Charlotte Hornets Free Agency Notebook: Intel and Predictions

The Charlotte Hornets have quite the task ahead of them after making the most stunning trade in recent franchise history.

The Charlotte Hornets have re-worked their roster in a major way by trading franchise guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While the move itself saw the addition of Naz Reid and draft capital, it also opened up a ton of roster flexibility moving forward without Ball’s $40+ million/year contract on the books.

Here’s how the Hornets salary cap table looks, as of right now.

mcley_Ma@mcley

Hornets are actually at the salary floor if they opt-in Connaughton's team option (or they make White's contract descending, sign Connaughton back for vet min.). Do they have the guts to hold the $40.7 million TE into the season? Could they keep it until 2027 free agency begins?

4:34 AM · Jun 27, 2026 · 1.04K Views

---

2 Reposts

The Hornets will operate above the salary cap, which means they will receive a $40.7M trade exception from trading LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves, and will also have access to the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which can be used to sign or trade for players on a salary of up to roughly $15M.

So we see the tools at Charlotte’s disposal. How will they actually go about using them, if at all?

Let’s dive into my Hornets free agency (and LaMelo Ball trade) notebook, including some of what I’ve heard, and how I think the Hornets will approach the next few weeks.