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The start of a new Charlotte Hornets season is here, and everything you need to know about this year's squad can be found here. Be sure to read our storylines to watch and bold predictions below with the full roster and schedule below. Go ahead and bookmark this page while you're at it!
Life without LaMelo: The big news of the offseason, of course, was the Hornets' decision to ship LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Naz Reid and draft capital, including an unprotected 2033 first-round pick. It felt like a premature move by Jeff Peterson, especially after the Hornets just played their best stretch of basketball in years. Can the Hornets be just as good without him?
Beginning the year banged up: Kon Knueppel (hamstring) and Coby White (calf) are still day-to-day. There's a chance they will be ready to suit up for the opener, but don't be surprised if the Hornets play it safe here, with this being 40% of their starting unit.
Can Brandon Miller carry a franchise?: With LaMelo out, the attention fully shifts to Brandon Miller. Sure, Kon Knueppel is going to be a massive part of the puzzle as well, but this feels like Miller's team. He and the Hornets just agreed to a new five-year, $209M contract extension earlier this week, which is certainly deserved.
Three-man battle at center: Moussa Diabaté is almost certainly going to begin the season as the starter, but first-round draft pick Hannes Steinbach could take that role over much sooner than you think. The organization is extremely high on him and believes he can be their man in the middle for the foreseeable future. His offensive upside trounces what Diabaté can bring on that end, and who knows? Maybe Diabaté can be even more effective off the bench. Second-year man Ryan Kalkbrenner isn't going away either. I'd anticipate Charles Lee using him more situationally, with the bulk of the minutes going to Diabaté/Steinbach.
Naz Reid makes the All-Star Game: This is something that a few folks have thrown out there, and you know, what...I can see it happening. Of course, Miller and Knueppel have a much better chance, but that's what makes this a "bold" prediction. Reid has been one of the better Sixth Men in the league over the last few years and will finally have a chance to be a full-time starter who has a much larger role in the offense.
The Hornets are buyers at the trade deadline: This team is much deeper than the one that made the Play-In a year ago, but because of the departure of LaMelo Ball, most are assuming the Hornets are content playing the long game, meaning they will tumble down the standings this season. I don't see that happening. They'll hover around .500 for much of the year and be in a competitive spot by the time the trade deadline comes. Make a big splash? Probably not, but I think there's a good chance we'll see them add to the roster to help their postseason chances rather than wave the white flag.
Here is your opening night Charlotte Hornets roster, along with two-way players.
#00 Royce O’Neale — F | 6’6”, 226 lbs | Age: 33 | Exp: 9 (Baylor)
#0 Naz Reid — F/C | 6’9”, 264 lbs | Age: 27 | Exp: 7 (LSU)
#2 Grant Williams — F | 6’7”, 236 lbs | Age: 27 | Exp: 7 (Tennessee)
#3 Coby White — G | 6’5”, 210 lbs | Age: 26 | Exp: 7 (North Carolina)
#4 Sion James — G | 6’5”, 220 lbs | Age: 23 | Exp: 1 (Duke)
#5 Christian Anderson — G | 6’1”, 165 lbs | Age: 20 | Exp: R (Texas Tech)
#7 Kon Knueppel — G/F | 6’6”, 215 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 1 (Duke)
#8 Grayson Allen — G | 6’4”, 198 lbs | Age: 31 | Exp: 8 (Duke)
#11 Ryan Kalkbrenner — C | 7’1”, 256 lbs | Age: 24 | Exp: 1 (Creighton)
#14 Moussa Diabaté — F | 6’10”, 210 lbs | Age: 24 | Exp: 4 (Michigan)
#17 Dennis Schröder — G | 6’1”, 175 lbs | Age: 33 | Exp: 13 (Germany)
#22 Hannes Steinbach — F | 6’10”, 248 lbs | Age: 20 | Exp: R (Washington)
#24 Brandon Miller — F | 6’7”, 200 lbs | Age: 23 | Exp: 3 (Alabama)
#31 Tidjane Salaün — F | 6’10”, 207 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 2 (France)
#33 Liam McNeeley — F | 6’8”, 210 lbs | Age: 21 | Exp: 1 (UConn)
Two-Way Contracts
PG: Coby White, Dennis Schroder, Christian Anderson
SG: Kon Knueppel, Grayson Allen, Sion James
SF: Brandon Miller, Royce O'Neale, Liam McNeeley
PF: Naz Reid, Grant Williams, Tidjane Salaün
C: Moussa Diabaté, Hannes Steinbach, Ryan Kalkbrenner
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