The Charlotte Hornets didn’t just add Grayson Allen this offseason - they may have also added one of their most obvious trade chips.
Allen arrived in Charlotte as part of the Miles Bridges deal with the Phoenix Suns, a move that sent two players from the NBA’s best starting five last season out of town and brought back Allen, Royce O’Neale, and a 2033 first-round pick. It was a sharp pivot for a team that had spent the offseason reshaping its roster after a 44-win season left it searching for the final pieces needed to turn a playoff miss into the franchise’s first postseason trip in a decade.
For now, Allen looks like a useful fit on paper and a tricky one in practice. He’s coming off the best scoring year of his career after averaging 16.5 points for a Suns team that finished with the eighth seed, though he also shot his lowest three-point percentage since his rookie season. He’s already positioned as the backup shooting guard behind Brandon Miller, and by the numbers he’s been one of Charlotte’s better bench options, ranking 93rd in the NBA in Daily Plus-Minus.
The contract situation only adds to the intrigue. Allen signed a four-year, $70 million deal with Phoenix in 2024 and is set to make $18.1 million this season. With a player option coming this offseason, he gives Charlotte a veteran scorer on a deal that could become very attractive to teams hunting help at the deadline.
That’s why his name makes sense in trade conversations even before the season really gets rolling. Allen is entering his age 31 season on a Hornets roster that is clearly keeping one eye on the future.
He could matter on the floor, and he could matter in the locker room too, especially for younger players like Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley. But the reality is that he’s probably more valuable to Charlotte as a midseason asset than as a long-term fixture.
If President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson decides to move him, there should be no shortage of interest. Allen brings the kind of package contenders always chase: experience, shooting, positional flexibility, and an expiring deal that won’t cost a team long-term cap pain.
And with the NBA’s new Draft Lottery system in play, Charlotte has even more reason to thread the needle. Finishing around the eleventh seed would give the Hornets a shot at a top draft pick, which makes the idea of staying competitive without fully committing to the present even more appealing.
That’s the lane Allen could occupy for Charlotte: help the team stay in the mix early, then possibly turn into more future assets at the deadline. It’s a clean way for the Hornets to chase the Play-In Tournament while still building something more sustainable underneath it.
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Hornets Latest Signing Hints At A Bigger Greensboro Swarm Plan
The latest addition to Charlottes offseason roster fits a pattern the Hornets have leaned into as they build out the back end of camp. Guard-forward Kobe Stewart arrived on a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal, a type of contract that gives the organization flexibility while also keeping another young player in the pipeline. Stewart spent last season in the G League with multiple teams, so the move looks less like a headline-grabber and more like another step in stocking the system around the Greensboro Swarm.
What makes the signing notable is the direction it points for Charlottes developmental setup. The Hornets have used a string of similar contracts with an eye toward steering players to the Swarm, where they can stay close to the organization and compete for future opportunities. Stewart is expected to land there as well, although the final piece of the arrangement still depends on the right kind of roster shuffle behind the scenes. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Miller Just Took On The Pressure Of Charlottes New Era
Brandon Millers name is starting to sit closer to the center of the Hornets future, and the timing makes sense. With LaMelo Ball traded away, Charlotte is asking Miller to help carry a larger load as the franchise tries to push back toward the playoffs, and his inclusion on an NBA top-100 countdown list only adds to the sense that the next phase of the rebuild is arriving fast.
Miller sounded prepared for it, saying he is ready to lead and understands that the standard has to be steady effort and hard work every night. For a team trying to redefine itself, that matters as much as any preseason ranking, because the Hornets need their young forward to be more than a promising talent. They need him to help set the tone for whatever comes next, even if the full shape of that version of Charlotte is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Keep Quietly Reshaping One Overlooked Part Of Their Roster
Charlottes back end of the roster is still taking shape, and the latest move fits the pattern. The Hornets have been cycling through training camp additions while sorting out the names most likely to spend the next few weeks in Greensboro, with Exhibit 10 contracts becoming a steady part of the process as the organization looks for depth and developmental fits.
Kobe Stewart is the newest addition to that mix, arriving on an Exhibit 10 deal as Charlotte continues to tinker with its camp group. The move came with a corresponding waiver of Jarkel Joiner, another reminder that these are the kinds of transactions that often fly under the radar even as they help define which players get a real opportunity to stick around. [Read more 🡒]