Jeff Peterson has plenty on his plate this summer, and the Hornets’ roster math says there’s still trimming to do. Charlotte is sitting at 16 players, so somebody has to be moved out before the picture gets cleaner. That makes the 2026-2027 rotation tough to pin down with certainty, but there are still some clear reads on how it could shake out.
The most polished version of Charlotte’s starting group, at least after the season gets rolling, looks like this: Coby White, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Naz Reid and Hannes Steinbach. The idea here is that Steinbach needs time to settle in, and after what he showed in Summer League, the expectation is that he’ll acclimate more than anything else.
Outside of Steinbach, the rest of that group is pretty straightforward. This is the best the Hornets have, and the belief is that this unit can still hang with the league’s top teams.
One player who may have to adjust to a different role is Moussa. A move to the bench doesn’t have to be a setback, and the hope is that he embraces it. Some careers are built around being a Sixth Man, and if Moussa buys in, he can still matter a lot at either center or power forward.
The second unit should also include Grayson Allen at shooting guard, unless he ends up in a trade. Now in his ninth season, Allen remains one of the cleaner shooters around, and he backed that up by posting a career-high 16.5 points last year.
At center behind the starter, Ryan Kalkbrenner looks like the next man up. To borrow former WWE wrestler Enzo Amore’s line, “This man is seven feet tall, and you can’t teach that.”
Kalkbrenner had a strong rookie season, but with the roster additions around him, he has become something of a forgotten piece. The hope is that he doesn’t get buried.
Royce O'Neale should handle small forward duties off the bench, with the possibility of sliding into the starting group when needed. He’s a little undersized for the spot, but not at all short on skill, and that’s part of why Charlotte brought in the 6-6 veteran.
Point guard is where things get murkier. Before Summer League, the Hornets expected Christian Anderson to step in smoothly as the backup.
That hasn’t happened yet, so Anderson and Sion James are likely to keep splitting the ball-handling work in relief. Even so, Anderson is still expected to sort things out eventually.
The roster is crowded enough that other names can’t be ignored, even if the path to minutes is unclear. Grant Williams, Tre Mann, Tidjane Salaün and Liam McNeeley are still in the mix, though Salaün and Mann are already being written off here. McNeeley, on the other hand, is expected to find a role at some point this season.
That leaves one more battle worth watching: power forward. Grant Williams and Xavier Tillman are competing for that spot, and while both are viewed positively, Williams gets the nod because of his seniority within the franchise.
In Other News...
Hornets Linked To Veteran Guard Who Could Shape This New Era
The Hornets offseason has already started to take shape around adding more structure to the backcourt, and a veteran name has surfaced as a possible fit. Dennis Schroder, who has bounced around the league and brings plenty of point guard experience, could give Charlotte a steadier hand behind its young guards if the front office decides to get aggressive on the trade market.
Clevelands situation is part of what makes the idea worth watching, since the Cavaliers may need to clear room for other moves. For Charlotte, the appeal is straightforward: Jeff Peterson has shown interest, and Schroder would bring a level of experience the roster could use as it tries to define this new era without overcommitting to a long-term gamble. [Read more 🡒]
Miles Bridges Trade Has Hornets Fans Asking One Brutal Question
The Suns officially introduced Miles Bridges after landing him from Charlotte, and the move immediately put a familiar Hornets name back in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in Charlotte. Phoenix general manager Brian Gregory framed the forward as a fit for what the Suns need, a bigger presence who can help them play to their style, and Bridges is expected to step right into the starting lineup at power forward.
For Hornets fans, the more painful part is what comes next, because the trade is now about more than just what Charlotte gave up. Bridges is entering the final year of his contract, Phoenix is expected to pursue an extension, and the question hanging over the deal is whether the Hornets moved on at the right time or let another team solve a roster need they still have to address. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets May Have Found A Smart Fix For Their Backup Guard Problem
Charlottes search for a steadier backup guard has been one of the more obvious roster questions of the offseason, and the answer may end up coming from an unexpected place if Clevelands plans change. Dennis Schrder has the kind of ballhandling and late-clock competence that can settle a second unit, and his contract structure gives any interested team a clearer path to evaluating him as more than a short-term patch.
If the Cavaliers decide they need to reshape the roster after a major free-agency move, Charlotte could be positioned to take advantage of the opportunity without blowing up its own books. The Hornets have room to work through a traded-player exception from the LaMelo Ball deal, and a swap built around a rotation piece on Charlottes side could make the math work while preserving flexibility for later. [Read more 🡒]