Hornets Could Move on From Tidjane Salaün

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Charlotte Hornets could move on from Tidjane Salaün.

Charlotte wants to keep Pat Connaughton, so the franchise may have to part ways with Salaün.

Monday (10/19) imposes two important deadlines in the NBA: the buzzer for rookie scale contract extensions for first-round picks from the NBA Draft's Class of 2023 is 6 PM ET and all 30 NBA teams, by 5 PM ET, must have their Opening Night rosters finalized, with a maximum of 15 standard contracts and three two-way contracts allowed.

The Hornets drafted Salaün with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The 21-year-old appeared in 37 games last season. He averaged 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 50.3% from the field, 43.4% from beyond the arc and 65.0% from the free-throw line. 

Born and raised in France, Salaün has career averages of 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. It will be intriguing to see what type of numbers he puts up this season and where he's playing if he doesn't remain with the Hornets. 

The Hornets are expected to start Coby White, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Naz Reid and Moussa Diabaté this season in Year 1 of the post-LaMelo Ball-Miles Bridges era. Charlotte's starting lineup is ranked 24th in the NBA by Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report. 

Charlotte opens the 2026-27 season on the road against the Brooklyn Nets. The home opener is against the Atlanta Hawks.

Miller and Knueppel are the new franchise players in Charlotte with Ball and Bridges gone. Both youngsters have a lot of untapped potential. 

Miller appeared in 65 games for the Hornets last season, his third year in the NBA. He averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field, 38.3% from beyond the arc and 89.2% from the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, even though Knueppel didn't win the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year award, he still had a special season for the Hornets. The swingman averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and shot 47.5% from the field, 42.5% from beyond the arc and 86.3% from the free-throw line. He led the NBA in 3-pointers.

Miller enters this season with career averages of 19.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He was the second overall pick in the 2023 draft. 

Charlotte beat the Miami Heat in the first play-in game but lost to the Orlando Magic in the second one. As a result, the Hornets missed the playoffs again last season.

Let's see if the Hornets make the playoffs this season in Year 3 of the Charles Lee era.