The Charlotte Hornets are betting big on depth, flexibility, and a front court that can be reshaped to fit almost any matchup.
Grant Williams, Tidjane Salaun, Naz Reid, Hannes Steinbach, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Moussa Diabate give Charlotte a crowded group of power forwards and centers, and that collection of bodies comes with a lot of different tools. Williams made the case plainly in an exclusive interview with Charlotte Hornets on SI: "We have championship-caliber versatility (in the front court)," said Grant Williams in an exclusive interview with Charlotte Hornets on SI.
"I think that's what is valuable. When you have a front court as moldable as we are, you can go super big, you can go super small, you can put two very, very good screeners with no emphasis on shooting out there.
You can put two very very great shooters out there."
"We have a lot ways that we can attack groups and teams...It's a very, very talented group that's going to be very, very difficult to scheme against.
That kind of confidence wasn't limited to Williams. Ryan Kalkbrenner, entering his second year after a productive rookie season, said working against that many different bigs has already sharpened his game. He pointed to the constant need to adjust from one practice or matchup to the next.
"I think it's really good for all of us (to practice against one another). One game I have to guard Moussa, and he plays a totally different way than Hannes, and then I play the next game against Hannes and I have to change what I'm thinking about on the court. Or I might have to guard Naz for a short stretch, so it's really good for me and my development that I see all of these different looks which is what's going to happen during the year."
Charlotte’s plan for 2025-26 leans heavily on a committee approach, and the front court is central to that idea. The back court will get plenty of attention because LaMelo Ball is not available, but the bigs may end up being the group that most shapes what this team becomes.
There is real logic behind that view. Charlotte took the second-highest share of its field goal attempts from beyond the arc last season and made the third-highest percentage of those shots in the league.
But the story was not just the makes. What happened after the misses mattered too, and that is where this group has a chance to swing games.
Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner both posted above-average offensive rebound rates for their position. Hannes Steinbach drew praise as the best rebounder in his draft class. Naz Reid has been described by Charles Lee as a "good" offensive rebounder, and Charlotte wants him to take another step in that area.
That matters because second chances were a major reason the Hornets found success last season outside of LaMelo Ball’s shot creation. Rather than letting that edge fade, the front office doubled down on it this summer by bringing in Steinbach and Reid.
The Hornets do not have an All-NBA or All-Star anchor in the front court. What they do have is a group of complementary players who can pile up advantages over 48 minutes. That is the bet.
The obvious question is whether that steady accumulation can hold up when a player like Nikola Jokic or Victor Wembanyama takes over a short stretch and changes everything. That’s the line Charlotte is trying to walk as it builds this roster: no single game-breaking force, but enough useful pieces to make the whole operation work.
Early tests are coming quickly, with matchups against the Hawks, Wizards, and Heat. Inside the building, the expectation is that the Hornets’ front court depth will handle that challenge.
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Rob Dillingham Already Feels Like A Hornets Roster Question
Rob Dillingham is barely in the door and already feels like one of the Hornets cleaner roster questions. Charlotte acquired him from the Chicago Bulls, but he will miss the teams media day, a small detail that still says plenty about how quickly this move has turned from a fresh addition into a numbers game for the front office.
The bigger backdrop is Charlottes roster crunch, with the team needing to get down to 15 standard contracts before opening night. Dillingham is under contract now and has already been with three NBA teams since being drafted in 2024, yet there has been little public indication from Jeff Peterson that the Hornets view him as a long-term piece, which leaves his place on the roster looking very much unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets May Have Just Let A Young Guard Slip Away
The Hornets latest trade-deadline move brought Dorian Finney-Smith into Charlotte while sending Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard and cash considerations to Atlanta, a deal that looked more like a veteran shuffle than a long-term roster swing. But the transaction may have had an overlooked angle for Charlotte, because Nembhard came in as part of the package and brought the kind of young backcourt intrigue teams often try to uncover in these swaps.
Now there is a real chance he does not stay available for long. The Nuggets have shown interest in adding Nembhard on a two-way contract if he clears waivers, and Denver also recently signed 2023 first-round pick Cam Whitmore to a two-way NBA deal, a reminder that clubs around the league are still hunting for developmental guards wherever they can find them. For the Hornets, it is the sort of small personnel decision that can linger if a young player finds a cleaner path elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets New Depth Faces An Early Test Before Opening Night
Charlottes new-look roster is already dealing with an early setback, with Grant Williams and Kon Knueppel sidelined by hamstring injuries that will keep both out of all four preseason games. The injuries happened during offseason activity, and the Hornets plan to re-evaluate both players when the regular season approaches, leaving an otherwise busy camp with a little less clarity than they would have hoped.
Even so, Williams has been struck by how much deeper the group looks after the offseason overhaul. The Hornets moved on from LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, then added several new faces, including Coby White, Dorian Finney-Smith, Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard and Rob Dillingham, giving the roster a very different feel as the team tries to sort out roles before opening night. [Read more 🡒]