Draft season is in full swing for the Charlotte Hornets, who own two top-20 picks in next month’s draft.

There’s a wide swath of players that are going to be in consideration for each of those picks, and almost no mock draft is the same. There’s a list of about 12-15 different players that the Hornets could pick at either of their first-round selections.

But what kind of player could they look to add? What’s are some realistic comparisons for the players projected in Charlotte’s range?

Before getting into the comparisons I’ve devised, I want to clarify these are stylistic comparisons, not necessarily indicative of the caliber of player I think each of these guys will become.

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Sitting at a crossroads this offseason, the Charlotte Hornets have a choice to make in this year’s NBA Draft: swing for the fences to target upside or pursue safer prospects.

The stakes are high for Charlotte this offseason, after falling one game short of the NBA Playoffs. On the cusp of establishing itself as a playoff team, the 2026 NBA Draft could be the step that pushes Buzz City over the line and into the playoffs. However, missing in the draft would almost certainly set the franchise back after making significant progress this year.

With a pair of first-round selections at No. 14 and No. 18, Charlotte is picking in a fascinating range. If history teaches anything about the middle of the first round, it’s that there’s always value to be found with players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, and Alperen Sengun selected in this range. However, for every All-Star selected in this range, there are just as many busts. Hornets fans should be well aware of this after the franchise missed on Kai Jones in 2021.

For the Charlotte Hornets, I believe that the best course of action is to use both first-round selections on high-floor prospects. With LaMelo Ball on a max contract, Brandon Miller’s likely extension looming, and eventually an extension for Kon Knueppel all factored in, the Hornets’ roster is about to get expensive quickly. As showcased by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s model of injecting rookie talent to fill out rotation spots annually, having effective role players on rookie contracts is an incredibly valuable asset in team building.

It may seem counterintuitive to pass on the opportunity to swing for the fences twice and hope that one pick pays off. After all, adding a potential All-Star caliber player would almost certainly elevate the Hornets to be a clear playoff team. However, the odds of hitting on even one out of two of those boom or bust picks are slim.

To better understand the likely outcomes for boom or bust and safe prospects, I examined the 2016-2023 draft classes, classifying every prospect selected 14th through 18th as either a boom or bust, safe prospect, or somewhere in the middle based on pre-draft consensus. Then, focusing on the boom or bust and safe prospects, I noted each player’s outcome as a star, quality role player, or bust. I also excluded prospects from the 2024 and 2025 NBA drafts, as it is too early to know how those prospects will turn out. While the methodology requires some subjectivity in evaluating prospect outcomes, it gives a general sense of player outcomes.

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The results sent a clear message: the best way to get value in the middle of the first round is to take the safe prospect. While zero safe prospects in the data ended up as stars, 71% became quality role players, while only 29% busted. Quality role players included the likes of Donte DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Meanwhile, boom-or-bust prospects were a very different story. 69% ended up as draft busts. 19% blossomed into stars, which were Bam Adebayo, Michael Porter Jr., and Alperen Sengun. Only 13% settled in the middle as quality role players. Even with two picks, the Hornets would be gambling with the possibility of getting nothing in this draft if they take two boom or bust swings.

In a world where cost-controlled role players create valuable salary cap flexibility, the Hornets would be wise to target the safer prospects in this year’s draft. A few particular names that stand out to me include Washington center Hannes Steinbach, Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr., and Santa Clara forward Allen Graves.

Steinbach offers Charlotte a dominant rebounding presence after leading the nation in rebounds with 11.8 last season. Lacking physicality for years, the Hornets could use Steinbach’s brute force on the glass and would be a unique piece to add to the center rotation. Offensively, Steinbach is a tough matchup with his scoring ability. Notably, his ability to hit 3s would pair well in pick-and-pop situations with LaMelo Ball.

If the Hornets want to lean towards pure defense rather than rebounding, Johnson is the prospect for Charlotte. The national champion was a critical piece in Michigan’s defense this season as an athletic, high-octane defender. With a wingspan of seven-foot-three and a half, Johnson would instantly be one of Charlotte’s better defenders. Since both Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate are entering contract years, there’s a real possibility that Johnson could take over a starting role by 2027 as a defensive specialist.

While he’s often lower on draft boards than Steinbach or Johnson, Allen Graves fits the profile Charlotte could target. Last year at Santa Clara, Graves posted impressive shooting splits, hitting at 51.2% from the field and 41.3% from deep. After settling in as the Broncos’ sixth man last season, I could easily envision a similar role for Graves in Charlotte. While his athleticism limits his upside, Graves appears to be a safe bet to be an effective role player at the NBA level.

With multiple options available, Charlotte has the opportunity to build valuable depth in this class. Finding role players on rookie contracts may be exactly what the doctor orders for the Hornets to find their way back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

My big picture, Weekly State of the Hive Address:

I’m of the opinion that the size of Muggsy Bogues’ calves has been a severely under-discussed topic amongst the Hornets community.

That guy had calves the size of a small child’s head. Maybe even a large child.

You don’t make it to the NBA at his height without some impressive physical attributes, after all.

You also don’t play 10 seasons straight with the same NBA team unless your presence meant something on and off the floor. The calves just help.

Muggsy wasn’t just the quintessential Hornet. He WAS the Hornet.

A pest in every passing lane. Swarming to a lazily taken dribble. Every bit of his size was used against you, and Bogues took advantage of players every night who thought they had it easy.

When they got complacent and told themselves, “This is the shortest player in the league, he can’t touch me,” was when Muggsy thrived. He embodies our team’s name more than any other player ever has.

In spirit, in size, in heart, and just his general swarming-esque style of play, altogether.

If Dell Curry is Mr. Hornet, then Muggsy Bogues is the closest thing to THE Hornet we’ve seen in this franchise outside of Hugo himself (or herself. Or Super-Hugoself).

I’m genuinely of the opinion that Muggsy Bogues has one of the highest basketball IQs the NBA has ever seen.

You can’t get to the league on children’s head-sized calves alone, although I’m sure it helped a lot.

I’m also of the STRONG opinion that Bogues deserves to have his jersey in the rafters right now alongside Dell Curry’s No. 30 and the late Bobby Phills’ No. 13.

Except, I think it already would be up there if we didn’t have an active No. 1 in LaMelo Ball.

If co-owners Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall were so quick and willing to put Curry’s jersey up, saying Dell deserved it hand over foot?

Surely they view Muggsy the same way, right?

“So, what’s the holdup?” I asked myself earlier this week.

We spoke on Dell approving a potential No. 30 jersey for Steph Curry in the event he came to Charlotte.

But that’s so different, I feel like.

How can you spend halftime of a regular-season game retiring a jersey like Muggsy’s, only to have it watered down the moment halftime is over and another No. 1 in LaMelo Ball starts playing immediately after?

I think that’s why the owners have held off on Muggsy. Truly. Bogues deserves better than to have his retirement flame stamped out like that as soon as it’s over. Even if they were to do a Bogues patch on LaMelo’s jersey. It would feel like a backhanded retirement, and again, these owners don’t have the aura of treating a franchise and the Charlotte community great like that.

You’d be hard-pressed to find 10 people as influential as Muggsy Bogues in the city of Charlotte.

So all of this exposition about Muggsy begs my main question of the day:

If a future LaMelo Ball gets his jersey retired, surely you have to retire both of their names for No. 1.

Holding out right now to retire Bogues’ name is just fine, but clearly it’s because Ball is still… playing.

That changes if you leave his name out altogether during my hypothetical future jersey retirement for LaMelo and the Hornets’ No. 1 jersey.

Now the latter, in my humble opinion, would be very, very disrespectful to Muggsy.

So I’ve arrived at a conclusion that I want you all to ponder on throughout the rest of your own week(s).

There’s no world where you retire LaMelo in the future, assuming he stays with Charlotte a LARGE majority of the rest of his career…

And leave out Bogues. No way. Not based on Bogues' merit.

You didn’t retire Dell on pure merit. You retired him because of the sheer impact he’s had through his play, AND his post-playing days.

While it’s not as an announcer, Tyrone Bogues has done the EXACT same thing. He’s still second all-time in games played in Charlotte.

Muggsy’s Hornets’ assist record may never be touched, either.

Bogues played 10 seasons in Charlotte; 632 games played overall, while averaging 31.3 minutes per game in those 632 GP.

Muggsy had 5,557 assists total throughout those 10 seasons.

Kemba Walker — who played just TWENTY-SEVEN fewer career games in Charlotte than Bogues (605) — finished his Hornets tenure with 3,308 assists.

That is 2,249 fewer than ol’ Muggsy. Granted, of course, Walker was a scorer. A high-volume one, at that.

That wasn’t Muggsy’s game, as I’m sure you’re well aware.

Yes, LaMelo Ball is a scorer, too. But I think we’d all agree his biggest asset is his ability to make players better and to pass the basketball like no one else in the league.

Bogues was the same way; he just wasn’t 6-foot-7 and an elite scorer.

I will give it to Ball that, had he avoided most of his injuries, he may legitimately be on pace to break Muggsy’s record.

As it stands? It’ll be tough, to say the least. LaMelo will HAVE to play most of his career in Charlotte, if not all of it, in order to surpass Bogues’ unreal number of 5,557.

Let’s do the math; basketball arithmetic is the only math I can stomach, anyway.

I want to really give Ball his best statistical chance to hypothetically break this record, so instead of taking his career assist average, we’re going to take his AST AVG from last year.

Last year was a down year in his scoring efficiency.

But I don’t know if LaMelo’s distribution and his “I’m making these players better by being on the floor” factor have ever been higher than they were in 2025-2026.

Ball has played 303 games in his six years so far. Last season, while averaging only 28.0 minutes/game, LaMelo still averaged 7.1 assists/game.

In his rookie year, Ball saw 28.8 minutes/game and averaged a whole assist less (6.1 AST/game) than last year (2025-2026).

All this to say, I understand 7.1 AST/game is a low estimate to use in the math, but I feel like it’s one that averages out potential future seasons where coming back from slight injuries limits his box-score impact every now and then.

So let’s take last season’s averages (7.1 AST) and assume LaMelo (who just finished his sixth season, 303 GP) plays another six years with the Hornets.

This would put LaMelo at 12 years in Charlotte; longer than both Dell Curry and Bogues, who each played 10 years with the Hornets.

Lamelo already has 2,224 career assists in those 303 GP. Ball will likely never play all 82 games in his career, and we’ll assume, on the HIGH side, he sees 65 games/year over the next six seasons.

65 games over the next six years would add 390 GP to Ball’s 303; in this scenario, Ball becomes Charlotte’s all-time leader in games played if he manages to do this (693). Bogues, as I said earlier, has 605.

But…

At an assumed 7.1 AST/game in his next six years, even after leading Bogues in this hypothetical scenario by 88 games played all-time, LaMelo only adds 2,769 assists.

So, in this fake situation that I’m using to argue a point, even as the far-and-away leader over Bogues by 88 GP for Hornets’ games played all-time, LaMelo only finishes his theoretical 12 Hornets seasons with 4,993 career assists.

This would still leave LaMelo five hundred and sixty-four assists short of Muggsy Bogues’ total of 5,557.

Lamelo played a career-high 72 games for Charlotte in 2025-2026 and had 514 assists in those 72 games.

That’s the most math I’ve done in a while, so apologies for my redundancy, as it was for my own sake more than it was yours.

Although if you enjoy reading 3,000-word Hornets think pieces on the weekend, you’re probably as bad at math as I am. Maybe it helped you, too.

So… LaMelo would have to play ~ 14 total seasons with the Hornets to have the best chance at breaking Muggsy’s assist record outright.

Of course, LaMelo’s injuries have hindered him from being closer to Muggsy’s pace, as I said in the beginning. But I wanted to give him a fair chance and not speculate too much about future injuries.

What blew my mind about doing this, and why I wrote about it in the first place, is that even when you’re generous to LaMelo in trying to guess where his career assist numbers end up, like I was above:

It takes near perfection from LaMelo’s part to even have a chance at catching Muggsy Bogues’ record.

This is not a LaMelo diss whatsoever. This is more of a “Using LaMelo’s talent to prop up Muggsy Bogues greatness” situation.

Muggsy was that good; he is worthy of my time to defend. Although I certainly didn’t get paid well enough to be his lawyer. I wish more lawyers worked out of respect, as I just did.

If LaMelo truly plays 14 seasons and breaks his record? Or, even if he plays 11/12 years and gets 5-600 short of the record.

He’ll undoubtedly have his jersey retired still, you’d think. Like, as close as locked in as a jersey retirement could be.

What I’ve been trying to prove to you for the last thousand words, though, is that, when/if that happens for LaMelo…

I’d better see either:

Two last names on that No. 1 jersey, or two separate No. 1 jerseys getting rolled up to the rafters beside Dell and Bobby. I will not accept a LaMelo retirement without the No. 1 that paved the way first.

You can’t possibly convince me Muggsy doesn’t deserve it.

The final two segments of Owen Watterson’s free, weekly column will be available here at 7:00 PM EST.

The Charlotte Hornets have adopted a modern team-building approach since general manager Jeff Peterson took charge of the front office.

I’ve already covered the analytics side, what the Hornets seemingly value, and who it could mean they have interest in. You can read that article here:

What’s more interesting to me now is attempting to project what their actual draft board will look like through applying those analytics, leaning into positional and archetypal need, and overall team fit.

In this board, I’ve considered all of those factors above to build a top-30 board based on what I think the Hornets will value in this draft.

Here we go:

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This series is exclusive to SportCLT, and you can’t find these games anywhere else on the internet.

“Hornets Rewind” will take place a few times per month, and each game is hand-picked by Owen from his archive of full-length 80s/90s Hornets games. Today’s stream will be showing the 1992-93 Charlotte Hornets taking on the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the old Charlotte Coliseum.

The live stream will take place today, May 21st at 8 PM ET. Please read below for the full details on how to watch.

How to Watch

The “Watch-a-Long” series will be exclusive to SportCLT’s paid subscribers. Getting access to full games from that era isn’t free, and supporting SportCLT is the only way we’re able to make series like this possible.

The live event(s) will take place on our paid-subscriber-exclusive Discord server, ClubCLT.

To get access to ClubCLT, become a paid subscriber to SportCLT, and the invitation link will be sent to your email.

You can click the button below to become a paid SportCLT subscriber. If you are already a paid subscriber and want access, go to the Substack chat feature on the mobile app or website to find the invitation link.

DISCLAIMER: This written piece represents my analysis of publicly available behavior.

Kalshi, the “prediction market” platform in which most of its “trading volume” is centered around sports, has been creative in their advertising approach throughout their rise in popularity.

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Throughout the early portion of the year on Twitter, Kalshi used an affiliate badge system with partnered influencers, putting their logo as a badge next to each account they partnered with.

It looked a bit like this:

It’s important to note that many of the accounts that had such a badge were not employed by Kalshi, it was a paid partnership.

Many of Kalshi’s partners never disclosed the nature of the partnership. The FTC requires disclosure when a payment is tied to any sort of promotional activity. No disclosure appears on these posts.

Many of those deals worked like this:

1. Kalshi would approach the creator about a partnership.

2. The creator would agree, and Kalshi would give the creator an affiliate badge (pictured above).

3. In most instances, the creator would quote-tweet a Kalshi tweet, ultimately boosting its impressions and overall metrics. Some creators would also simply outright tweet about certain betting markets. An example of what that looks like is linked below. (Note: There is no way to verify if the account linked below was affiliated with Kalshi, other than the aforementioned badge).

Again, the important part here is that the nature of the Kalshi partnerships, at the time, many of which were undisclosed. The creator would receive the money and badge, but most never publicly shared that their quote tweets (or graphics like the one above) were posted due to the promotional nature of the creator-brand partnership.

That strategy by Kalshi was upended by Twitter back in February, so they had to pivot from that influencer partnership plan.

“Prediction-market platform Kalshi removed all affiliate badges on X/Twitter on Monday evening after the social media platform recently updated its paid partnerships policy to prohibit promotional deals with accounts that post gambling and sports betting content.

Twitter updated its paid partnerships policy last week to bar paid affiliate accounts that post about ‘gambling products and services (including lotteries, social casinos, sports betting, and other gambling-related content).’”

- Ben Horney, Front Office Sports

A Kalshi spokesperson said this to Front Office Sports in the same article:

“We’ve decided to remove Kalshi badges. People loved the badges and it was a fun way to engage the community, but it became too difficult to police, and people often confused badged accounts with Kalshi-endorsed messages. We’ll figure out other ways to make things fun for our traders.”

Since then, Kalshi appears to have been testing the waters. For a while, they would have creators use the same content-boosting strategy (quote tweeting), this time with the #KalshiPartner (or similar hashtag) tag attached to the post. An example of that is below:

And while this ultimately is still promoting a product akin to sports betting, at least it’s above board from an FTC perspective. The paid partnership is clearly disclosed.

The #KalshiPartner disclosures appear to have largely disappeared from recent posts.

Their current promotional structure appears to look like this:

1. Kalshi would approach the creator about a partnership.

2. The creator would agree.

3. The creator quote tweets a Kalshi tweet once a day (or of a similar cadence). In the instances documented here, no disclosure appears.

And before showing what the pattern looks like, it’s worth establishing that Kalshi approaching creators with this model is not speculation. Below is an example of Kalshi offering a creator $20 per quote tweet.

Below is a tweet from Kalshi on May 19th. It has 85 likes, 70 retweets, and 33 replies.

Almost every single retweet is a high-volume account quote tweeting Kalshi’s original post with either a video or photo designed to get engagement.

It’s why Kalshi’s post has nearly 700 thousand impressions but not even a hundred likes.

Kalshi has directly offered payment for this exact behavior before, as shown with that Twitter DM.

And I will note here that there are several creators who have marked their posts as a paid partnership.

Many of the accounts interacting with the tweet above do so with one of Kalshi’s tweets on a regular basis - multiple times per week. And it’s in the same style/format as the tweet above.

I’ll just use one account as an example.

Note: This is not an accusation of any accounts listed in the piece. It is an analysis of publicly available behavior.

All of these tweets have come in the past two weeks:

That’s a lot of consistency: the same accounts, posting the same format, on the same Kalshi tweets, multiple times per week.

Here’s another example.

The account above is posting the exact same type of content as the example previously mentioned, on mostly the exact same Kalshi tweets. No disclosure label appears on these posts.

What does the FTC require?

The FTC’s guidelines state that any material connection between a creator and brand (aka, a payment for an action, in this case, quote tweets) must be disclosed in a “clear and conspicuous” manner.

So even though there is no clear “endorsement” of Kalshi in any of the quote tweets, the act of quote-tweeting Kalshi’s content while being paid to do so (without disclosing such) can look like organic amplification from a sports-focused account.

Those viewing the content, unaware of the partnership, do not realize the creator is being incentivized to quote-tweet it.

If someone quote-tweets content on their own with no partnership, then no disclosure is needed. But if there is a payment tied to the action, that changes things.

Any activity that looks normal but is actually a paid promotion is deemed deceptive (and a violation of the FTC’s guidelines).

Why does this matter?

“Prediction markets” like Kalshi and Polymarket occupy a different category than other consumer brands. They’re attempting to advertise a place where people make financial decisions.

They advertise their product(s) as an investment opportunity rather than gambling. Undisclosed promotion for this type of company is much different than one for a sneaker or soda brand.

What I’ve shown here is a pattern of publicly available behavior that looks like paid promotion. There’s no mention of such a partnership from many creators who fall in line with this pattern, which would be misleading for their audience, viewers, and followers if there is, in fact, a paid partnership.

The entire reason the FTC requires disclosure is so audiences can evaluate content knowing whether a financial incentive actually exists. In most of the posts displayed here, that information is absent.

The NFL Draft and free agency have come and gone, and your Carolina Panthers have officially been crowned offseason champs. Hang the banner! Dan Morgan and company have been hard at work putting together a roster that looks ready to defend the NFC South title.

Nearly every major hole entering the 2026 offseason was addressed. Carolina splashed on defense, bringing in Devin Lloyd at linebacker and Jaelan Phillips at EDGE to patch up an area that looked extremely thin entering free agency. On the offensive side of the ball, the Panthers leaned heavily into the draft, adding Monroe Freeling and Sam Hecht — two players who could realistically compete for starting jobs immediately on the offensive line — along with Chris Brazzell, who brings some much-needed juice to the receiver room.

Still, this roster is VERY far from perfect.

Even after a strong offseason, there are a few areas where Carolina could still improve heading into the season. With Organized Team Activities (OTAs) this week, we’re going to take a look at the biggest remaining holes to see where the team can improve, whether that be internal development or potentially adding a veteran piece before Week 1.

Tight End

I think we all expected this one, so let’s just get it out of the way.

Carolina’s tight end room has a group of players who each do certain things well, but the group still lacks a true centerpiece. Tommy Tremble remains the closest thing Carolina has to a complete tight end and is probably the player Bryce Young and the coaching staff trust most right now. He is never going to put up massive receiving numbers, but he brings physicality, blocking value, and the occasional splash play.

Behind him are J’Tavion Sanders and Mitchell Evans.

Sanders has been somewhat underwhelming since flashes during his 2024 rookie season. He is probably the most naturally versatile receiving option in the room, but the lack of physicality and inconsistent hands have become real concerns. Not exactly an ideal combination for a tight end.

Then it’s still a bit too early to make any definitive judgment on Evans, but there is at least a path for him to become a useful rotational player in the right role.

Collectively, this group combined for 75 receptions, 781 yards, and 4 touchdowns last season. That’s roughly equivalent to what Tyler Warren produced by himself during his rookie season for the Colts, which would explain why the national media spent months mocking a tight end to Carolina in the first round.

The lack of a true middle-of-the-field security blanket still feels noticeable. Giving Bryce Young a reliable target between the numbers could do a lot for both his development and the offense’s consistency.

Potential veteran targets could include names like T.J. Hockenson, Jonnu Smith, or Zach Ertz, but honestly? Carolina may be better off simply rolling with the young group and seeing if someone emerges.

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Nickel

This was one of the more underrated needs on the roster entering the offseason.

I really wanted Carolina to add more physicality at nickel — ideally a true “big nickel” type who could help against the run while still holding up in coverage. The Panthers did draft Will Lee III in the fourth round out of Texas A&M, but Lee has primarily played boundary corner and doesn’t have much slot experience. That doesn’t mean he can’t transition inside, but it is probably unfair to assume that happens immediately in year one.

Right now, the Panthers are largely relying on Corey Thornton and Chau Smith-Wade, who handled most of the nickel duties last season.

Thornton actually flashed some intriguing potential before suffering a broken fibula, and it will be interesting to see how he develops once healthy. Still, relying on a player coming off that type of injury with limited NFL reps is risky.

Smith-Wade, meanwhile, has proven to be serviceable and has had some strong moments, but he still lacks the physical presence that could really elevate this defense.

The problem is that true impact nickel defenders are difficult to find. Most players who can cover and bring the physicality in the run game are already locked into major roles elsewhere.

If Carolina wanted to explore veteran additions, names like Kenny Moore or L’Jarius Sneed could make sense as experienced stopgaps, even if neither player is quite at their peak anymore.

Safety

The final obvious question mark remains at safety.

Every single draft cycle, I bang the drum that Carolina should find a way to land the best safety in the class. I fully understand and subscribe to the positional value arguments against it, but I just love the idea of having an elite playmaker roaming around the back end of the defense.

This year, Carolina never had a realistic shot at Caleb Downs and ultimately passed on Dillon Thieneman, which honestly did not bother me much. Instead, the Panthers selected Zakee Wheatley in the fifth round, a pick that has generated quite a bit of excitement among fans.

Although, if we are being honest, some of that excitement may simply come from the possibility of Nick Scott no longer starting at some point this season.

Wheatley does bring a skill set that Carolina has been lacking at the position. He is a bit more rangy than most of the current options and feels like a more natural pairing alongside Tre’Von Moehrig, who spends a bulk of his workday down in the box. That said, expecting a fifth-round rookie to immediately take over a starting role is probably unrealistic.

Lathan Ransom is another interesting name here. Most fans seem to view him primarily as depth behind Moehrig, but there is definitely a world where he develops into a legitimate starting-caliber player sooner rather than later. He became a real rotation player last season and started 6 games, so there’s definitely a world where Ransom is the most realistic option to start come week 1.

As for veteran additions? Honestly, this may just be a situation where Carolina needs to let the young players compete and hope somebody takes control of the job during camp. The options aren’t great; we’re probably looking at Donovan Wilson, Taylor Rapp, and Ifeatu Melifonwu.

The NBA offseason is well underway, and with the Hornets finishing among the most promising mid-tier teams this past season, many have pointed out that Charlotte could be among the more aggressive teams in gearing up their roster this offseason.

I’ve written pretty extensively about how Hornets GM Jeff Peterson is going to be patient in the trade market with this roster, and that Charlotte is likely to use both of their top-20 draft selections this summer.

But if a trade does come, who would be out the door? Who will the Hornets re-sign?

Many point to expiring contracts like Miles Bridges, Josh Green, and Grant Williams as potential outgoing salary to bring in a bigger fish, but will Charlotte actually be aggressive in making a trade?

Here is my prediction on every Charlotte Hornets player, and whether they are safe from being traded (or allowed to hit the open market in free agency).

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There is a lot of nostalgia for the 80s and 90s-era Charlotte Hornets: the old Coliseum, the attendance records, the pinstripes donned by Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues, and many more.

Almost all of the games from that era are lost to time.

Today, though, SportCLT is excited to announce that we’re bringing you a new way to watch full games from that era in the form of watch-a-longs.

Typically unavailable to the general public, our very own Owen Watterson is bringing his archive of full-length Hornets games to SportCLT, hosting a ‘Watch-a-Long’ a few times every month.

The first Watch-A-Long? It’ll be the Charlotte Hornets taking on the Chicago Bulls in April 1993 at the old Charlotte Coliseum. Owen will be providing commentary throughout the game. Some other SportCLT members might be jumping in throughout the stream.

That game featured Jordan and Pippen’s Bulls against a Hornets team with a starting lineup of Muggsy Bogues, Kendall Gill, Johnny Newman, Larry Johnson, and Alonzo Mourning.

The live stream will take place on Today, May 21st at 8 PM ET. Please read below for the full details on how to watch.

How to Watch “Hornets Rewind”

The “Watch-a-Long” series will be exclusive to SportCLT’s paid subscribers. Getting access to full games from that era isn’t free, and supporting SportCLT is the only way we’re able to make series like this possible.

The live event(s) will take place on our paid-subscriber-exclusive Discord server, ClubCLT.

To get access to ClubCLT, become a paid subscriber to SportCLT, and the invitation link will be sent to your email.

If you are already a paid subscriber and want access, go to the Substack chat feature on the mobile app or website to find the invitation link.

NBA Draft season is in full swing, and since my last Mock Draft, we’ve had the NBA Draft lottery and combine take place.

Because of the nature of those events, there’s been a lot of movement from players projected throughout the first round. You can read about my combine winners and losers here.

The way the top-4 shook out is particularly interesting, and consensus seems to agree on what the order of the first four players off the board will look like. Still, it’s too early to count out any surprises. The majority of in-person workouts still haven’t taken place.

Let’s get into the mock.

1. Washington Wizards - AJ Dybantsa - Wing - BYU

AJ Dybantsa fits clean into the Wizards roster, and though some are treating the first pick as a foregone conclusion, it still would not shock me to see Darryn Peterson’s named called at the top of the draft.

Dybantsa would add a ton of downhill rim pressure as a lengthy, shot-hunting wing. That’s a skill set that NBA teams love, and the All-NBA potential is very visible here.

2. Utah Jazz - Darryn Peterson - Guard - Kansas

It’s hard to justify taking either of Boozer or Wilson over Darryn Peterson given Utah’s current roster construction: They already are paying massive dollars to each of Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson (and are about to pay Walker Kessler). That’s not to say it couldn’t happen, but taking the lead-guard that pairs well with Keyonte George is the most-likely outcome.

3. Memphis Grizzlies - Cam Boozer - Forward - Duke

Cam Boozer checks a lot of boxes that the Memphis Grizzlies love. I think they are one of the few teams that would take Boozer first overall if they landed it, but it’s the same result here anyways.

4. Chicago Bulls - Caleb Wilson - Forward - UNC

The Bulls get lucky in that they’re adding a top-4 pick in a loaded class. Wilson is an elite inside scorer with wiry athleticism and the potential to grow into a special player on defense (even if he isn’t quite there yet on that end). The Bulls’ pick is the easiest in the entire draft: just select whoever is leftover of the top-4.

5. Los Angeles Clippers - Mikel Brown - Guard - Louisville

Mikel Brown has the highest ceiling of almost any player in this draft class. At his best, he’s an elite scoring guard with playmaking that no other player in this class can match. There’s a lot of inconsistency with Brown, but he’s got the best size of any lottery-projected guard, and the potential makes him worth a top-5 pick.

I do think the Clippers will consider Aday Mara with this pick, but it’s too early for his name to be called, in my opinion.

6. Brooklyn Nets - Keaton Wagler - Guard - Illinois

The Brooklyn Nets drafted four primarily on-ball players in the 2025 Draft: Ben Saraf, Nolan Traore, Danny Wolf, and Egor Demin.

That’s not to say any of those players are stopping them from taking another lead-guard, but Keaton Wagler is the best of both worlds, to me. Yes, he has some real on-ball playmaking juice, but also is an electric perimeter scorer off the catch.

7. Sacramento Kings - Darius Acuff - Guard - Arkansas

Darius Acuff is an entertaining watch, and he measured larger than expected at the NBA Draft combine last week, as well.

He’s a simple prospect in that he’s an elite offensive lead-guard prospect while having all of the small guard drawbacks associated with the archetype. Whether it works in a playoff environment will depend on the effort Acuff is able to give on that end of the floor.

That said, the offense is good enough to where it ultimately might not matter, at least in regular season competition.

8. Atlanta Hawks - Aday Mara - Big - Michigan

The Hawks really struggled to guard Karl-Anthony Towns in their series against the Knicks. Mara offers a lot more size than Onyeka Okongwu while having elite feel and high-end passing offensively. The Hawks would have turned the 2025 13th pick into Aday Mara and Asa Newell. A heist.

9. Dallas Mavericks - Brayden Burries - Guard - Arizona

The Mavericks are an interesting pivot point in this draft. If the board falls this way, I think their shortlist will include Burries, Nate Ament, Yaxel Lendeborg, Kingston Flemings, and Labaron Philon.

In this case, new general manager Mike Schmitz takes a physical two-guard that pairs well with the intensity and defensive acumen of Cooper Flagg.

10. Milwaukee Bucks - Nate Ament - Forward - Tennessee

I don’t know what to do with this pick. Nate Ament will go higher than people expect, though, and he fits the type of prospect that Milwaukee likes to bring into their building.

He’s got a rare combination of size and shooting, and I’m convinced he still has yet to play his best basketball.

11. Golden State Warriors - Yaxel Lendeborg - Forward - Michigan

The Warriors take the best current player in Lendeborg, who could be in play as high as fifth overall to the Clippers. He’s a ready-made forward that brings length, defensive playmaking, and an offensive connector skill set.

12. OKC Thunder - Karim Lopez - Forward - INTL

Karim Lopez has been playing international basketball for years, and was productive in the NBL this past season. He needs to consistently shoot it for him to earn a role in OKC, but he has the frame and feel to make a long-term impact.

13. Miami Heat - Kingston Flemings - Guard - Houston

Kingston Flemings falls to the Heat in this scenario, who run the card in. Flemings looks to be a two-way guard that can shoot, facilitate, and make plays on the defensive end in spite of his smaller stature.

14. Charlotte Hornets - Jayden Quaintance - Big - Kentucky

The Hornets take a big swing with their first of two first-round picks. Quaintance can be a game-changing defensive talent if he’s fully healthy from his ACL injury (sustained back in February 2025), and Charlotte has the offensive talent to find Quaintance easy transition and dunker-spot opportunities at the next level.

The Hornets have struggled with more physical big presences with Moussa Diabate as their starting center, so adding a big, athletic center with a lot of potential makes too much sense. Quaintance is a player that would not be available in a more normal, less talent-rich draft class.

End of Lottery

15. Chicago Bulls - Cam Carr - Wing - Baylor

16. Memphis Grizzlies - Labaron Philon - Guard - Alabama

17. OKC Thunder - Morez Johnson - Big - Michigan

18. Charlotte Hornets - Allen Graves - Forward - Santa Clara

The Hornets take their second front court player in this mock with Santa Clara’s Allen Graves.

He’s a complementary piece that grades out really well on analytics models. Graves is a high-end catch-and-shoot guy offensively with the mobility, length, and strength to guard multiple front-court positions. His calling card in the NBA will be as a defensive playmaker.

If the Hornets took both Quaintance and Graves, they’d have multiple front court pieces capable of switching and defending on the perimeter (in addition to much more size inside).

That’s appealing for a team that got eviscerated by the Orlando Magic in the play-in bracket.

19. Toronto Raptors - Hannes Steinbach - Big - Washington

20. San Antonio Spurs - Chris Cenac - Big - Houston

21. Detroit Pistons - Isaiah Evans - Wing - Duke

22. Philadelphia 76ers - Amari Allen - Wing - Alabama

23. Atlanta Hawks - Ebuka Okorie - Guard - Stanford

24. New York Knicks - Koa Peat - Forward - Arizona

25. Los Angeles Lakers - Dailyn Swain - Wing - Texas

26. Denver Nuggets - Tounde Yessoufou - Wing - Baylor

27. Boston Celtics - Meleek Thomas - Guard - Arkansas

28. Minnesota Timberwolves - Bennett Stirtz - Guard - Iowa

29. Cleveland Cavaliers - Zuby Ejiofor - Forward - St. John’s

30. Dallas Mavericks - Tyler Tanner - Guard - Vanderbilt

The Charlotte Hornets are in an interesting spot. They are coming off their best season in roughly a decade with a pool of assets that beat almost any other team in the NBA.

Charlotte has two top-20 picks this season, three first-round picks next year, and a dozen plus second-rounders. Traditionally, teams with such riches would be well-positioned to make an “all-in” type of move, one that would reel in a star-caliber player.

We saw it just last offseason when the Orlando Magic traded four first-round picks for Desmond Bane. Then we saw it again at the trade deadline as the Jazz brought in Jaren Jackson for three first-round picks.

The most “ramping up” Charlotte has done in their current build was trading two second-round picks to the Chicago Bulls for Coby White.

That brings us to today: The Hornets have flexibility, a plethora of assets, and a variety of young pieces.

Charlotte GM Jeff Peterson has constantly stressed the importance of not “skipping steps” at basically any chance he gets in front of media.

Even when Kon Knueppel went on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast, he specifically used the same terminology.

“What Jeff talks about a lot is he doesn’t want to skip steps…"

I’d venture to say Peterson uses this lingo in his daily vocabulary in the Hornets’ building.

So why are they still this patient when other teams in a similar spot used their assets to gear up and compete?

Read more

My big picture, Weekly State of the Hive Address:

I can’t help but think here lately this is the biggest offseason the Charlotte Hornets have ever had.

Like, “Husband is eating as much as his pregnant wife and is putting on more than a few extra pounds himself,” kind of big. Maybe a bit too personal a comparison.

I’ll leave it up to you guys to decide which of Charles Lee/Jeff Peterson is the husband, and who is the wife. Neither of them is getting big like I did, at least.

Charlotte’s offseason just gets bigger and more important the more you think about it, though:

A Brandon Miller contract extension that’s looming very soon on the horizon. A draft that’s acclaimed as one of the best since 2003, where you have two top 20 picks. Coby White still needs to secure his own new contract with Charlotte.

All the while, amidst all of this, you have to figure out how to use a savvy trade and your mid-level exception to secure the depth deemed necessary by Jeff Peterson to go and finally secure an outright playoff spot next year.

So much is on the line… and one mishap means you have to recalculate your entire approach.

Don’t know about you guys, but the reason I think about this offseason being so important as often as I do is because I’m so tired of recalculating.

I feel like, around early March in most Hornets’ seasons, we as fans have already had to recalculate. The former front office, at times, didn’t even have enough direction most times to be calculated about anything.

Much less the old front office being worried about REcalculating.

Recalculating their draft boards, maybe.

When I try to think of former Hornets years whose offseasons are comparable to this one, only a few come to mind; one season flashes in my mind more than the others.

I think of the summer in which Charlotte and GM/VP Bob Bass traded away Larry Johnson to New York, just six months after Alonzo Mourning had been traded to Miami in exchange for Glen Rice.

The 1995-1996 season was a doozy, and the Hornets were left in a state of complete transition.

Poor Bob had only been hired in May of 1994. It took all but a year and a half to start pulling off some of the crazy things he did.

To start the ‘95-‘96 season, Alonzo Mourning was traded for Glen Rice the DAY BEFORE the regular season started.

Mourning was traded on 11/3/1995. Charlotte played their first regular-season game against Philadelphia the very next day.

Rice scored 21 PTS, had 7 AST, 6 REB, and 3 STL.

Despite a new addition in Rice, Charlotte finished 41-41 in Allan Bristow’s last season as the Hornets’ head coach, and Bristow and Charlotte “mutually agreed” to part ways in April of 1996 after missing the playoffs.

So, by the time the Hornets get to July 14th, 1996, and trade Larry Johnson to the Knicks…

Both of their own star draftees, Mourning and Johnson, were now gone; they needed a new head coach, and all the while, Glen Rice was sitting in the background needing pieces around him to succeed in his new home.

So Bass did something that ONLY someone who was crazy enough to work under George Shinn could do:

Bass bet on players like PF Anthony Mason from NYK, who nobody believed in at the time besides him.

Bob was batting .1000 on trades that made absolutely no sense to the outside world in the late 90’s and early 00’s.

He did it with such an air of confidence that you wouldn’t believe it, either.

Like, the kind of confidence Elle Woods (if you haven’t seen Legally Blonde, what are you doing?) had when she told her ex, on the first day at Harvard after she was accepted into law school, “What, like it’s hard?”

I don’t know how Bob Bass did it, truly.

I would’ve thrown my hands up in the air and told George Shinn, “What the hell do you expect from me here, Boss?”

I’m sure Shinn would’ve responded with, “Well, use what ‘ya got and go do better than 41-41, which just made me change our coach yet again! You got this, Bob!”

At this point, I personally would’ve thrown a salary cap book (it was 1996 — surely they had those, right?) at Shinn’s face, but Bass rolled up his sleeves and went fishing with a potato chip as bait.

It can’t even stay on the hook. There’s nothing for Bass to use to even draw a big fish in! It’s a godforsaken potato chip! Have you seen what those things do structurally when they hit water?

They get soggy and crumble.

Somehow, this dude Bob Bass found a way to make do with the soggiest, crumbliest (I’m inventing my own verb conjugations now, I think), lousiest bait you could imagine — George Shinn being your owner — and Bass still put Charlotte in a position to win 50 games.

Both of the next two seasons.

I don’t know that I can pick another NBA team in all of history who traded away both their star players in the span of six months and got… better. Like, a lot better.

Bass would also hire head coach Dave Cowens in 1996, who would win 50+ games both of the next two seasons, and win NBA Coach of the Year in his last season with Charlotte.

Cowens did all this while earning the lowest salary of any coach in the NBA.

Bob Bass did it with the lowest payroll (not in terms of salary cap, but in terms of resources) in the entire NBA. He did it, anyway.

This offseason is just as important as 1996 to me, but in a different way. Charlotte drug themselves out of a self-created hole due to Shinn’s notorious stinginess in 1996. Bass became really accustomed to a shovel.

There’s no hole that Jeff Peterson has to dig the Hornets out of this year.

How Jeff’s responsibility differs from that of Bass in 1996 is that Jeff now has the luxury that Bass didn’t have.

The luxury of having financially and MENTALLY secure owners who aren’t stingy. Jeff’s responsibility is to build a safety net that keeps the Hornets from ever BEING in a similar position to that of Bass in 1996.

To me… that’s just as important as the hole Bass had to dig out of.

Had Bass had the opportunity and money to build himself a safety net, he would’ve. But he didn’t, so he couldn’t.

Jeff has already built himself a safety net of picks.

Now, it’s time for Peterson to show he can make big-boy moves — the scary moves — the same moves in which Bass made out of necessity all the time.

Jeff has shown me he can get the war chest of picks up. Now I want him to show me what he can do to get the talent on this roster up.

We’ve got the picks, but right now, what’s more important is that Charlotte already has talent.

It’s time we stop thinking about draft picks alone and start capitalizing on the Hornets’ current collection of cost-controlled talent while the iron’s hot.

In the NBA? You never know when that iron is going to get unplugged out from underneath you.

Most of the time, you don’t even know the iron has gotten cold again until the heat fully dissipates.

By that point…

It’s usually too late. You have to wait for it to warm up again.

You gotta finish ironing that shirt before the heat runs out on you, Jeff.

​If you’re not careful, we’ll be late to church.

The rest of Owen Watterson’s weekly column will be available here at 1:00 PM. Please subscribe to SportCLT for an early preview of the Sermon on the Spectrum (Center) every single week.

The Charlotte Hornets have young talent on their roster. A LOT of young talent. Last offseason, they added four rookie players, all of whom were signed to standard four-year contracts.

The year before that, they used a top-10 pick on Tidjane Salaun, and in 2027’s draft, the Hornets are likely to have another 2-3 first-round draft picks (their own, the Mavericks top-2 protected first-rounder, and Miami’s top-14 protected first-round pick.

So why on earth does it make sense for Charlotte to draft use two top-20 picks this offseason with amount of young talent the Hornets already have (and will be adding just a year from now)? At some point, there’s got to be a roster crunch, right?

Read more

With another successful NFL Draft in the books, the Carolina Panthers roster is built and ready for real football. Unfortunately, we’re still quite a ways away from the 2026 NFL Season Opener, which will be on Wednesday, September 9th.

A five month wait is tough, but thanks to yesterday’s schedule reveal, at least fans will know the exact time and place that Carolina will face their opponents this season.

Carolina’s opponents have been known since the end of the regular season. Thanks to a playoff berth, the Panthers will have to face a first-place schedule, earning the team matchups against the Super Bowl champion Seahawks, the Eagles, and the Denver Broncos.

Along with those three, Carolina will have six NFC South games, and will also play all of the NFC North (Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota), and the AFC North (Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh).

On paper, this is definitely a tougher slate of opponents than the team faced last season. However, the Panthers have some favorable matchups this year after a productive offseason. Another postseason berth is possible.

Carolina Panthers 2026 Calendar

Before we get to the games that count, the Panthers will have four preseason games. In addition to the usual three contests, Carolina will play in the Hall of Fame game to kick off the preseason, courtesy of Luke Kuechly’s HOF enshrinement.

Hall of Fame Game: vs. Arizona Cardinals, August 6th (Canton, OH), 8pm EST

Preseason Week 1: @ Buffalo Bills, August 15th, 1pm EST

Preseason Week 2: @ Jacksonville Jaguars, August 21st, 7:30pm EST

Preseason Week 3: vs. Houston Texans, August 28th, 7pm EST

I am all for getting more reps in the preseason. The last few years in which the starters got a handful of drives didn’t necessarily lead to the team being prepared in Week One.

Along with getting extra reps in the preseason, Carolina will travel an NFL-lowest 8740 miles during the regular season.

That’s nearly 10000 less than the median team and close to 30000 less than the league-leading 49ers who have multiple cross-country and international trips.

A strong offseason, extra preseason reps, and a bit of travel luck have placed Carolina in an enviable spot.

It’s up to the team to decide what to do with these advantages against a daunting schedule.

Let’s see how the regular season stacks up.

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Note: Offense and Defense rankings are based on epa/play

Week 1, vs. Chicago Bears, Sept. 13, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (11-6), Won NFC North, Lost in Divisional Round - Offense: 7th - Defense: 21st

Key additions:

• C Garrett Bradbury

• S Coby Bryant

• S Dillon Thieneman

Last Meeting: 2024, Week 5, L (10-36)

Rest Advantage: 0

What an electric start to the season.

Last year, both the Bears and Panthers won their divisions for the first time in more than 5 seasons, with the both teams falling to the LA Rams in the playoffs.

Chicago had quite the turnaround following Ben Johnson’s hire. Caleb Williams’ rookie season couldn’t have gone worse, and Johnson’s creative play-calling seemed to stabilize and unlock the traits that allowed Williams to go first overall in 2024.

This will certainly be a tough challenge, but among the Panthers opponents this season, Chicago presents some unique matchups. The Bears offensive line - their best unit last year - has dealt with injuries and a key retirement this offseason.

Conversely, Chicago’s defensive line was the weak link last year on the Bears defense, and didn’t add a lot of high-end help.

Overall, the Bears were a much more talented team than Carolina last season. I don’t think the margin is that significant this season, and Carolina may have closed the gap with their offseason moves.

If the Panthers can maintain a strong homefield advantage from 2025, Panthers fans could be looking at the first opening win since 2021.

Early Prediction: Close Win

Week 2, @ Atlanta Falcons, Sept. 20, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (8-9), missed playoffs - Offense: 24th - Defense: 15th

Key additions:

• QB Tua Tagovailoa

• CB Avieon Terrell

• OL Jawaan Taylor

Last Meeting: 2025, Week 11, W-OT (30-27)

Rest Advantage: 0

A road division game this early in the season usually spells disaster. Fortunately, Bryce Young and Carolina have seemed to own the Falcons in their home stadium in the last two matchups.

While Atlanta did finish the season with an identical record to the Panthers, the Falcons headlined their offseason by adding Tua Tagovailoa to compete with Michael Penix Jr. - not exactly the most inspiring QB battle.

If Carolina is able to build off of a strong division performance last season, this should be a win for the Panthers.

Early Prediction: Win

Week 3, @ Cleveland Browns, Sept. 27, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (5-12), missed playoffs - Offense: 31st - Defense: 5th

Key additions:

• The entire OL

• WR KC Concepcion

• WR Denzel Boston

Last Meeting: 2022, Week 1, L (24-26)

Rest Advantage: 0

Four years ago, rookie left tackle Ikem Ekwonu was baptized by fire in his first career game, lining up against future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett.

If rookie Monroe Freeling wins the left tackle spot, he will have the fortune of getting to wait until Week 3 to face Garrett - who is coming off of an NFL-record 23 sack season.

Cleveland has done a good job improving their roster, but Carolina should still have the upper hand. These are the road games you have to win in order to become a real playoff contender.

Early Prediction: Win

Week 4, vs. Detroit Lions, Oct. 4, 8:20pm EST, Sunday Night Football

2025 Record: (9-8), missed playoffs - Offense: 6th - Defense: 13th

Key additions:

• OL Blake Miller

• C Cade Mays

• EDGE Derrick Moore

Last Meeting: 2023, Week 5, L (24-42)

Rest Advantage: 0

A playoff berth and near-upset against the Rams has put Carolina in the national spotlight. Week 4 will be the first of three(!) primetime contests for the Panthers.

This game will be Carolina’s first appearance on Sunday Night Football since 2016, where the team was promptly handled by the Seattle Seahawks.

However, the last time the Panthers hosted SNF, the team pulled off a 27-16 victory over Philadelphia en route to a Super Bowl run.

I think this contest will be more like the 2015 game; Carolina has improved enough to be able to contend with the best rosters in the league.

A primetime win early in the season would have Carolina on the right path to getting back into the postseason.

Early Prediction: Close Win

Week 5, BYE WEEK

Unfortunately, Carolina pulled the worst possible week to have the bye. Ideally, you’d get your rest week at some point in the mid to late season to allow banged-up players to recover.

Here, Carolina gets a rest after a mild to moderate first quarter of the season. The team better take advantage of this week because following the bye, Carolina will start on the difficult part of the season.

Week 6, @ Philadelphia Eagles, Oct. 18, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (11-6), Won NFC East, Lost in Wild Card Round - Offense: 16th - Defense: 8th

Key additions:

• WR Makai Lemon

• EDGE Jonathan Greenard

• CB Riq Woolen

Last Meeting: 2024, Week 14, L (16-22)

Rest Advantage: +7 (bye week)

Here’s where things get a bit tough.

While Carolina does have a full week’s worth of a rest advantage, Philly is a strong squad that’s only one year removed from demolishing the NFL on the way to capturing a championship.

The Panthers have improved, but the overall talent that Howie Roseman has assembled in Philadelphia may be too much to overcome.

Early Prediction: Close Loss

Week 7, vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oct. 25, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (8-9), missed playoffs - Offense: 20th - Defense: 18th

Key additions:

• EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.

• DL A’Shawn Robinson

• LB Alex Anzalone

Last Meeting: 2025, Week 18, L (14-16)

Rest Advantage: 0

Last season, Carolina had a statement win against the Buccaneers at home, taking the lead in the race for the division. It almost felt like a passing of the torch game for the division, as Carolina overcome an early deficit and rallied to win.

Out of all the NFC South teams, Carolina has added the most talent to their roster. Division games are always tough, but Carolina should be favored at home.

Early Prediction: Win

Week 8, @ Green Bay Packers, Oct. 29, 8:15pm, Thursday Night Football

2025 Record: (9-7-1), Lost in Wild Card Round - Offense: 4th - Defense: 22nd

Key additions:

• LB Zaire Franklin

• CB Brandon Cisse

• QB Tyrod Taylor

Last Meeting: 2025, Week 9, W (16-13)

Rest Advantage: 0

One of the biggest surprises in the entire NFL last season was Carolina going into Lambeau as double-digit underdogs, and pulling off the unlikely upset.

This year might be a bit different. Instead of sneaking by as an early 1pm EST game, the whole football world will have their eyes on this matchup, as it will be Carolina’s second primetime performance this season.

I imagine Green Bay will have a bad taste in their mouths seeing the process blue come back to their turf - and will try as hard as possible to get even.

Early Prediction: Loss

Week 9, vs. Denver Broncos, Nov. 8th, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (14-3), Won AFC West, Lost in AFC Championship - Offense: 10th - Defense: 7th

Key additions:

• WR Jaylen Waddle

• DL Tyler Onyedim

• iOL Kage Casey

Last Meeting: 2024, Week 8, L (14-28)

Rest Advantage: +3 (TNF)

Assuming QB Bo Nix will be back for this game, Denver has one of the most complete rosters in the NFL. This team already won 14 games last season, and was on the doorstep of the Super Bowl with a backup QB.

Adding Jaylen Waddle takes this group over the top. Carolina can put up a good fight, but Denver’s talent is on a different level.

Early Prediction: Loss

Week 10, @ New Orleans Saints, Nov. 15, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (6-11), missed playoffs - Offense: 27th - Defense: 9th

Key additions:

• WR Jordyn Tyson

• RB Travis Etienne Jr.

• LB Kaden Elliss

Last Meeting: 2025, Week 15, L (17-20)

Rest Advantage: 0

Despite being one of the worst rosters in the NFL last season, New Orleans gave Carolina trouble in both matchups. With another year under his belt, Head Coach Kellen Moore is only going to make this group better.

While I think Carolina should be favored in home division games, the road games are a different story. Division games are always grudge matches, and here New Orleans gets the best of Carolina.

Early Prediction: Close Loss

Week 11, vs. Baltimore Ravens, Nov. 22, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (8-9), missed playoffs - Offense: 13th - Defense: 20th

Key additions:

• EDGE Trey Hendrickson

• iOL Vega Ioane

• iOL John Simpson

Last Meeting: 2022, Week 11, L (3-13)

Rest Advantage: +1 (Ravens MNF)

If Lamar Jackson is healthy, he might be the best player in the NFL. Assuming he plays in this matchup, there aren’t many players on Carolina’s defense that can dampen the dynamic run game Baltimore can deploy.

New Head Coach Jesse Minter will hopefully have his defense playing better than last season. If so, a top defense and Lamar Jackson is a tough opponent to beat.

Early Prediction: Close Loss

Week 12, @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Nov. 30, 8:15pm EST, Monday Night Football

2025 Record: (8-9), missed playoffs - Offense: 20th - Defense: 18th

Key additions:

• EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.

• DL A’Shawn Robinson

• LB Alex Anzalone

Last Meeting: 2025, Week 18, L (14-16)

Rest Advantage: 0

During Week 18 of last season, Carolina travelled to Tampa for a quasi-primetime matchup against the Bucs. While it ended up being close (no thanks to numerous iffy calls from the officiating crew) Tampa Bay ended up with the win.

Even if Carolina has improved the talent on the roster tremendously, Tampa still has a strong homefield advantage. This will be a tough environment to win in.

Early Prediction: Close Loss

Week 13, @ Minnesota Vikings, Dec. 6, 4:25pm EST

2025 Record: (9-8), missed playoffs - Offense: 28th - Defense: 4th

Key additions:

• QB Kyler Murray

• WR Jauan Jennings

• DL Caleb Banks

Last Meeting: 2023, Week 4, L (13-21)

Rest Advantage: -1 (MNF)

Throughout a quarterback carousel filled with memes and misfortunes, Minnesota quietly pulled off a 9-8 record last season. If Kyler Murray can give even a tier of QB play better than what the Vikings saw last season, this team will be dangerous.

Combine that with Carolina being at a rest disadvantage due to the Monday Night Football matchup in Tampa, and you’re looking at an uphill battle for the Cardiac Cats.

Early Prediction: Loss

Week 14, vs. New Orleans Saints, Dec. 13, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (6-11), missed playoffs - Offense: 27th - Defense: 9th

Key additions:

• WR Jordyn Tyson

• RB Travis Etienne Jr.

• LB Kaden Elliss

Last Meeting: 2025, Week 15, L (17-20)

Rest Advantage: 0

The buck stops here. After a tough gauntlet off playoff teams, highly-talented rosters, and elite coaching, Carolina finally gets a talent advantage at home against a division opponent.

With a presumed loss to the Saints earlier in the season, Carolina will have to make up for it with a home division win.

Early Prediction: Win

Week 15, vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Dec. 20, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (6-11), missed playoffs - Offense: 19th - Defense: 29th

Key additions:

• DL Dexter Lawrence

• EDGE Boye Mafe

• S Bryan Cook

Last Meeting: 2024, Week 4, L (24-34)

Rest Advantage: 0

Cincinnati, like Baltimore, has an incredible high-powered offense that can sometimes be hamstrung by quarterback injury.

The key difference between the two teams, is the defense.

While the Bengals have certainly improved their defensive front, this unit still projects to be among the worst in the league. Carolina can hopefully take advantage of mismatches and pick up a key late season win.

Early Prediction: Close Win

Week 16, @ Pittsburgh Steelers, TBD

2025 Record: (10-7), Won AFC North, Lost in Wild Card Round - Offense: 14th - Defense: 19th

Key additions:

• WR Michael Pittman Jr.

• WR Germie Bernard

• S Jaquan Brisker

Last Meeting: 2022, Week 15, L (16-24)

Rest Advantage: 0

By the time we get to this game, Pittsburgh will certainly have their quarterback situation squared away.

For now, they do not have a great QB room.

If the Steelers end up trotting out one of Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, or rookie Drew Allar, this team could be a game Carolina looks at as a must-win.

Early Prediction: Win

Week 17, vs. Seattle Seahawks, Jan. 3, 1pm EST

2025 Record: (14-3), Won NFC West, Won Super Bowl - Offense: 15th - Defense: 2nd

Key additions:

• RB Jadarian Price

• S Bud Clark

• CB Julian Neal

Last Meeting: 2025, Week 17, L (10-27)

Rest Advantage: -2 (Seahawks Christmas game)

During the 2025 season, Seattle came to Charlotte in Week 17 and ran away with a win. This same Seahawks team would eventually obliterate the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Every year is different, but Seattle is still very talented. If they want to try and go for back to back titles, Seattle will be playing at their hardest late in the season, which is not good news for the Panthers.

Early Prediction: Loss

Week 18, vs. Atlanta Falcons, TBD

2025 Record: (8-9), missed playoffs - Offense: 24th - Defense: 15th

Key additions:

• QB Tua Tagovailoa

• CB Avieon Terrell

• OL Jawaan Taylor

Last Meeting: 2025, Week 11, W-OT (30-27)

Rest Advantage: 0

Carolina has the fortune of hosting the Falcons for their season finale. This is the first Week 18 home game for the Panthers in quite some time.

If Carolina is going to take the next step, winning a home division game during a (hopeful) run up to the playoffs is a necessity.

Early Prediction: Win

Well…that’s a lot of good teams.

A first-place schedule is the price you have to pay to be a perennial playoff team, but even the non-playoff teams from last season that the Panthers face won’t be easy.

Baltimore and Cincinnati both have top QBs when healthy. Minnesota and Detroit both had 9-8 records - a mark higher than Carolina - but missed the playoffs last season.

Cleveland is the only non-NFC South team that missed the postseason that seems to be an easy win, but in the NFL it’s any given Sunday.

Still, you can only play the teams that are in front of you. In order to take the next step toward being a real, competitive playoff contender, Carolina will have to face good teams.

My initial prediction for the Panthers this season is 9-8, and while fans may want a larger leap from this team, 9-8 against real competition is nothing to scoff at. The NFC South is still up for grabs, and I think 9 wins is enough to take the division.

However the season turns out, at least the Panthers are starting to get taken seriously again.

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The NBA Draft combine is the single-greatest event for prospects looking to solidify their draft stock prior to June’s draft. Some players use it to best evaluate their options, get feedback from teams, and determine whether they want to return to college.

For others, it’s one of the final opportunities to show why they’re deserving of being drafted. Every prospect is affected, though, and this year’s combine was no different.

For the Hornets specifically, there’s a lot of takeaways about the prospects projected to be selected in the mid-first round.

Winner: Cam Carr, Wing, Baylor

Arguably the biggest winner of the entire combine was Cam Carr. Going into the event, Carr was viewed as a late-teens draft pick, one who could probably step into the NBA and contribute as a 3-and-D wing.

Carr averaged 19/6/3 at Baylor this past season on 49/37/80 shooting splits. Having been in the college game for two years prior to Baylor, the biggest question Carr had to answer is whether his “late breakout” was fluky. Teams will sometimes avoid players who didn’t show much early in their college careers - and Carr appeared in only 18 games for Tennessee in his two seasons prior to transferring to Baylor.

His biggest answer to that question came in the form of Wednesday’s 5-on-5 scrimmages.

Carr was easily the most “different” player on the floor through any of the scrimmage games. He put up 30 points on 18 shots, hitting six 3-point attempts. His shot looked clean and Carr’s athleticism popped. It was akin to watching a player that you know is too good for Summer League.

But that performance only came after Carr measured in, earlier in the week:

6-6 in shoes with a nearly 7-1 wingspan is no joke for a wing. That’s a lot of positional size and length (combined with really high-end athleticism).

There aren’t many true 2/3 wings in this draft class (in fact, I’d make the case that after Dybantsa, there weren’t any that were lottery projected). That left a void to be filled, and Carr looks like the next wing off the board after Dybantsa.

I think he will be in consideration for teams in the lottery, including the Charlotte Hornets at 14.

Going into the combine, Carr’s name is one I was monitoring for the Hornets with their later pick. After the combine, he might not even make it past the 11-13 range.

Loser: Koa Peat, Forward, Arizona

Koa Peat is one of the most interesting players in this entire draft class. He’s got a great frame for a forward, is physical down low, and plays with a lot of effort when he’s on the floor. Peat also works really well as a roll-man in pick-and-roll scenarios, and his short-roll passing is among the best in the class.

At the combine, though, he didn’t accomplish his goal - which was to give any NBA team a reason to believe in his shot.

Peat was just 7-20 on 3-pointers at Arizona this past season. He was just 62% from the free throw line, as well. Even going back to his high school tape, you don’t ever really see any positive shooting indicators. That’s just a skill that’s a necessity for forwards in the current NBA.

The combine was a chance for Peat to at least prove he had some shooting in him, but the shooting drills only worsened his case.

Peat shot 6-25 on spot-up threes (last), 7-25 in the 3-point star drill (3rd-worst), and 10-25 on mid-range jumpers.

I still think Koa Peat would go in the first round if he stays in the draft. But he almost certainly wouldn’t be picked in Charlotte’s draft range.

Winner: Morez Johnson, Forward/Big, Michigan

Morez Johnson was the biggest combine winner throughout measurements and athletic testing, to me.

Going into the combine, Johnson’s measurements were standout among a crowd of players that all measured fairly well.

Johnson measured in at true center height, though: 6-9 without shoes, a solid 250 pounds, and a plus-six wingspan.

It didn’t stop there, as Johnson had a 39-inch max vertical, the 5th-best lane agility time, and shot 17-25 in the 3-point star drill.

Johnson already had top-20 buzz, and similar to Cam Carr, drove his stock up enough to where he might not even be available for the Hornets to take in this draft. There’s a shot he’s taken prior to the 14th pick.

Winner: Hannes Steinbach, Forward/Big, Washington

Steinbach’s measurements were among my most anticipated. After the lottery, my internal alarm bells were ringing as one of the folks over at No Ceilings raised a concern, anticipating Hannes Steinbach’s weight after seeing him at the lottery (I can’t find the exact clip but the podcast is here).

Steinbach, like Morez Johnson, also measured in with true center size. 6-10 with a 7-2 wingspan (and a 248 pound frame) is more than big enough.

Steinbach’s skill set is unique in that he’s not really a shooter, but also doesn’t play stout interior defense, making his position a little bit more murky.

But the functional athleticism, size, and rebounding make it to where I’m fairly confident in projecting him as an NBA center moving forward, which wasn’t the case a few days ago.

Winner: The Charlotte Hornets

I think the Hornets are a massive winner from this week’s combine. As more measurements and testing kept coming in, it became clear that there weren’t many players whose stock would drop considerably.

But the confidence level in getting a highly-coveted piece with the 14th (and 18th) pick rose significantly after seeing players like Carr, Steinbach, and Johnson perform so well throughout the week.

This shortlist also doesn’t include guys like Chris Cenac, Karim Lopez, Tounde Yessoufou, and Jayden Quaintance (all of whom measured very well).

You probably won’t see players such as Aday Mara or Yaxel Lendeborg make it to Charlotte at 14 because of their combine performances, but the likelihood those guys made it to that pick were already slim to begin with.

Even if the change in how much players in the top-20 climbed is marginal, the value on having two picks in that range increased in value, in my opinion.

The Charlotte Hornets have completely revamped the analytical side of their organization since new ownership came into the picture. Behind Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin (who I will be referring to as “Schlotkin” after Locked On Hornets’ Doug Branson coined the term), Jeff Peterson has adopted new-age basketball analytics.

They’ve even gone as far as utilizing AI within their draft process, as was widely covered back in February.

That’s not to say that the current Hornets brain trust is a slave to the numbers: that certainly isn’t the case: I’ll back up that stance in this article, as well.

But analytics are certainly a central figure in their talent evaluation, even if it’s not the invisible hand guiding how their team-specific big board looks.

In this article, I’m going to do a few things:

1. Create an analytics model based on known traits the Hornets prioritize.

2. Analyze where the model and where the 2025 Hornets’ draft class would have landed within it.

3. Use the model to predict who the Hornets could be targeting in this year’s draft class.

4. Look over the model’s flaws and where I could see the Hornets diverging from it.

Let’s get into it.

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A day after the NBA Draft Lottery wrapped up, reports started circulating that the Milwaukee Bucks are “open for business” when it comes to trade offers for two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

This has been brewing for months. Rumors really started heating up around this year’s trade deadline, but Milwaukee ultimately decided to wait it out, believing the offseason market, and the trade packages attached to it, would be stronger than anything available in February.

They’re probably right.

Not only is this draft class being hyped as one of the strongest in recent memory, but there are also several teams desperate to take the next step.

The Timberwolves, Lakers, and Knicks are all searching for the move that finally pushes them over the hump. The Nuggets, Heat, and Warriors are trying to squeeze one more championship run out of their current cores. Then you have the wildcards like Boston, Toronto, and Houston — teams where a blockbuster move wouldn’t exactly shock anyone.

And looming over everybody are Oklahoma City and San Antonio, two franchises loaded with assets and positioned to dominate the NBA for the foreseeable future.

So where does Charlotte fit into all of this?

At the start of the calendar year, the Hornets looked destined for another trip to the top half of the lottery. Instead, they exploded into one of the NBA’s hottest teams during the second half of the season, powered by the emergence of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and the people’s choice for Rookie of the Year, Kon Knueppel.

Which raises the question:

Is little ol’ Charlotte really in position to look at this young core and say, “Let’s shake things up and trade for Giannis?”

Would Giannis even want to come here? Has this organization earned that kind of respect yet?

I don’t know.

But what I do know is that this idea isn’t nearly as crazy as it sounds.

First things first: Ball, Miller, and Knueppel should be untouchable in any deal for the Bucks star.

Giannis effectively has one guaranteed year left before his 2027-28 player option enters the conversation, and Charlotte simply cannot risk moving one of those three only to watch Giannis walk a year later.

But that doesn’t mean negotiations have to end there.

If Milwaukee is truly headed toward a rebuild, their biggest problem isn’t finding a star player in return. It’s finding the draft capital necessary to build a sustainable future.

And that’s where Charlotte suddenly becomes interesting.

The Hornets are loaded with picks. They own two first-rounders this year, plus three more next season: their own, Dallas’ pick (top-two protected), and Miami’s pick (lottery protected). Two firsts in 2029 and they have their own first-rounder for the next seven seasons.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s future draft situation is rough.

The Bucks currently have no first-round picks in 2027 or 2029, a complicated situation surrounding their 2028 pick protections, and — somehow — zero second-round picks through 2032. Ironically, Charlotte owns two of those Bucks second-rounders already.

Even if Milwaukee were to land a player like Brandon Miller in a hypothetical deal, how much does that really help if they still lack the flexibility and draft capital to build around him?

That reality lowers Milwaukee’s leverage more than people probably realize.

Because of that, the eventual Giannis package may end up looking a lot smaller than fans expect. At least, in terms receiving a star or promising young player in return.

Charlotte could potentially capitalize on that by keeping its young core intact while helping Milwaukee jumpstart a rebuild with picks, financial flexibility, and veterans.

There simply aren’t many teams positioned to offer that combination.

So yes, we’re talking about a deal centered around Miles Bridges, thank you for your service, along with a few rotation players, some salary filler, and a mountain of draft picks.

Add a couple second-rounders to sweeten the deal, and honestly? That could end up being one of the better offers that crosses Jon Horst’s desk.

The obvious question then becomes: would Giannis even want this?

And what happens if he leaves after one season?

Those are completely fair concerns.

But Giannis has always come across as a relatively low-key superstar. Charlotte honestly feels like a city he’d enjoy. Most players who spend real time here end up loving it.

The fanbase would absolutely embrace him, too. Look at the atmosphere surrounding the Hornets this season despite the team hovering around .500. Night after night, Spectrum Center felt alive again. National conversations were even starting to mention Charlotte as one of the better crowds in the NBA.

And respectfully — no Milwaukee slander intended — Giannis wouldn’t exactly be leaving the spotlight of Los Angeles or Miami behind.

There are basketball reasons this could make sense too.

Charles Lee already has a relationship with Giannis from their championship run together in Milwaukee back in 2021. Pat Connaughton also spent this past season around the Hornets organization and is probably still in a couple Bucks groupchats where he could put in a word or two.

Then there’s the fit on the court.

LaMelo Ball throwing lobs to Giannis in transition sounds unfair. Knueppel spacing the floor as a sniper. Brandon Miller attacking tilted defenses and taking over late-game situations.

That trio around Giannis could be terrifying offensively. It’s a near perfect fit.

Long story short: Charlotte could absolutely make a convincing pitch.

Now, do I think Hornets GM Jeff Peterson seriously entertains this?

Probably not.

Peterson has been incredibly calculated since arriving in Charlotte. He’ll almost certainly do his due diligence, make the phone call, and gauge Milwaukee’s asking price. But putting together a truly aggressive offer? That feels unlikely.

We’ve heard him repeat the same philosophy constantly: you can’t skip steps.

And trading for Giannis may be like jumping up the last 5. Don’t slip!

It’s also important to remember where Peterson came from.

Before Charlotte, he had a front-row seat in Brooklyn watching a promising, fun Nets team pivot into a superstar-driven experiment led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. That team never even reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

Though technically, they advanced further than the young core ever did.

But was it actually worth it?

Look at where Brooklyn has ended up afterward. It ain’t pretty.

Peterson likely wants to avoid that exact scenario: abandoning a carefully built foundation for a win-now swing that completely changes the organization’s DNA. Because if that gamble fails, it can set a franchise back for years.

Still, it’s hard not to dream a little.

For now, we’ll keep imagining LaMelo-to-Giannis alley-oops while Eric Collins completely loses his mind on the call. Got chills writing that.

And honestly? Until Giannis ends up somewhere that isn’t Charlotte, the dream is alive.