The Charlotte Hornets are headed into a very different season, but ESPN still sees the three-point volume staying high - even after the team traded LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
That’s the surprise at the center of the latest projection: Charlotte, which led the NBA in made 3s last season, is expected to top its previous total from deep again. The Hornets finished with 1,343 made 3s a year ago, and Ball accounted for 272 of them.
The offseason brought a full shake-up around him. Ball was sent to Minnesota, Miles Bridges was traded to the Phoenix Suns and Tre Mann was dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In return, Charlotte added Naz Reid from the Timberwolves, Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale from the Suns and Dennis Schroder from the Cavaliers.
Bleacher Report has the Hornets finishing 41-41 in the first year of the post-Ball-Bridges era. Charles Lee is expected to open with Coby White, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Reid and Moussa Diabate in the lineup.
The spotlight now shifts to Miller and Knueppel as Charlotte’s new faces of the franchise. Miller, entering his fourth NBA season, played 65 games last year and put up 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field, 38.3% from 3-point range and 89.2% from the foul line. He carries career marks of 19.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game after going second overall in the 2023 draft.
Knueppel’s rookie year was strong even without the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year award. He averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 47.5% overall, 42.5% from beyond the arc and 86.3% from the free-throw line. He also led the NBA in 3-pointers.
Reid gives Charlotte another proven scoring option, and a lot of fans are eager to see how he fits next to White, Miller and Knueppel. He was the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year and enters this season with regular-season averages of 11.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, along with playoff averages of 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
Last season in Minnesota, he averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 45.6% from the field, 36.2% from 3-point range and 73.2% from the line. He had six double-doubles.
White, meanwhile, brings local ties to the roster. The Goldsboro, North Carolina native played at Greenfield School in Wilson and went on to UNC. Charlotte picked him up from the Bulls in February, and he made a quick impact in 21 games with the Hornets, averaging 15.6 points while shooting 46.1% from the field, 39.1% from deep and 83.9% on free throws.
Charlotte opens the 2026-27 season on the road against the Brooklyn Nets, with the home opener set for the Atlanta Hawks.
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 🡒]