Nov 1, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Tre Mann (23) brings the ball up court against the Boston Celtics during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Charlotte Hornets earn high praise for offseason work from NBA analyst

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Jul 14, 2025 8:38 AM ET

The Charlotte Hornets have surprisingly been quite active this offseason. After being positioned to largely coast into the 2025-26 season, the front office has hardly had a dull moment. They've made a few big trades and have even signed a couple of free agents.

That's not a surprising fact, because Charlotte has at times been active like this in the past. This time, however, they're getting near-universal praise for all the things they've done so far. Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes described it as "shrewd" before dishing out a lot of love for Jeff Peterson's work.

"It's hard to recognize this version of the Charlotte Hornets, defined by patience and a willingness to make incrementally positive moves on a long timeline. For years, Charlotte chased immediate gratification, failing to build anything sustainable," he said.

But Peterson has slowly and steadily worked at it, trading away Mark Williams for two first-round picks, swapping Jusuf Nurkic for Collin Sexton and a second-round pick, and nabbing Pat Connaughton and two seconds for a player headed overseas.

"He re-upped with Tre Mann on a three-year, $24 million deal that'll be tradable for positive value if Mann's health holds up," Hughes added. And either way, the Hornets could have a strong bench player at just $8 million per year.

Hughes concluded, "Viewed separately, Charlotte's transactions don't inspire awe. Collectively, they illustrate a deliberate effort to vacuum up draft capital as part of a careful rebuild. This is exactly what the Hornets should be doing...even if it'll take a while to get used to."

The Hornets have often been short-sighted in the offseason or, at the very least, misguided. They've tried and failed to find the right pieces, and all it's resulted in are two blowouts as the 10th seed in the play-in game in the last near-decade. Now, at least according to Hughes, they're heading in the right direction.