Tidjane Salaün’s place with the Charlotte Hornets is suddenly in question.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that Charlotte could move on from Salaün, and the reason appears to be roster math. The Hornets want to keep Pat Connaughton, which could force the team to part with Salaün as the franchise works through the league’s deadline crunch on Monday, 10/19.
That date carries two key cutoffs across the NBA. By 6 PM ET, rookie scale contract extensions for first-round picks from the 2023 draft class must be finalized. By 5 PM ET, all 30 teams have to lock in their Opening Night rosters, and those rosters can include no more than 15 standard contracts and three two-way contracts.
Salaün, whom Charlotte selected sixth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, played 37 games last season. The 21-year-old averaged 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 50.3% from the field, 43.4% from 3-point range and 65.0% from the line.
The French forward has career averages of 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, and the next step in his career now depends on where he lands if he does not stay in Charlotte.
The Hornets are heading into Year 1 of the post-LaMelo Ball-Miles Bridges era with a projected starting five of Coby White, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Naz Reid and Moussa Diabaté. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report ranked that group 24th in the NBA.
Charlotte’s season starts on the road against the Brooklyn Nets, with the home opener coming against the Atlanta Hawks.
Miller and Knueppel are the new faces driving the franchise’s future. Miller, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft, appeared in 65 games last season and posted 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field, 38.3% from deep and 89.2% at the free-throw line. His career line sits at 19.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Knueppel didn’t win the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year award, but he still delivered a huge season. He averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists, shot 47.5% from the field, 42.5% from 3 and 86.3% from the line, and led the NBA in 3-pointers.
Charlotte went to the first play-in game and beat the Miami Heat before losing to the Orlando Magic in the second, leaving the Hornets out of the playoffs again last season.
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Hornets Face A Tough Roster Call Before Opening Night
With opening night approaching, the Hornets are among several teams still sorting through the bottom end of the roster and monitoring the market for possible movement. Around the league, those decisions are often tied to one another, and the latest chatter underscores how quickly a fringe rotation spot can shift from secure to uncertain as teams weigh trades, waivers and last-minute fits.
According to reports from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, that wider offseason board includes multiple clubs exploring roster moves, with the Bucks and Lakers discussing a possible Jericho Sims-Dalton Knecht deal and Milwaukee also evaluating other options. Charlottes interest in those ripple effects is less about one specific name than the bigger picture: a crowded market can open doors, but it can also force tough calls before the first game is even played. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Face An Awkward Choice With One Recent First Round Pick
As the Hornets sort through their roster before the NBA season, one of the more delicate decisions centers on whether to keep veteran Pat Connaughton around. On paper, it is the kind of move teams make for depth and experience, but for Charlotte it also has a ripple effect because the roster math starts to squeeze a recent first-round pick in Tidjane Salaun.
It is the sort of front-office choice that can say as much about timing as talent. Charlotte is still figuring out how to balance immediate stability with the long view, and Connaughtons situation could force that balance into sharp relief. Around the league, Memphis and Dallas are facing similar roster pressure with veterans and young players, which only underscores how quickly these late-summer decisions can reshape the opening-night picture. [Read more 🡒]
Grizzlies Could Make A Surprise GG Jackson Decision Soon
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For Memphis, the timing matters because the next few days could shape not just the opening roster, but the longer-term path for a pair of young players who still have value around the league. Any trade discussion at this stage carries real weight, especially with the deadline looming and teams trying to decide whether to hold steady or get proactive before the season begins. What happens next could tell a lot about how the Grizzlies view their depth, and how aggressively they want to manage the back end of the roster. [Read more 🡒]