The Charlotte Hornets are heading into the new season with a very different look, and the biggest headline is impossible to miss: LaMelo Ball is gone. Charlotte sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a deal that brought back Naz Reid and draft capital, including an unprotected 2033 first-round pick.
It was a bold swing by Jeff Peterson, and it comes after the Hornets had just put together their best stretch of basketball in years. Now the question is simple: can they keep playing at that level without Ball?
A lot of the pressure now lands on Brandon Miller. With LaMelo out of the picture, the offense and the spotlight shift his way.
Kon Knueppel is also expected to be a major part of everything Charlotte does, but this feels like Miller’s team. The Hornets made that clear this week by agreeing to a new five-year, $209M contract extension with him.
There’s also some uncertainty right out of the gate. Kon Knueppel is dealing with a hamstring issue, and Coby White has a calf injury, leaving both day-to-day. They could be available for the opener, but Charlotte may choose caution, especially since those two account for 40% of the starting unit.
At center, the Hornets have a real competition brewing. Moussa Diabaté is the likeliest starter to open the season, but first-round pick Hannes Steinbach is viewed internally as a potential fast riser.
The team is extremely high on Steinbach and believes he can be their long-term answer in the middle. His offensive ceiling is considered higher than Diabaté’s on that end, and Diabaté could end up being even more effective as a reserve.
Ryan Kalkbrenner is still in the mix too, though the expectation is that Charles Lee will lean most heavily on Diabaté and Steinbach, with Kalkbrenner used more in specific situations.
One of the bolder calls floating around this season is that Naz Reid could make the All-Star Game. It’s not the safest prediction, but it’s not hard to see why people are talking about it. Miller and Knueppel have the cleaner paths, but Reid should get a far bigger offensive role now that he’s no longer operating as one of the league’s better Sixth Men.
There’s also a belief that Charlotte won’t be content to just ride out the season. Despite the departure of LaMelo Ball, this roster is deeper than the one that reached the Play-In a year ago, and the expectation from some is that the Hornets will slide down the standings.
That’s not the read here. The sense is that Charlotte can hang around .500 for most of the year and stay in the mix by the time the trade deadline arrives.
A blockbuster move seems unlikely, but the Hornets could still add to the roster if they’re in position to push for the postseason.
Here’s the opening night roster, along with the two-way players:
#00 Royce O’Neale - F | 6’6”, 226 lbs | Age: 33 | Exp: 9 (Baylor)
#0 Naz Reid - F/C | 6’9”, 264 lbs | Age: 27 | Exp: 7 (LSU)
#2 Grant Williams - F | 6’7”, 236 lbs | Age: 27 | Exp: 7 (Tennessee)
#3 Coby White - G | 6’5”, 210 lbs | Age: 26 | Exp: 7 (North Carolina)
#4 Sion James - G | 6’5”, 220 lbs | Age: 23 | Exp: 1 (Duke)
#5 Christian Anderson - G | 6’1”, 165 lbs | Age: 20 | Exp: R (Texas Tech)
#7 Kon Knueppel - G/F | 6’6”, 215 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 1 (Duke)
#8 Grayson Allen - G | 6’4”, 198 lbs | Age: 31 | Exp: 8 (Duke)
#11 Ryan Kalkbrenner - C | 7’1”, 256 lbs | Age: 24 | Exp: 1 (Creighton)
#14 Moussa Diabaté - F | 6’10”, 210 lbs | Age: 24 | Exp: 4 (Michigan)
#17 Dennis Schröder - G | 6’1”, 175 lbs | Age: 33 | Exp: 13 (Germany)
#22 Hannes Steinbach - F | 6’10”, 248 lbs | Age: 20 | Exp: R (Washington)
#24 Brandon Miller - F | 6’7”, 200 lbs | Age: 23 | Exp: 3 (Alabama)
#31 Tidjane Salaün - F | 6’10”, 207 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 2 (France)
#33 Liam McNeeley - F | 6’8”, 210 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 1 (UConn)
PG: Coby White, Dennis Schroder, Christian Anderson
C: Moussa Diabaté, Hannes Steinbach, Ryan Kalkbrenner
The schedule opens Oct. 21 at Brooklyn, and Charlotte quickly gets into the swing of things with a busy first stretch that includes home games against Atlanta, Miami, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland. The Hornets will also see Detroit, Brooklyn and Washington multiple times early, then head out west for a November road trip that includes Phoenix, the Clippers, the Lakers, and later stops in Portland, Sacramento, Golden State, Utah, Denver and Dallas. The calendar also brings a heavy run of January and February games against teams like Houston, Orlando, Milwaukee, Golden State, Toronto, New York and Minnesota before the season closes with March and April matchups against Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Memphis, Detroit, Miami, Indiana, Chicago, Brooklyn and Philadelphia.
In Other News...
Hornets Are Positioning For The Move Fans Have Been Waiting On
Jeff Petersons latest update offered a pretty clear read on where the Hornets see themselves right now: still building, but with the kind of optionality that can change quickly. Charlotte has spent the summer stacking financial flexibility and draft capital while reshaping the roster through a flurry of moves, including trades involving LaMelo Ball, Josh Green and Miles Bridges, plus the additions of Naz Reid, Dennis Schrder and a new deal for Coby White. The bigger picture is that the front office is not just collecting pieces for the sake of it, but creating room to chase a specific type of upgrade when the time is right.
For Hornets fans, that is the part worth watching as the team works toward the 2026-27 opener. The organization has leaned into future assets, with several incoming picks and swaps now part of its path forward, and Petersons comments made it clear those tools are meant to be used, not just stored away. The question is less whether Charlotte has the means to make a meaningful addition than when it will decide the market presents the right opening to do it. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets New Core Is Earning Attention Ahead Of A Pivotal Season
The Hornets spent the offseason turning over the top of their roster, moving on from LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Tre Mann while bringing in Naz Reid, Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale and Dennis Schroder. It is the kind of reshaping that usually comes with a waiting period, but Charlotte appears ready to skip ahead, with Coby White, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Reid and Moussa Diabate projected to make up the starting group when the season opens.
What makes the new-look lineup interesting is how quickly the conversation around the franchise has shifted toward Miller and Knueppel as the next faces of the team. Thats already drawing notice outside the organization, too, with Blake Griffin telling Bill Simmons that he likes what the Hornets are building. For a team that has spent plenty of time searching for direction, the attention is a sign that this version of Charlotte may have at least changed the way people view its future. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Opener Already Comes With A Rotation Concern Fans Will Notice
The first injury report of the season already gives the Hornets something to monitor as they head toward Wednesdays opener against Brooklyn. Charlotte and Orlando both released availability updates ahead of their season openers, and the Hornets side comes with the usual early-season caution, the kind that can force a coach to shuffle plans before the first game even tips.
Kon Knueppel, Grant Williams and Coby White have all gotten back to individual on-court work, which is encouraging in a broader sense, but none of them will be available for this one. Their absences leave Charlotte with an immediate rotation question to solve, and the team will have to manage those injuries carefully while trying to set a tone right away in the new season. [Read more 🡒]