Charles Lee reveals how seamless communication between coaching and management secures the high-character talent needed to transform the Charlotte Hornets young core into a perennial postseason contender.
The Charlotte Hornets knocked it out of the park with their 2025 NBA Draft Class.
Kon Knueppel, Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Liam McNeeley were an electric group last season. Knueppel was the star of the pack, leading the NBA in three-point shots made and coming in second place in the NBA Rookie of the Year Vote.
The Hornets have another important draft coming up this summer. They're set to pick at No. 14 and No. 18. Charlotte needs to find a big man for the future. The team also needs to find a player who can complement the team's chemistry in a few different ways.
During an appearance with Ryen Russillo, Hornets head coach Charles Lee said that having a good dialogue with people at the top of the organization was crucial to drafting players that complement the team as a whole.
"(Hornets President of Basketball Operations) Jeff (Peterson) and his group do a really good job of running the numbers and understanding the salary cap and what pieces fit together," Lee said.
"From a coaching perspective, we can talk about the day-to-day and these personalities get along well together on the court or these types of attributes help us defensively or offensively."
Lee communicates with Peterson about what team needs on the court and for the locker room.
"As we went through that draft process, it was good to say, 'Hey, this is where we see our team right now. This is what we saw day-to-day, at practice, during games, what we struggled with, what we're good at, and then what player is best going to help not only our environment, but also the on-court product.'" Lee said.
"And I think we were able to figure that out at a pretty high level."
The Hornets have a roster that was on the cusp of making the playoffs. The core is young and hungry, and new blood from the 2026 draft could make Charlotte a confident contender for years to come.
Charlotte needs players who want to grind and can be physical on the court, and that could lead the team to find a championship-winning center in the first round.
