For a minute there, it actually looked like the Hornets had something brewing. They went 44-38, ripped off 28 wins in their last 38 games, knocked off the Heat in overtime in the Play-In opener, and then got run out of the building by the Magic, 121-90, with the eighth seed on the line. Still, they showed absolute progress with a 25-win jump from the year before.
But suddenly, two months later, they traded LaMelo Ball in a weird offseason move. Ball and Josh Green are Timberwolves now, shipped out for Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-rounder, three first-round swaps, and a trio of second-rounders. Charlotte didn’t stop there, and Miles Bridges went to Phoenix for Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, and yet another unprotected 2033 first. Just like that, the LaMelo-Bridges era was over before most fans had time to process it.
Even with all of that movement, this doesn’t feel like a teardown to retool or rebuild another year. The Hornets turned around and gave Coby White a three-year, $74 million deal, brought in Dorian Finney-Smith from the Rockets (plus three second-rounders to sweeten it), and still have Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Moussa Diabate, and Ryan Kalkbrenner on the roster. There’s shooting everywhere, a handful of vets, and a young core that isn’t bad. This is a weird kind of rebuild.
The obvious question hanging over all of it: who actually runs the offense now? White can score. Knueppel might already be one of the better shooters in the league. Miller put up 20 a game last year. None of them has shown they can replace what Ball gave this team with 20.1 points and 7.1 assists a night, every night.
Let’s get into how the rotation should shake out for 2026-27 in the post-LaMelo Ball era.
Starting Five
Point Guard: Coby White
Shooting Guard: Kon Knueppel
Small Forward: Brandon Miller
Power Forward: Naz Reid
Center: Moussa Diabate
Coby White Gets The Key To The Offense
Coby White never started a single game after Charlotte traded for him at the deadline, but that had more to do with LaMelo still running the show and White working his way back from a calf injury than anything else. In 21 games, he put up 15.6 points, 3.0 boards, and 3.0 assists in barely 19 minutes a night, shooting 46.1% from the field and 39.1% from deep. Stretch those numbers to a full 36 minutes, and you’re looking at 29.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.7 assists. That’s obviously not what he’s going to average next season, but White has definitely arrived after years of hinting at a breakout.
If you want a cleaner preview of what’s coming, look at his last full season in Chicago: 73 starts, 20.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, shooting a tidy 45.3/37.0/90.2 split. What Charlotte actually needs from him is more than scoring, though, with better reads, more patience, willing to share the load with Knueppel and Miller instead of just gunning for his points.
That $74 million contract tells you everything about how the front office sees him. White isn’t walking in and replicating LaMelo’s passing since that was never his game, but he can push the pace, get downhill, and keep this offense from turning into a stagnant, iso-heavy mess.
Knueppel And Miller Are The New Headliners
Kon Knueppel just had one of the best shooting seasons a rookie has ever had. Played 81 games, averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 boards, 3.4 assists, and drilled 42.5% of his threes on almost 8 attempts a night. His 273 made threes shattered the old rookie record by nearly 70. First rookie ever to lead the entire league in threes made. That’s not a typo.
Repeating it won’t be easy. A lot of those looks came courtesy of LaMelo dragging two defenders 30 feet from the rim and kicking it out to a wide-open shooter. That gravity is gone now. Teams can throw their best perimeter defender at Knueppel and make him work for everything, which means his passing and shot creation need to improve this season more than his catch-and-shoot numbers did last season.
Then there’s Brandon Miller, who might already be Charlotte’s closest thing to a true first option. 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals a night across 65 games, and shooting 43.5/38.3/89.2. He’s knocking down 3.1 triples a game himself, which means a Miller-Knueppel wing combo alone is putting up something like six made threes before anyone else even touches the ball.
He still needs to tighten up his interior scoring and get stronger finishing through contact, but he’s 23 and has already strung together two straight seasons over 20 points a night. This year is basically the statement on Brandon Miller: is he a very good scorer, or is he the guy this whole rebuild gets built around?
Naz Reid Stretches The Frontcourt
Naz Reid isn’t the athlete Bridges was, but honestly, he might fit better with this group. He averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 boards, and 2.2 assists across 77 games last year on 45.6/36.2 shooting, a touch below his usual numbers, though he’s still a 37.1% career three-point shooter across seven seasons.
He obviously really helps the offense with his shooting. Diabate doesn’t shoot at all, so Charlotte needs the other four starters spacing the floor, and Reid does exactly that. He can pop off ball screens, attack bigger, slower defenders off the bounce, and slide to the five whenever the Hornets want Miller or Royce O’Neale at the four.
He’s also locked into a five-year, $125.0 million deal through 2029-30, so this isn’t a rental. Considering he’s the only proven player Charlotte got back for its franchise point guard, expect him to see a lot of shots and minutes. I just don’t expect him to become a second-option scorer. Reid’s always been at his best attacking mismatches inside the flow of an offense, not creating for himself. Playing next to White, Knueppel, and Miller, that role should be there for him most nights.
Diabate Should Get His Chance
Center is really the only open competition in this starting five. Moussa Diabate started 47 games last season, averaging 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 0.8 steals in just 26 minutes, while shooting a wildly efficient 63.1% from the floor. He also grabbed 3.7 offensive boards a game and took home the NBA Hustle Award for how relentlessly he attacked loose balls and second-chance opportunities.
That’s plenty to hand him the starting job to open the year. He already knows Charles Lee’s system, doesn’t need plays drawn up for him, and generates offense purely through effort and rebounding, which works well surrounded by four shooters.
Ryan Kalkbrenner is going to make this a real battle, though. The 7-foot-1 rookie put up 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in only 21 minutes a night, shooting a preposterous 75.3% from the field across 69 games, with 31 starts and 78 total blocks. He gives the squad more size and far more rim protection than Diabate does.
I think Diabate opens the year as the starter because his rebounding meshes better with this particular five, but the minutes gap should stay thin. Kalkbrenner can close against bigger frontcourts, and Reid can always slide to the five for full small-ball spacing.
Main Bench Rotation
Point Guard: Tre Mann
Shooting Guard: Grayson Allen
Small Forward: Royce O’Neale
Power Forward: Dorian Finney-Smith
Center: Ryan Kalkbrenner
Grayson Allen should be the bench’s go-to scorer. He posted a career-high 16.5 points and 3.8 assists last season with 3.1 made threes a night, even though his percentage dipped to 34.9% after back-to-back seasons above 42%. He’s a 40.3% career shooter from deep, so a bounce-back feels likely once he’s not being asked to create every single possession himself.
Royce O’Neale is probably the steadiest vet on this roster. Played 78 games, started 67, averaged 9.8 points, 4.8 boards, and 2.7 assists while hitting 40.8% from three with 212 made triples on the year. He’s not just the “3-and-D wing who occasionally hits a shot” anymore. He can guard either forward spot, defend bigger wings, and mesh with basically any lineup Lee wants to run.
Dorian Finney-Smith is the biggest wild card in the second unit. His lone season in Houston was rough at 3.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 33.3% shooting, and 27.0% from three across just 37 games. Injuries wrecked his year, and the Rockets basically paid Charlotte three second-round picks just to get his $13.3 million off the books. Charlotte doesn’t need to force him into 25 minutes if he still looks off. His deal has two non-guaranteed years left after this season, and honestly, the picks were probably the real reason for the trade. Still, he was a legit 39.8% shooter and quality defender with the Lakers just two years ago, so there’s a real chance he rediscovers that form.
Tre Mann projects as the backup point guard, but nothing’s guaranteed there. He managed just 5.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists across 53 games last year on 36% shooting, still working his way back from injury. Before that, in 2024-25, he was cooking, pouring in 14.1 points, 3.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 40% from three over 13 games. That flash earned him a three-year, $24 million deal. If he can’t recapture it, 18th pick Christian Anderson is right there waiting.
Kalkbrenner rounds out the top ten and should play nearly every night. His shot-blocking alone gives the second unit a real defensive identity, and with Allen, O’Neale, and Finney-Smith all spacing the floor, he should have plenty of room to roll and finish.
Additional Depth
Point Guard: Christian Anderson
Shooting Guard: Sion James
Small Forward: Liam McNeeley
Power Forward: Grant Williams
Center: Hannes Steinbach
Sion James is probably the first man out of the main rotation. He played in all 82 games as a rookie with 5.4 points, 3.5 boards, and 2.0 assists in 22.5 minutes, hitting 35.2% from deep. The scoring’s limited, but he can guard every single star guard, which matters any time the backcourt looks undersized.
Liam McNeeley only got into 31 NBA games, but he averaged 19.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists across 20 G League appearances, and he had a crazy good Summer League that included a 28-point, seven-threes outing. He might be closer to real minutes than people assume.
Christian Anderson is worth watching since neither White nor Mann is exactly a pass-first floor general. Grant Williams brings strength, shooting, and experience at either forward spot, and rookie Hannes Steinbach adds another skilled center to develop. Tidjane Salaun and Pat Connaughton are still fighting for spots, so this roster is genuinely crowded, and at least one veteran probably gets moved soon.
Where This Leaves The Hornets
The main ten should be White, Knueppel, Miller, Reid, Diabate, Mann, Allen, O’Neale, Finney-Smith, and Kalkbrenner, with James stepping in for defense and McNeeley/Anderson getting developmental run.
This team is deeper than it looks at first glance. The Hornets can go Allen to O’Neale to Finney-Smith off the bench without leaning on an unready rookie, and Kalkbrenner might already be one of the better backup rim protectors in the conference. There’s shooting at almost every spot, which keeps the floor open even with Diabate or Kalkbrenner clogging the paint.
The real issue is at the top. LaMelo was the only true elite passer on the roster, Bridges was the second-leading scorer, and neither White nor Reid is a perfect replacement for either role. Miller and Knueppel need to become the two best players on this team with their shooting and three-level scoring pretty fast.
I don’t think 44 wins will happen again. Something like 36 to 40 feels realistic after losing two starters, though that could still be enough to scrap for a Play-In spot in a crowded East. If Miller takes the leap to an All-Star-level scorer and Knueppel handles the extra defensive attention that’s coming his way, this team could surprise some people.
