Grant Williams summed up the Charlotte Hornets’ late-season loss to the Detroit Pistons in just three words: “they punked us.” That defeat, along with the crushing loss to the Orlando Magic in the Play-In Tournament, should make the team’s offseason plans pretty clear. Let’s take a look at three key areas the Hornets need to focus on to improve from their 44-38 season that ended in a disappointing way.
Don’t Overreact to One Result
Aaron Rodgers once said it best: R-E-L-A-X. After the Hornets fell to the Magic on Friday night, many analysts took to social media and blamed LaMelo Ball for Charlotte’s failure to make the playoffs for the tenth straight season. However, those who followed the team all year know that the Hornets wouldn’t have even had a chance to advance out of the Play-In Tournament without Ball’s second-half surge.
Ball’s talent as a guard pairs perfectly with the growing skills of Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel, creating an old-school big three that can serve as the foundation for future success. In 1783 minutes with those three players on the floor, Charlotte outscored opponents by 18.8 points per 100 possessions, with an offensive rating of 132.6—placing them in the 100th percentile according to Cleaning the Glass.
There is still room for Jeff Peterson to tweak his roster, but now is not the time to mess with the top-tier talent, regardless of what social media critics may say.
Embrace Physicality
Charles Lee couldn’t have been clearer the morning after the team’s playoff elimination: “We need to find out how we have the physical toughness, which is a lot of weight room. I think some of it is the mental execution on how best to combat it.”
All of Charlotte’s starters, the group that proved themselves to be one of the best five-man units in the NBA, echoed their head coach’s sentiment. The first step toward becoming more physical starts this week. During the Hornets’ end-of-season player development meetings with all 18 rostered players, a structured plan to bulk up and increase the team’s overall physicality will likely be discussed. Charles Lee described the team’s tendency to get bullied by bigger, stronger teams as a “global theme,” giving confidence that a plan to fix it is already in place.
The other way to change the team’s physical makeup comes through offseason transactions. Whether in the draft, free agency, or the trade market, expect Jeff Peterson to target players who can withstand the rigors of playoff basketball. With Charlotte’s point guard, shooting guard, and small forward already in place, these upgrades will have to come in the frontcourt.
Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate were two key drivers of the Hornets’ success, but they were both exposed by teams with larger, stronger frontcourts like Orlando and Detroit. There is a role for both of them on a competitive team, but their lack of positional size will make it difficult for them to continue in their current roles long-term.
A potential target in a trade or free agency scenario could be Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein. His contract has a club option for 2026-27, and he is a bruising big man with a championship ring who would fit well into Charlotte’s fast-paced half-court offense that relies on its big men to create space with powerful screens.
Mirror What Wins
The Indiana Pacers’ magical run to the 2025 NBA Finals inspired teams across the league to adjust their style of play. Rick Carlisle’s movement-heavy, pass-centric half-court offense became the trend this year, and Charlotte’s own Charles Lee admitted in the preseason that he drew inspiration from Indiana when revamping the Hornets’ offensive attack ahead of the 2026 season.
“The thing that’s really cool about that Indiana team is the ball movement. I think that the ability to make everybody a threat on the floor is really important, no matter if they’re an All-Star or a role player. When you play with that type of pace and speed and willingness to pass the ball, you make everybody a threat and it’s hard to guard.”
The game of basketball is ever-changing as teams look to exploit every advantage in their pursuit of perfection. A team will insert a new wrinkle into their play style or scheme that leads to a deep playoff run, and other franchises will copy it going into the next season.
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, and if a new META develops over the next few weeks, don’t be surprised to see Charlotte’s innovative staff implement it as soon as next season.
