Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley have had their third-year options exercised, the Hornets announced in a press release.

As our tracker shows, Knueppel will now earn about $11MM in 2027/28, his third season in the league, and McNeeley will make approximately $3MM.

Knueppel was a lock to have his option picked up after he finished a close second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2026/27. McNeeley’s $3MM salary for next season is pretty close to his projected minimum ($2.61MM), so it made sense to lock in that relatively modest cap hit in the hope that he continues to improve after playing a modest role to this point in his young career.

Knueppel was selected fourth overall in the 2025 draft, while McNeeley came in at No. 25. Charlotte will have until November 1, 2027 to decide whether it wants to exercise its fourth-year options on the two wings.

Although Knueppel and McNeeley have now had their salaries for next season guaranteed, the Hornets’ press release didn’t mention anything about Tidjane Salaun — the team has until Monday to decide whether to pick up his fourth-year option, which is worth $10.4MM.

Salaun’s lack of mention could be a sign that the team will decline its option on the French forward, but that has yet to be confirmed. The 21-year-old was selected sixth overall in the 2024 draft and was the first significant pick made by head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson.

A 6’10” power forward, Salaun struggled as a rookie in 2024/25 but showed improvement in a lesser role in ’25/26. He’s averaging 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game through six appearances this season.