The Hornets took an unusual approach following their best seasons in a decade. Rather than building around the core that finished with a winning record for just the second time in 10 seasons, they dealt their franchise player.
The team’s executive vice president of player personnel, Jeff Peterson, determined that the roster as constructed wasn’t ultimately going to produce a true Eastern Conference contender. The team won a play-in game, then lost to Orlando and fell short of the first round.
His biggest star, point guard LaMelo Ball, finally got through a season without missing a chunk of it. Ball appeared in 72 regular-season games after playing in 105 combined the three previous seasons. With three years left on Ball’s contract, Peterson chose to sell high and deal him to the point-guard starved Timberwolves.
Peterson also shipped out the team’s fourth-leading scorer, Miles Bridges, to the Suns. The Hornets picked up some draft capital in those deals but it was also a commitment to Kon Knueppel as the new face of the franchise.
Charlotte surprised some draft experts by picking Knueppel with the fourth overall pick in 2025 but he more than backed up the front office’s faith. Knueppel was a factor from Day One, averaging 18.5 points and finishing a strong second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind former college teammate Cooper Flagg.
Brandon Miller, the team’s leading scorer last season at 20.2 points, could soon sign a rookie scale extension. The Hornets already made a major commitment to guard Coby White, who didn’t really have a future with Chicago after the Bulls signed Josh Giddey to an extension last offseason. The Hornets liked what they saw of White enough after acquiring him at the trade deadline to hand him a three-year, $74MM contract.
Veterans Grayson Allen, acquired from the Suns, and Dennis Schroder, acquired from the Cavaliers, will serve as the primary backcourt reserves.
The Hornets replaced Bridges with a combination of trade acquisitions, Naz Reid and Royce O’Neale. Reid has been one of the league’s premier reserves the past four seasons.
Charlotte used the No. 14 pick on Hannes Steinbach, who will compete with holdovers Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner for minutes at the 5 spot.
That brings us to our topic of the day: Do you think the Hornets made the right move by trading LaMelo Ball and building around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller? Will they post a winning record for the second straight season and make the postseason or will they take a step back this season?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
