The Charlotte Hornets have spent this offseason making move after move, and the result has been a roster shuffle that looks messy on the surface but points toward a larger plan underneath.
After needing to trim the roster to get under the limit, Charlotte kept dealing anyway. The team brought in just as many players as it sent out, then turned around and waived some of the newcomers who appeared to fit, including Ryan Nembhard. That has left plenty of people asking the same question: what exactly is Jeff Peterson doing?
The answer, at least for now, is not a splashy shortcut to a star. The Hornets are not stacking assets and trade exceptions with the immediate goal of landing someone like Zion Williamson, Kyrie Irving, Trey Murphy, or Anthony Davis. Instead, they’re continuing to build a war chest for a bigger move down the line.
That stockpile has grown significantly. With the addition of the $9.4 million trade exception, Charlotte now has six trade exceptions available. The biggest one, worth $40.8 million, is the obvious headline, but the others matter too.
Some of those exceptions are too small to be used on a meaningful incoming player, including the $2.3 million exception. But they still give the Hornets a useful role in larger deals. Charlotte is now set up to jump into three-team or bigger trades, take on salary, and come away with more assets for doing so.
The team is also in a strong position when it comes to second-round picks. Those picks may not headline a blockbuster, but they can help grease the wheels in bigger negotiations or add value around the edges. Minnesota, for example, sweetened its offer for LaMelo Ball with three second-round picks.
Charlotte can operate the same way, only with more flexibility because of how many second-rounders it has accumulated. If the Hornets eventually chase a superstar, they can keep tossing in those picks until the deal gets done.
It’s not a fast process, and it’s not a clean one. For now, it’s more of the same: a team that has effectively put contention on hold and stayed in acquisition mode as part of a rebuild that keeps going. The trades and the immediate waives can look strange, but there is a clear logic behind the activity.
In Other News...
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 🡒]