How waiving Josh Okogie, signing Drew Peterson affects the Hornets’ roster
Free agency awaits Josh Okogie.
Unable to find a trade partner before his $7.7 million salary became fully guaranteed, the Charlotte Hornets waived Okogie on Tuesday, league sources told The Observer. The two sides initially mutually agreed to push back Okogie’s guarantee date past June 30 — just hours before the NBA’s new fiscal year was about to begin — to give them more of an opportunity to use his salary to assist in facilitating a deal to move the 27-year-old to another team.
But with Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson not securing any takers over the past two weeks, the Hornets severed ties with the veteran wing. The move comes less than 24 hours after the team agreed on a two-way contract with forward Drew Peterson.
Peterson spent the past two seasons with the Boston Celtics, appearing in 25 games in 2024-25 and averaging 2.2 points in 7.4 minutes. He’s familiar with Hornets coach Charles Lee, who was an assistant under Boston coach Joe Mazzulla, from their time together with the Celtics in 2023-24.
Okogie’s tenure with the Hornets was brief. Acquired along with three second-round picks from Phoenix for Nick Richards in January, he appeared in 16 games and made six starts, averaging 8.9 points and 2.7 rebounds.
By releasing Okogie, the Hornets trimmed their roster to 18 standard NBA contracts, placing them three above the maximum during the season. They also have three players on two-way contracts — KJ Simpson, Damion Baugh and Peterson — and that stretches the roster to 21. In the offseason, that’s the most players a team can carry.
So, the Hornets still have to make some tough decisions, and that could eventually leave the likes of DaQuan Jeffries and Nick Smith Jr. on the outside looking in as the days tick off leading up to the start of training camp in the fall. Charlotte is set to open preseason play on Oct. 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the North Charleston Coliseum.
This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 4:11 PM.
