Following a handful of offseason trades, the Charlotte Hornets have an incredible amount of depth heading into the 2026-27 NBA season. New acquisitions like Naz Reid and Hannes Steinbach should bolster the frontcourt, while Royce O'Neale and Grayson Allen will supply shooting off of the bench. As training camp approaches, what might Charlotte's depth chart look like for next year?
Note: The Hornets currently have 17 players rostered and will need to trim their roster to 15 (excluding two-way players) before the season begins
Predicting the Hornets' depth chart
Point Guard
- Starter: Coby White
- Dennis Schroder
- Christian Anderson Jr.
Of all the positions on the floor, point guard is the most cut and dry for the Hornets. Coby White will be the focal point, with Dennis Schroder filling in the gaps.
Christian Anderson Jr.'s minutes will likely depend on his development or potential injuries.
Shooting Guard
- Starter: Kon Knueppel
- Grayson Allen
- Sion James
- Coby White
- Christian Anderson Jr.
- Pat Connaughton
- Kylan Boswell (Two-way)
Grayson Allen will likely be the first man off the bench for the Hornets this season, filling in for Kon Knueppel. Sion James offers head coach Charles Lee another option in defense-first lineups, while White could conceivably play some minutes in a backcourt with the aforementioned Schroder.
Small Forward
- Starter: Brandon Miller
- Royce O'Neale
- Grayson Allen
- Sion James
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Liam McNeeley
- Tidjane Salaun
- Michael Ajayi (Two-way)
With Brandon Miller as a clear starter, Royce O'Neale can offer steady shooting and defense as a reserve. Allen may be utilized in high-volume 3-point shooting lineups with his schoolmate Knueppel. As per usual, James and Finney-Smith can crack the rotation due to their perimeter defense.
Power Forward
- Starter: Naz Reid
- Moussa Diabate
- Grant Williams
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Tidjane Salaun
All signs point to Naz Reid starting this season, with last year's Hustle Award winner backing him up. Grant Williams and Finney-Smith can also stretch the floor at the position in a much more agile lineup.
Center
- Starter: Hannes Steinbach
- Naz Reid
- Ryan Kalkbrenner
- Moussa Diabate
- PJ Hall (Two-way)
While many may not expect the Hornets to start a rookie at center on opening night, they did the same thing last season, as second-round pick Ryan Kalkbrenner got the nod. Steinbach will be the go-to guy as a rebounder, while Kalkbrenner will be the team's main shot-blocker. The only reason Reid is ahead of Kalkbrenner in this prediction is because Charlotte is likely to lean on him heavily as a small-ball center with other guards and forwards on the floor. Diabate can serve that purpose as well but cannot stretch the floor as well as Reid.
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This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Predicting the Charlotte Hornets depth chart before the 2026-27 NBA season
