After one of the more successful seasons in Charlotte Hornets history, it's time for General Manager Jeff Peterson to address how his team can improve for next season.
The Charlotte Hornets are in a unique position, as they’ve figured out their core for the future, but still hardly the perfect team.
As we look ahead into the offseason, the Hornets currently own two first round draft picks in the 2026 NBA Draft — a class that many view as one of the better classes in years.
But does Charlotte actually need those picks?
Right now, the Hornets have 12 players under contract, which includes this past season's starting five and nearly all of last season's depth contributors.
Last draft, the Hornets found immediate contributors by nabbing Kon Knueppel in the first round, and landing two contributors in the second round in Ryan Kalkbrenner and Sion James. They also have first rounder Liam McNeely, who spent most of the season in the G-League.
Knueppel ended up being the youngest person in NBA history to lead the league in 3-pointers made, while Kalkbrenner and James played important minutes for a team making a playoff push.
Additionally, Point guard and last season's trade deadline acquisition Coby White is a free agent, and it’s believed that both the Hornets and White will seek an extension.
Let’s say White re-signs. Where does that leave Charlotte?
It leaves the team with a full roster and a full rotation.
And if the Hornets decide to run it back, it likely forces draft picks to watch from afar.
The draft can happen with a myriad of outcomes.
Make your picks. Trade them for an established player. Or dare we say… trade up?
Trading the picks won’t even negatively affect Charlotte's future, as the Hornets currently own three first round picks in 2027, including their own.
Bill Simmons stoked the flames of fans nationwide and suggested that the Hornets go after Cam Boozer, college basketball’s player of the year.
"Charlotte has 2.4 percent odds (of getting a top-four pick), but can we have them jump to 3 and take (Cameron) Boozer?" Simmons said. "LaMelo (Ball), Kon (Knueppel), (Miles) Bridges, Boozer ... and Brandon Miller, and then (Moussa) Diabate, that's a fun team.”
Boozer offers a different dimension, as he features raw strength, a soft touch around the rim, with solid athleticism.
Should General Manager Jeff Peterson opt to trade up in the draft and select Boozer, that can open a whole can of worms that he didn’t know was there.
Because should that happen, then there needs to be another conversation on what’s next for the roster?
Does Miles Bridges get shipped out? He was a name that was dangled around the NBA Trade Deadline before Charlotte decided to keep him. But on the other hand, there have been discussions between the Hornets and Bridges’ camp in regards to a possible extension.
What happens with Moussa Diabate?
Diabate was easily the biggest surprise of the season, with how productive he was for the Hornets and how pivotal he was to the starting lineup.
So pivotal, that he won the NBA's Hustle Award for the season.
Even though Diabate is undersized, he makes up for it with his bounce and battle-level to go after loose balls.
And if you pair Diabate with Boozer, you instantly have a 1-2 punch down low, rather than rolling out four combo guards and a center, which is essentially what Charlotte was doing.
It may not be the worst thing in the world for Charlotte though. Charlotte is a team that needs improvement, despite being the NBA’s hottest team down the stretch.
But sometimes you need to cut a talented player, in order to move forward.
Remember when the Toronto Raptors moved on from DeMar DeRozan?
Trading the picks for an established player can be highly interesting, because there is always significant movement during the offseason.
Jarrett Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers is an intriguing option for the Hornets. They’re a team that lacks true size, and having a rim protector who can score and rebound at a high-rate would be a welcoming addition.
Allen has been the center of trade discussions for a few years now, but Cleveland stayed with him.
There’s a lot of hope that the Cavs make a championship run, but should they fall short yet again, you have to think they opt to move on from one of their tradeable assets.
Allen had signed a three-year contract extension that kicks in at the start of the 2026-27 season with a $28 million cap hit.
The final option is that Charlotte can go boring and use its picks.
Charlotte can even trade back to get more picks, and allow itself to draft a couple of projects, so the team can slide the players into the G-League to get themselves real professional experience.
Currently, the Hornets are tied to Hannes Steinbach and Aday Mara, players who aren’t expected to contribute right away, but can ultimately boost Charlotte’s future ceiling.
If not Boozer, Steinbach is a wonderful option down low, averaging a double-double, including leading the nation in rebounds.
Mara is a mammoth of a man, standing 7-foot-3 and is fresh off a national championship with Michigan. But for a man that size, who’s still fairly raw, a season in the G-League wouldn’t hurt him.
Peterson has proven to be a shrewd general manager, and every move he makes has purpose.
"We'll know when the time's right. We can't skip steps,” he said after the Hornets were eliminated from playoff contention. “I've seen it too many times and it ends up not going the way that you think it goes in terms of trying to speed things up."
It’s certainly a cliffhanger for Hornets fans who are eager to get their team back on the court.
When is the time right? What step is the team currently in? How far away are the Hornets from being a true contender?
Rome may not have been built in a day, but the foundation was laid in a year.
And Peterson is in one of the more enviable positions among NBA executives.
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