The Charlotte Hornets’ 3 Biggest Roster Flaws Right Now

With the dog days of summer nearly over, the Charlotte Hornets’ roster heading into the 2026-27 NBA season appears to be mostly set. While President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson and the Hornets’ front office could still make moves around the margins, the focus will likely shift to trimming the roster to 15 standard contracts and up to three two-way contracts.

With that in mind, there are still some clear and objective flaws with Charlotte’s roster that, in my opinion, have not been fully addressed, along with a few new ones created by the moves made this summer. Here are the biggest weaknesses that still exist on the Hornets’ roster as it is currently constructed.

No. 1: Lead ball handling and offensive initiation behind Coby White

Pivoting away from LaMelo Ball immediately created a significant playmaking and lead ball-handling void, with a ripple effect throughout Charlotte’s guard rotation. Ball was one of the NBA’s premier playmakers last season and the primary driver behind the Hornets’ offensive success on a nightly basis.

New starting point guard Coby White has the ability to run a productive offense and has proven throughout his seven NBA seasons that he is a quality advantage creator. He consistently gets into the paint and bends defenses effectively. 

Alongside him, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel provide Charlotte with enough secondary playmaking to make the starting lineup a high-level offensive unit with plenty of shooting and firepower.

My biggest concern comes when White is not on the floor.

At the moment, the backup initiation minutes appear to be a competition between rookie Christian Anderson, Tre Mann, Sion James, and possibly Grayson Allen. Regardless of which direction Charlotte goes, none of those options are ideal for an NBA team looking to seriously compete this season.

Starting with Anderson, Summer League made it clear that he will need some seasoning and time to adjust to the NBA’s physicality.

Anderson currently is an incredibly perimeter-oriented player, meaning he is at his best as a shooter both off the catch and off the bounce, and that should translate. But watching Anderson throughout those four Summer League games, he notably struggled to create separation with his handle, generate paint touches, or consistently threaten the rim.

He also looked very slight physically and at times seemed overwhelmed by ball pressure against NBA-caliber competition while scoring inefficiently. Asking Anderson to immediately step into the backup point guard role for Charlotte when the regular season begins would not be in the best interest of either the Hornets or their new first-round pick.

Then there is Tre Mann, who certainly has the ability to create separation with his handle and can be dynamic offensively when he is right. But analytically, Mann was one of the least impactful players on both ends of the floor in the NBA last season. 

Maybe more time removed from the back disc irritation that sidelined him for the majority of the 2024-25 season, along with a healthy offseason, will make a difference, but I would not bank on that.

James and Allen are two players who can really help Charlotte’s second unit this upcoming season, just not as primary creators or lead ball handlers.

Allen has been one of the NBA’s premier floor spacers and shooters over the past five seasons, and that should continue. He also posted a 20.6% assist percentage last season while handling a relatively high offensive workload for a wing with the Phoenix Suns.

Those are all positives, but again, Allen is best utilized as a secondary playmaker and closeout attacker. The same applies to James. Both players are at their best with someone else initiating the offense, creating advantages for them and breaking down the defense.

No. 2: Two-point scoring and rim pressure

Last season, Charlotte ranked in the bottom two in the NBA in two-point field goal frequency, two-point field goals made and two-point field goals attempted. The Hornets also finished in the bottom 10 in two-point field goal percentage. Do I see that changing or improving this upcoming season significantly? Not really.

Outside of Coby White, nearly every projected rotation guard and wing for Charlotte struggles to consistently get to the rim and finish there efficiently. 

Even the Hornets’ best players, Miller and Knueppel, are excellent movement shooters who can also operate in the mid-range, but getting downhill and drawing fouls remain two of the biggest areas for growth in their offensive games.

Then you go down the rest of the roster. Anderson, Allen, James, Mann, Liam McNeeley and Royce O’Neale are all primarily floor spacers or players who do not generate enough rim pressure, either in terms of frequency or efficiency, to move Charlotte out of the bottom tier of the league in two-point scoring.

Add in the fact that Charlotte traded Miles Bridges, who was the team’s best player at consistently getting to the cup from the forward spot on a nightly basis, and replaced him in the starting lineup with Naz Reid. 

Reid certainly has a driving game, but there is still a noticeable drop-off in terms of the force he generates in the paint compared to Bridges.

With Head Coach Charles Lee’s preferred style of play and the personnel currently on the roster, Charlotte will once again likely rely heavily on perimeter shooting. There just is not enough downhill creation and paint-touch generation to give this offense the balance it ideally needs.

No. 3: Lack of defensive playmakers 

Despite Charlotte finishing in the top 12 in defensive rating last season and around the top 10 in defensive efficiency, this roster still lacks defensive talent on paper, particularly guarding the ball.

In the starting lineup, Miller once again projects as Charlotte’s primary perimeter stopper, and asking him to take on that responsibility while carrying such a significant offensive workload is, in my opinion, overtaxing him as a player.

White and Knueppel profile as neutral to below-average defenders for their positions, while Anderson, Allen, Mann and McNeeley are all players smart NBA offenses will look to attack when they are on the floor.

James is one guard who can effectively defend the ball at the point of attack. Last season, he did a really nice job guarding positions one through three and regularly took on opposing teams’ best creators. But overall, Charlotte just does not have enough defensive playmakers in its guard rotation.

In the frontcourt, Moussa Diabaté and Ryan Kalkbrenner have both shown they can be positive defenders within their respective coverages. 

Reid and Hannes Steinbach also have enough mobility to hold up on the perimeter when paired with a defensive-impact center like Diabaté, but are not plus defenders individually.

Can Lee and his staff piece together another above-average defense? Possibly. But it would be tough sledding and a real achievement given the current defensive makeup of the roster.

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