After a fairly active offseason, the outlook for the Charlotte Hornets is a little brighter compared to where it was this time last year.
Our guys Will Dalton and Josh Graham of the Roundtable Sports Network launched the first ever edition of the Hornets Roundtable Podcast, touching on the positive vibes in The Hive.
It’s been nine seasons since we’ve seen the Hornets find their way to the playoffs, and after countless times trying to rebuild the franchise, perhaps the way out of the dungeon isn’t too far away.
Last season was Hornets President of Basketball Operations, Jeff Peterson’s first as an executive, and even though the team finished the 2024-25 season with a 19-63 record, there were some positives to take out of it.
Brandon Miller’s growth before tearing the scapholunate ligament in his right wrist was as clear as day.
The 2024-25 season was a bit murky for the sophomore, battling through injuries in the early part of the season. He missed the first game of the season against the Celtics, but played through November without a scratch.
He showed that he can take control of a game, accepted responsibility and demanded the ball as Charlotte’s lead-scoring option.
In the first month of the season, he averaged 21.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds and 36% from 3-point range.
He was still trying to find his shot, as he only shot 39% from the field in November, but as he got more comfortable, that number started to rise.
However, December came along and that’s when the injuries piled up – only playing seven games before spraining his ankle. Then once he got healthy after that, four games later, tears the scapholunate ligament in his wrist.
The growth was there though, and it showed Hornets fans that Miller can be the guy that can lead the charge. It was just about putting the right pieces around him.
The second positive to take out of it was the impressive draft that Peterson and his team had.
First they take Kon Knueppel, who the Hornets brass love.
“He’s very serious, mature beyond his age,” Graham said on the Hornets Roundtable Podcast. “Someboddy that’s known what he wants to do for a long time and someone who’s handled himself like a professional for a very long time… a really fervent student of the game – and I mean that in someone who really appreciates basketball history… a sponge who’s trying to learn things.”
Beyond Knueppel, the Hornets also picked up Liam McNeeley from UCONN, Sion James from Duke, as well as Ryan Kalkbrenner from Creighton.
It’s a bit of a different breed of players than what Charlotte is typically used to rostering. For years, we were used to seeing a very high-tempo offense that values offense with not a whole lot of defense involved.
With players like Knueppel, McNeeley, James, and Kalkbrenner, they can ball, but they have valued the defensive side of the game, which seems to be the direction Peterson wants to go for his team.
However, Kneuppel and McNeeley both especially showed out in the Summer League, helping lead the charge for the Hornets to capture the Summer League Championship.
CBS Sports gave Kneuppel “A” grade after his Summer League performance, but what shouldn’t be overlooked was McNeeley’s impact on the floor. In only two games, he averaged 18 points 8.5 rebounds and four assists on 43% shooting from 3.
At the end of the podcast, Dalton and Graham pointed out that after nine seasons of placing at the bottom of the barrel of the league, the bar is pretty low for expectations.
If the Hornets can compete, play like they’re trying to win and not be as flashy as possible, then it’s the step in the right direction.
One step at a time. You don’t go from 19 wins to a championship overnight, but what we’ve seen is that Peterson is building himself an exceptional roster with foundational building blocks.