Three Things NBA Preview: Charlotte Hornets
As I detailed a few weeks ago, I’m once again re-appropriating the Three Things I Noticed on League Pass format to preview the upcoming season. Instead of three things I noticed, it’ll be something more along the lines of three things I’m looking forward to, interested in, or want to see. Some of them might be narrative-based, some might be stats, and some might include video. But they'll all be focused on the 2025-26 campaign.
The schedule for those posts will be as follows (podcasts for each division with Mo Dakhil are in parentheses):
- Sept. 1-5: Atlantic Division (BOS, BKN, NYK, PHI, TOR) (Podcast)
- Sept. 8-12: Central Division (CHI, CLE, DET, IND, MIL)
- Sept. 15-19: Southeast Division (ATL, CHA, MIA, ORL, WAS)
- Sept. 22-26: Pacific Division (GSW, LAC, LAL, PHX, SAC) (Podcast)
- Sept. 29-Oct. 3: Northwest Division (DEN, MIN, OKC, POR, UTA)
- Oct. 6-10: Southwest Division (DAL, HOU, MEM, NOP, SAS)
So without further ado, let's get to the Charlotte Hornets, whose 2024-25 season was derailed by injuries as they slumped to a 14th-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
The right direction?
I wrote at length earlier this offseason about how I (kind of) like what the Hornets have been doing over the last year-plus:
- Drafted Tidjane Salaun
- Drafted K.J. Simpson
- Traded a 2nd for Josh Green, Reggie Jackson (waived), and three future 2nds
- Traded James Nnaji for Charlie Brown (waived), Duane Washington (waived), and three future 2nds
- Traded Nick Richards and a 2025 2nd for three future 2nds
- Traded Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic, and a future 2nd for Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 1st
- Drafted Kon Knueppel
- Traded Mark Williams for Vasilije Micic, 2025 No. 29 (Liam McNeely) and a 2029 1st
- Drafted Sion James
- Drafted Ryan Kalkbrenner
- Traded Jusuf Nurkic for Collin Sexton and a future 2nd
- Traded Vasilije Micic for Pat Connaughton and two future 2nds
They gave up Williams, Richards, Nnaji, Martin, Micic, and three future second-round picks and got back Green, Sexton, Connaughton, the rights to McNeeley, first-round picks in 2026 and 2029, and 12 future second-round picks. They also added Knueppel, James, and Kalkbrenner in this year's draft.
Salaun last year was one of the worst rookies in recent memory and Simpson didn't do much of note, but Knueppel is an elite shooter who should be a nice fit with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller if they are ever actually on the court together. I don't know much about McNeeley yet, but Kalkbrenner checked in with an 84th percentile bSPARQ and several draft people I like talked about him as a potential sleeper as a rim-protecting big man who finishes well inside and the Hornets needed another center to add to Moussa Diabate after trading both Williams and Richards.
Again, though, I like the arbitrage game that Jeff Peterson is playing here. This is another bad team going nowhere fast, and it's turning blah assets into future draft capital that could pay off down the line. The point is to accumulate as much of it as possible, so that maybe, just maybe, you hit it big.
