Jun 22, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) watches a game between the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky in the second quarter at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Jun 22, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Chicago Sky XXX against the Atlanta Dream in the second quarter at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Charlotte Hornets roundtable: Picking Jeff Peterson's best offseason move/decision

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Jul 27, 2025 11:32 AM ET

Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson hasn't had much time to relax this offseason. He's been super busy tweaking and improving the roster to put them in a position to make the postseason.

Which of his many offseason decisions is his best? That's our topic for this week's roundtable.

Schuyler Callihan: Acquiring Collin Sexton

I was stunned that the Jazz were willing to give up Collin Sexton for such a low price. What really floored me was Utah chipping in a future second-round pick with Sexton in exchange for an aging Jusuf Nurkic. Even if Sexton flops in Charlotte (unlikely), Peterson was able to land an extremely talented player, plus a pick, for absolutely nothing — no offense to Nurk. Sexton could come off the bench, but I believe he's better suited to start and allow first-round pick Kon Knueppel to ease his way into the starting five.

Owen O'Connor: Increasing guard depth

There were multiple games last season where the guard rotation was Damion Baugh, Nick Smith Jr, and Seth Curry. With LaMelo’s injury history and Tre Mann returning from a back injury, Peterson acquiring four guards in Spencer Dinwiddie, Collin Sexton, Antonio Reeves, and Sion James has been brilliant. Yes, there is absolutely a log jam of talent at the guard position. However, it’s significantly easier for the team to load manage LaMelo Ball or Tre Mann and not have to worry about who is stepping up in place of them.

Zachary Roberts: Trading Mark Williams

With how good Liam McNeeley looked in Summer League (and how rough Dalton Knecht appeared at times), it looks like Jeff Peterson might’ve ended up with the better deal, or at least a comparable one. That’s a huge win after the injury saga, and it opens up needed minutes for Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner at center. It is also a future-focused move and saves some money in the near future, so it’s a big win.

Albert Bottcher: Adding playmakers

If you watched the Hornets last season, especially during the periods where either Brandon Miller or LaMelo Ball was injured, you saw a team that was lacking playmakers. Not only in the traditional sense of players who are able to initiate plays and find teammates, but also in the sense of being able to make the right reads off the ball and execute well in the latter stages of the shot clock. With the additions of Collin Sexton, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Kon Knueppel (and even Pat Connaughton to a certain extent), Jeff Peterson pretty much erased any concerns in that regard. Even if the trio of Ball/Miller/Mann should miss significant time again, it surely wouldn't be as damning as it was last season.