Who stays, who goes? Predicting returnees for Charlotte Hornets’ 2026-27 roster
During a conversation in April broaching myriad topics just prior to the Charlotte Hornets’ final stretch of the season, Jeff Peterson lauded Miles Bridges’ importance.
Peterson, the Hornets’ president of basketball operations, was full of praise.
“Miles, on a daily basis, he’s one of our vocal leaders,” Peterson told The Charlotte Observer then. “He’s constantly preaching what the coaches are teaching, whether it’s terminology or actions, things like that. I can’t tell you, especially in today’s age, it’s so easy for guys to get paid or even not paid and just say, ‘I’m not playing.’ Miles wants to play, and that says a lot. Even when I first got here, we won 19 games last season, and he could easily shut it down.
“But that guy, I don’t care if it’s at the Spectrum Center or the park or whatever. He just wants to play. Teammates know that he has their back. I’ve seen it in multiple ways. But there’s no doubt that his teammates respect him because they know he’s going to show up on a normal basis.”
Yet, two months later, Bridges is reportedly available on the trade market.
Welcome to the start of the 2026 offseason for all intents and purposes, when chatter begins at a murmur before blossoming into a crescendo.
After falling short of ending the NBA’s longest current playoff drought, the Hornets have to take a hard look at their team, ranging from the top of the roster all the way down to the final spot. That’s where Peterson and his team of assistants come in.
They have plenty of decisions to make.
Here’s a roster breakdown of Charlotte’s main rotational players and the early expectation of whether they will be with the Hornets when training camp rolls around in the fall:
Not going anywhere
LaMelo Ball
Contract status: Earning $40.7 million in third season of five-year, $208.3 million deal
The Hornets are built around the star guard, and he makes them go.
Since entering the league in 2020, it’s been a struggle for him to stay healthy. But that wasn’t the case this past season, with the star guard logging action in 72 games.
He hadn’t played in that many following his All-Star year in 2021-22.
That allowed him to flourish, finishing second in the NBA in made 3-pointers with 272 and trailing only rookie Kon Knueppel. He also ranked ninth in the league in assists per game at 7.1.
Along with decreasing his turnovers to 2.8 per game, which were also his lowest since his rookie campaign, and willingness to be more dependable on the defensive end, he stepped it up in multiple areas. The 2.7 fouls he averaged per game were also his fewest.
He’s eligible for an extension beginning July 6.
Moussa Diabaté
Contract status: Earning $2.4 million in final season of three-year, $5.6 million deal
Given his economical contract and how it’s probably a bargain considering his work rate, he lands on this list. Which shows just how far he’s come.
He won the hustle award for leading the league in effort plays that don’t show up in traditional box scores, such as screen assists, deflections, loose balls recovered, and contested shots. The relentless 6-foot-10 forward/center ranked second in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage (16.5) and stockpiled the third-highest number of offensive rebounds (273) in the league. His 3.7 offensive rebounds per game ranked fifth.
All that after beginning the 2025-26 campaign as a reserve behind rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Hornets went 31-16 when Diabaté was in the starting lineup.
Kon Knueppel
Contract status: Earning $10.5 million in second season of four-year, $45.4 million deal
Selected fourth overall behind fellow Duke product and good buddy Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio’s Dylan Harper and Philadelphia’s V.J. Edgecombe, he quickly cemented himself as a valuable piece.
His impressive initial season yielded a second-place finish in the rookie of the year award voting on the heels of Flagg. His sharpshooting provided plenty of extra spacing for the likes of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.
Along with averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, he was extremely durable. He logged action in all but one of the Hornets’ 83 appearances — sitting out Dec. 29 in his hometown of Milwaukee with a sprained right ankle. The 20-year-old led the NBA in 3-pointers with 273, connecting on 42.3% of his 3-pointers and 47.5% of his overall attempts from the floor.
Brandon Miller
Contract status: Earning $15 million in final season of four-year, $49.3 million deal
On a team with few individuals considered untouchable, he’s one of the main building blocks and should be in a Hornets uniform for a long time. All throughout the organization, he’s viewed as an integral component and has the mental makeup to be a main voice in the locker room and on the court.
Keeping the 23-year-old healthy is paramount. He’s dealt with a nagging injury in each of his last two seasons, including a left shoulder subluxation in 2025-26 — suffered during the second game of the season — that required offseason surgery.
Following the 2024-25 campaign, Miller had right wrist surgery to repair a torn scapholunate (wrist) ligament that ended his second year in the league prematurely in January. He’s eligible for a rookie extension, which will be among the things to watch for over the coming weeks.
Coby White
Contract status: Set to become an unrestricted free agent
While it may seem out of place to have a free agent on this part of the list, the expectation is for the former UNC standout to hang around beyond his test run of sorts over the past few months. just as he suggested to The Observer.
Trading for him before the deadline gives the Hornets his full Bird rights from Chicago, meaning they can exceed the salary cap to re-sign him. The Hornets can outbid any other team in total dollars, length and yearly bumps without worrying about the cap number.
He’s fit in seamlessly, and it would be a mistake to not bring him back.
Question marks
Miles Bridges
Contract status: Earning $22.8 million in final season of three-year, $75 million deal
Akin to a sundial, it’s relatively easy to figure out where things are on the NBA’s calendar. Just do a search on the internet or social media entering his name and the word “trade” and that usually reveals the precise place.
Whenever it comes to the offseason or the February trade deadline, there’s almost always a given: His name is associated with rumors of being moved. That’s happening yet again, with reports surfacing this week suggesting the Hornets are making him available in a trade.
Although Bridges has always made it crystal clear in chats with The Observer that he prefers to stay in Charlotte and play here his whole career, he doesn’t hold the cards, and the Hornets’ intention to add more physicality to the roster could lead to his departure since he’s the starting power forward.
Along with an expiring deal that could be viewed as a necessity to a team looking to clear cap space for next summer and beyond, it puts him atop the watch list category. He becomes extension eligible on July 14.
Pat Connaughton
Contract status: Set to earn $3.8 million in final season of two-year, $5.1 million deal
Considered a long shot to even make it to training camp after coming to the Hornets from Milwaukee along with two second-round picks for Vasilije Micić, he wound up being the veteran voice they needed after not re-signing Taj Gibson.
That was apparent when the Hornets brought him back in February on a two-year deal just five days after he was waived in a roster crunch. They have until June 29 to exercise the team option to keep him on the books, and his 2026-27 salary is non-guaranteed. So there is the chance he can be caught up in some roster roulette when Peterson begins wheeling and dealing.
Josh Green
Contract status: Earning $14.3 million in final season of four-year, $41 million deal
He just completed his second year with Charlotte, coming off the bench in 2025-26 after starting in all but one of his 68 games in 2024-25. He missed the first month-plus of the season after having surgery to address instability in his left shoulder in June.
Acquired two years ago from Dallas in a six-team trade that sent Klay Thompson to the Mavericks, he is a streaky shooter beyond the arc who’s mostly known for his defense. That makes him a prototypical 3-and-D player, which is something contending teams seek. Paired with an economical expiring contract, that could put him in line to be moved.
Tre Mann
Contract status: Earning $8 million in final season of three-year, 24 million deal
After being a chief priority offseason re-signing following an injury-shortened 2024-25, he became a forgotten figure early in the season. He was dropped from the main rotation early in the season and the majority of the 53 games he appeared in didn’t feature many meaningful minutes, leading to him posting 5.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game,.
All were below his career averages.
With others still likely ahead of him in the pecking order, including Sion James, it’s hard to see how he can elbow his way into the rotation consistently, making him expendable.
Grant Williams
Contract status: Earning $14.6 million in final season of four-year, $53.3 million deal
No one on the roster is more Charlotte than him.
He grew up in the Queen City, attending Providence Day School before heading to play collegiately at Tennessee, and has embraced being a member of the hometown Hornets since arriving at the trade deadline from Dallas in 2024 with Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round pick in exchange for PJ Washington and draft picks.
He’s fully recovered from his surgery repairing a torn right ACL and meniscus damage, returning in January after being sidelined for more than a year recovering. He appeared in 36 games, starting three, and averaged seven points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 19.8 minutes per game, making 42.6% from the field. His calming veteran voice has become commonplace, and he does plenty of the little things that go unnoticed.
But his versatility and ability to play more than one spot on the frontline along with a contract that is set to expire after the season puts him among those whose futures in Charlotte are up in the air.
Could be on the move
Sion James
Contract status: Earning $2.4 million in second season of four-year, $9.9 million deal
Of the Hornets’ crop of rookies, he’s probably the one who opened the most eyes. Although he fared well in his lone season at Duke after transferring from Tulane, few could have envisioned he’d be entrenched in the rotation and counted on so heavily so rapidly.
He’s the only second-round pick to appear in all of his team’s games in 2025-26, joining Baron Davis, Kendall Gill, J.R. Reid, Larry Johnson and Cody Zeller as the only others to accomplish the feat.
Besides being a rugged defender courtesy of his 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame, he showed he’s not too shabby a 3-point shooter after knocking down 35.2%. All of that makes him an attractive addition to a trade package for a seasoned player who can help immediately.
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Contract status: Earning $2.4 million in second season of four-year, $9.9 million deal
Pegged as the replacement for Mark Williams, he had his moments as a rookie.
After beginning the season as the starting center thanks to a strong training camp and a solid preseason, he sprained his left elbow in December and that paved the way for Moussa Diabaté to put a stranglehold on the role as a starter.
But he still found ways to stay effective when called upon, averaging 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 69 regular-season games. He’s the fourth Hornets rookie to record 100 blocks in a season, and the staff likes him, so they shouldn’t just give him away.
Liam McNeeley
Contract status: Earning $2.9 million in second season of four-year, $14.1 million deal
With not much room for him in the rotation, he spent the bulk of his initial season suiting up for the Greensboro Swarm in the G League. But he’s a workaholic and has a mentality that finds the brightest spots in even the darkest times, which can’t be discredited in building a winner.
However, depending on how the roster shakes out, it may be difficult for him to consistently crack the rotation in 2026-27 and the Hornets could include him in a move for a veteran big man, although their depth would take a hit.
Tidjane Salaün
Contract status: Earning $8.2 million in third season of four-year, $34 million deal
After two seasons, the jury is still out on the Frenchman.
He averaged six points and four rebounds in 37 appearances, which closely mirrored the 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds he posted in 2024-25. He shot much better, though, nailing 50.3% from the field and 43.4% from 3-point range.
Two stints with the Swarm greatly aided in building confidence, and he must continue to get better at situational awareness. He could find himself in a similar situation to that of Portland’s Deni Avdjia, who didn’t quite mesh with Washington’s timeline and has flourished with the Trail Blazers following the trade from the Wizards on draft night two years ago.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Who stays, who goes? Predicting returnees for Charlotte Hornets’ 2026-27 roster."
