The Charlotte Hornets may not be finished shopping, and the one hole still staring them in the face is backup point guard.
Charlotte already has 18 players on the roster, which is the offseason limit, but the need behind Coby White remains obvious. The team was already linked to Dennis Schröder, and now another veteran name has surfaced: D’Angelo Russell.
Kelly Iko of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Memphis Grizzlies and Russell are "expected to work together toward a resolution that would allow the 30-year-old to find a new home at some point this offseason." That opens the door for Charlotte to look again at a proven guard who could step into a reserve role.
There’s a path to making it happen. At the 2026 trade deadline, the Hornets created trade exceptions of $8M in the Collin Sexton trade and $7M in the Tyus Jones trade, and both would cover Russell’s $5.9M salary for next season. From there, a deal built around one of Mo Gueye or Pat Connaughton’s expiring contract, plus a lightly protected second-round pick or two, could be enough to get it done.
Russell has never been the easiest player to slot into a roster. His career averages - 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists - show a guard who can run an offense, but his style has long been tied to the ball.
That matters less now than it once did, because he’s no longer being asked to carry a starting job or dictate everything from the top. In Charlotte, he’d be filling a shorter, more defined role off the bench.
The underlying numbers still give him some value. RAPM has consistently viewed him well, and a part of that formula, offensive true-shooting percentage, has graded Russell as a positive player in every three-year window since 2020. Even last season, when Dunks and Threes gave him the first negative EPM of his career, he still checked in at -0.3 EPM, which was good for the 64th percentile among all NBA players.
The flaws are real, though. Russell has been a defensive liability, hasn’t made much of an impact on the glass or in forcing events, and his three-point shooting has slipped badly. He hit 31.4% of his threes in 2024-25 and 29.5% in 2025-26.
Even with those issues, he looks like a cleaner answer than what Charlotte currently has behind White. At minimum, he could serve as the kind of short-term bridge the Hornets used Collin Sexton for last season, buying time while Christian Anderson gets more runway to develop, add strength and settle into the league before taking on 15+ minutes a night as White’s backup.
Russell would not have to be a savior here. He’d just need to be available, affordable and steady enough to cover 15-20 minutes a night. For a Hornets team still trying to solve its backup point guard problem, that may be enough.
In Other News...
Hornets Linked To Veteran Guard Who Could Shape This New Era
The Hornets are still sorting out what this new era is supposed to look like, and the backcourt remains one of the more interesting places to watch. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Charlotte has interest in adding a veteran guard with plenty of NBA stops on his rsum, the kind of player who can steady a young roster and give a team some needed structure behind its primary ball-handlers.
Clevelands side of the equation matters too, since the Cavaliers may need to move him to create room for other business. For Charlotte, the appeal is straightforward: a proven point guard who could help stabilize the rotation next season and fit into a backup role if the Hornets decide thats the right path. The question now is whether that interest turns into something more concrete as the offseason unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Miles Bridges Trade Has Hornets Fans Asking One Brutal Question
Miles Bridges is officially a Sun after Phoenix introduced the former Hornets forward following the trade, and the move says plenty about what the new team thinks it needed. Suns GM Brian Gregory welcomed Bridges and framed him as a fit for the rosters style and needs, while the expectation is that he steps in as the starting power forward and gives Phoenix a bigger presence around the basket.
For Charlotte, the deal naturally turns the page on one of its more recognizable frontcourt pieces, but it also leaves a familiar front-office question hanging over the franchise: what does this say about the next step? Bridges is entering the final year of his contract, and Phoenix is expected to pursue an extension, which means the Hornets are watching a player they moved on from land in a spot where the long-term plan is already coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets May Have Found A Smart Fix For Their Backup Guard Problem
The backup guard spot remains one of the cleaner places for Charlotte to look for help this offseason, especially with the roster still being shaped around LaMelo Ball and the flexibility created by the trade exception from that deal. A veteran ballhandler on a manageable contract can matter a lot for a team trying to steady second units, and Dennis Schrder fits the basic profile of a player who could slide into that role without forcing the Hornets to overhaul anything else.
His availability, though, may hinge on a larger domino in Cleveland. If the Cavaliers need to reshuffle their backcourt and trim salary after a major move, Schrder becomes the kind of name that can surface quickly in trade talks, and Charlotte has enough financial room to make the mechanics work. The contract structure also gives any acquiring team some protection down the line, which is part of why this is the sort of move that could make sense for the Hornets if the market opens the right way. [Read more 🡒]