Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) drives to the basket against Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Charlotte Hornets Updated Depth Chart After Coby White Trade

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Feb 4, 2026 3:36 PM ET

The Charlotte Hornets made their first (and probably only) splash of the deadline. They flipped Collin Sexton, Mason Plumlee, and three future second-round picks for Coby White and Mike Conley, hoping to address the backup guard situation while they surge towards the Play-In.

Sexton was the most likely player to be traded, so in moving him as part of this deal, the Hornets removed the asset they could've played around with. They can still do any number of things, but this is probably it.

Where does it leave the Hornets now? Their depth chart has changed. Conley is expected to be bought out, so he doesn't really factor in. Sexton and Plumlee are gone, so what does the team look like moving forward?

PG	SG	SF	PF	C
LaMelo Ball	Kon Knueppel	Brandon Miller	Miles Bridges	Moussa Diabaté
Coby White	Josh Green	Sion James	Grant Williams	Ryan Kalkbrenner
Tre Mann	Coby White	Josh Green	Tidjane Salaün	Grant Williams
KJ Simpson	Sion James	Liam McNeeley	Liam McNeeley	PJ Hall
	Tre Mann

Almost positive #Hornets will buy him out similar to Kyle Lowry situation. https://t.co/3nxMCjASOx
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) February 4, 2026

For now, Conley will be listed on the official depth chart, but reports indicate he will not be sticking around. He's playing the Kyle Lowry role for the Hornets.

The Hornets felt that the backup point guard situation needed to be addressed. They were probably right. Sexton had been performing well in the traditional metrics, but he was a negative player in terms of on/off.

So was Mann, who actually has one of the worst on/off splits in the entire NBA. White isn't perfect, but the Chicago Bulls were +5.2 points better with him on the court. Sexton, for comparison, was -6.3.

The Hornets' main lineup is almost impeccable, and LaMelo Ball has one of the best on/off splits in the entire NBA. He ranks third in the NBA with +14.9 among those with 1,000 minutes. He's been great, but because of his injury history (including missing time this season), he can't play as much.

He's only averaging 27.4 minutes per game, a career-low which includes his rookie season when he came off the bench for 20 of his 51 games played. They're trying to manage his minutes, and it's working because he's healthy.

However, the backups weren't cutting it, and it was impacting the team, so the Hornets made what they perceive to be, and based on the numbers is, an upgrade with White.