Why new season excites the Hornets. ‘I would put our talent up against most teams’
Although Monday signaled the official start of the Charlotte Hornets’ latest quest, technically it’s been ongoing.
And apparently for a while, too.
“I’m excited about the amount of work and time that they put in this offseason,” Jeff Peterson, the Hornets’ president of basketball operations, said. “I’ve got to give those guys credit. I’ve been in the league ... this is my 14th season, and I don’t remember seeing an offseason like this in terms of the amount of guys being in Charlotte, getting work in on a consistent basis.”
Neither can the Hornets’ coach.
“Yeah, it’s a special thing to see,” Charles Lee said. “I’ve been in the NBA now for a while, and I’ve been on a lot of veteran teams. And so you play so deep into the NBA schedule that not a lot of those guys end up coming back to market because of how long you played. I just think that it’s a testament to our guys’ care factor. It’s a testament to their overall daily improvement, the lifestyle of a Hornet and wanting to be around each other, to support each other, to celebrate each other.
“It’s a really special thing and I think it’s going to help us in the thick of the season when we know we’re all we got. We are literally all we have in that locker room, so it’s good to see these guys just start to build bonds and start to learn one another on and off the court.”
At the forefront of that? The team’s highest-paid player and engine.
LaMelo Ball has been a daily presence at the Hornets’ temporary home at Queens University’s Levine Center over the summer, making himself extremely comfortable in the team’s substitute digs until Phase II of Spectrum Center’s renovations are complete in a few weeks.
“LaMelo, I can’t say how excited I am for him this season because he has put the work in,” Peterson said. “He’s been extremely consistent. He took a big step in terms of just his body and strength and conditioning. He knows that he has to be great in that area to continue to take the next step.”
With rookies Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner and the addition of the likes of Collin Sexton, the Hornets have retooled their roster. Optimism abounds, leaving the disappointment of last season’s 19-63 record in the rearview mirror.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the Hornets’ media day.
How’s Brandon Miller after wrist surgery?
When Brandon Miller had surgery in January to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist, it was unclear if he’d be ready to go when training camp tipped off.
That uncertainty is gone now, though.
Everything is looking up for the third-year swingman after playing in just 27 games this past season. He’s going to participate in training camp at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. this week, and that’s a positive step after not playing in a truly competitive game in nine months.
“I think right now I’m more excited than anything,” Miller said. “We’ve got a new group coming in, some added pieces to the group. So, I would say I’m more excited than anything to get back out there, compete with my teammates and just work hard with them every day and get better.”
Miller will wear some protective tape on his wrist, but didn’t seem overly concerned about any adjustments. In fact, he suggested he’s more comfortable with it than one would expect.
“I’ve been practicing with wrist tape on,” Miller said. “I taped my wrists in high school, so I don’t think that will be the problem. The confidence, that will eventually come and grow as the season goes. But I think that’s really the main thing, is just building the confidence back up and catching myself when falling. I’d say that’s really it.”
A bulked up LaMelo Ball
A couple of personal records in the weight room has LaMelo Ball looking slightly bulkier entering his sixth season. After logging action in only 47 games in 2024-25 — which came on the heels of playing in 58 games combined during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons — and failing to finish the season healthy yet again, Ball focused on improving his 6-foot-7 frame.
“With C. Lee, we watched film, went over it,” Ball said. “Even with (assistant coach) Lamar (Skeeter). We just saw the little kinks and stuff, and knew I had to get in the weight room and get stronger. So, that’s pretty much what we did.”
Hornets’ brass noticed, too.
“He took a big step in terms of just his body and strength and conditioning,” Peterson said. “He knows that he has to be great in that area to continue to take the next step. But Charles Lee, myself, LaMelo, we’ve had several conversations, dinners.
“It’s hard to find someone more talented than him, especially at that guard position. And he’s just excited to get out there and bring winning back to Charlotte as well.”
Which is why he’s becoming more vocal, something that’s been a focal point throughout his offseason. Ball has taken incremental steps to better elevate himself into that role, and Lee is loving every second of it.
“That’s kind of historically where all star players go,” Lee said. “Melo is going to make strides as a leader, but everyone on this team has an ability to be a leader in a lot of different facets. And the thing that Melo has shown me during my time here now is that he wants to lead even if he’s not on the court. And so that was something I saw last year from him and Brandon specifically, is when they weren’t playing, they were still engaged. They were still trying to find a way to help a teammate and pass during the drill or watching film with those guys.
“It’s also one of those things where you can lead by example. When you’re in there doing your rehab program or whatever it is in the weight room or in the training room or your workouts, you can set a tone that way, too. And so I think that his leadership expands to when he’s on the court and not off the court. And I look forward to this year and taking another step with his leadership, the communication that he’s had with his guys this year. I just feel that there’s so much more depth between what.”
Lee even cited some examples.
“There’s so much more depth in what he’s even saying,” Lee said. “Before it might have been, ‘Hey, let’s try not to turn this ball over.’ Now, I see that there’s the light bulbs going off in terms of, ‘Hey, let’s get to this action more. It’ll help us not turn the ball over.’ Or ‘Let’s not put ourselves in this position.’ So, I think that he’s just seeing and understanding the game a lot better, and he’s going to be able to carry that over the regular season.”
No snail’s pace here
For those who enjoy a more uptempo pace, get ready.
Lee insisted one of the things he plans on tweaking in his second season centers around the speed of the Hornets’ offense. The intention is to play faster and race up and down the court — under control — in order to better utilize the personnel they’ve assembled.
“Yeah, I think that we have great guard depth, No. 1,” Lee said. “I think we have a ton of playmakers, a lot of guys that are going to be able to get a piece of the paint. And so trying to allow these guys, No. 1, to get quicker inbounds. I thought that last year, whether it was after a made or missed basket, our initial thrust wasn’t quick enough.
“And so we’ve talked about it a ton in terms of playing with the pass a lot more, advancing the ball. The quickest way for the ball to get up the court is with the pass and not the dribble. And so trusting one another is going to be a big emphasis in the offense even more, and everyone is running with purpose now.”
In fact, they are already establishing an identity that’s still slowly morphing.
“Fast and scrappy,” Collin Sexton said. “I say let’s run fast, let’s get up and down, let’s use that to our strength and then be scrappy on defense. Let’s not allow anyone in the paint. Get up under someone and cause havoc.
“Those are the two things that we can do and we can control. Especially us having other guards.”
To ensure they are in the best position possible to take advantage of their offensive philosophy, conditioning was a huge part of the players’ offseason regime. The expectation is for that work to cash in dividends when the lights things start counting for real.
“I already think we are just an uptempo team,” Ball said. “So, I think it’s just all going to mesh together well and it should help.”
Newcomers like what they see
Spencer Dinwiddie is a believer in what the Hornets are building.
Signed as a free agent in July with hopes of providing veteran leadership and on-court experience, Dinwiddie made it clear he thinks the Hornets’ roster is pretty good as currently constructed.
He pointed to the team’s top players, noting Miles Bridges is a strong third/fourth option, along with likening Miller to a “baby Paul George” and highlighting a max contract player in Ball at point guard. Dinwiddie also noted how it was always difficult to gauge the Hornets whenever he played against them because injuries made it tough to judge the full roster’s capability.
But in Dinwiddie’s mind, the Hornets have all the core elements to be competitive in the Eastern Conference — largely depending on their health.
“I think so often times people say like, ‘Ah, this team may or may not have high-end talent,’” Dinwiddie said. “But the separation between quote-unquote, high-end talent usually isn’t the gap that normal, just media people think. There’s probably eight, maybe 10 guys that are definitively different. You know, that’s the Giannis (Antetokounmpo), Joker (Nikola Jokic), that class.
“But from 11 down, it usually comes down to this guy gets to shoot, that guy doesn’t — stuff like that. So, I would put our talent up against most teams in the league that don’t have a definitive the guy, you know what I mean? I don’t see us as having subpar or bottom-third type talent in the league.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM.
