickly the downside could show up.
After just one preseason game, the Hornets’ new point guard setup already looks unsettled, while Ball opened his Minnesota Timberwolves stint with the kind of clean, efficient outing Charlotte probably hoped to avoid seeing. The contrast was hard to miss.
Charlotte tried to patch the hole by re-signing Coby White, drafting Christian Anderson Jr., and trading for Dennis Schröder. On paper, that gave the Hornets options. In practice, the first test went sideways.
Anderson Jr. struggled through Summer League and is now injured. He sat out Charlotte’s preseason opener, a 34-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
White also missed the game and will not play in any preseason contests because of a calf injury. He is expected back very early in the regular season, but the absence means he’ll have little chance to build chemistry with the group before games start counting.
That left Schröder as the starting point guard, and his line was modest: five points and two assists in 15 minutes. He shot 40% from the field, finished minus-2, and didn’t do much to settle the picture.
The concern around Anderson Jr. goes beyond the injury. His Summer League showing was rough enough that a G League stint with the Greensboro Swarm appears likely once their season begins.
White’s injury is not considered serious, but it still matters because the Hornets were counting on time together with this reshaped backcourt. There’s a little irony in that, given Ball’s injury history was part of the reason Charlotte moved him in the first place.
Ball, meanwhile, looked right at home in Minnesota. In his Timberwolves debut, he logged 17 minutes in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks and posted 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists. He shot 50% from the field and 40% from three, and finished at plus-2.
That’s exactly the kind of preseason debut a team wants from a new point guard. For Charlotte, the early returns on life after Ball are much murkier. It’s still far too soon to make any final judgment on the trade, but after one preseason game, the Hornets have to be wondering how this all plays out.
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Brandon Miller Injury Creates An Early Hornets Concern
Brandon Millers preseason has already hit a small snag for the Hornets, with the second-year wing dealing with a shin contusion he picked up in practice. Charlotte has been taking the cautious route, keeping him day-to-day as the team works through the opening weeks of exhibition play and prepares for its next preseason test against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Millers absence from the recent game against the Brooklyn Nets added a little more early-season concern, especially for a player whose development remains central to Charlottes plans. There is already outside buzz about a possible long-term extension down the road, but for now the Hornets are focused on getting Miller back on the floor and making sure a preseason bump does not linger. [Read more 🡒]
Naz Reid Already Feels Like A Huge Part Of Charlottes Reset
Before Charlottes first preseason game against Brooklyn, Charles Lee was already talking about Naz Reid like a player who can help steady the Hornets new direction. The big man arrived from Minnesota as part of the LaMelo Ball trade, and his first taste of a Charlotte uniform offered a quick glimpse of why the team wanted him in the mix as it starts over with a reshaped roster.
Reid wasted little time showing he can bring scoring and activity in short bursts, and that matters for a Hornets group still sorting out how its pieces fit together around young talent such as Miller and Knueppel. With the season just getting underway, Charlotte is trying to establish roles and identity, and Reids early return has at least given the coaching staff one more reason to believe the reset can take hold sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Preseason Opener Revealed An Early Question About Charlotte's New Look
The Hornets preseason opener in Brooklyn offered an early look at how this new group wants to play, and it also showed how much still has to be sorted out. Even in a loss to the Nets, there were encouraging signs in the way Charlotte spaced the floor and tried to let multiple players handle the ball, with Grayson Allen and Royce ONeale providing shot-making and playmaking, while Sion James looked comfortable enough running the offense in stretches.
The bigger takeaway may have been the mix of promise and rough edges from the younger pieces. Rookie Hannes Steinbach saw only limited minutes, and Liam McNeeley flashed the kind of shooting that can translate quickly, but the possession-by-possession details were less tidy than Charlotte would like this early in camp. For a team still figuring out its rotations and identity, the opener made clear that the talent is there, but the fit will take some time. [Read more 🡒]