Jul 14, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun (31) celebrates with guard KJ Simpson (25) after scoring against the Dallas Mavericks during the first half of a NBA basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

NBA analyst not quite thrilled with Charlotte Hornets' offseason

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Jul 22, 2025 11:22 AM ET

The Charlotte Hornets have, if you ask most media members, done very well this offseason. They drafted superbly, spent very little but wisely in free agency, and made a few key trades to better themselves for the future. That and a Summer League title have meant that this has been one of the best offseasons in recent memory.

With that said, one analyst wasn't quite overjoyed with everything. Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes graded every team's offseason with virtually everything wrapped up, and he gave the Hornets a B grade. That's far from bad, but it's not quite as complimentary as it could've been.

That said, Hughes was still pleased with what the Hornets have done. "You used to be able to count on the Charlotte Hornets chasing the first shiny object they saw, but top executive Jeff Peterson now presides over a franchise with much better impulse control," he wrote.

"Charlotte's work this summer was about collecting assets as part of a careful rebuild. No more short-term gains. No more quick fixes. Just well-considered, deliberate work with an eye toward sustainable winning," Hughes added.

Hughes shouted out the Mark Williams trade, landing Collin Sexton and a second-round pick for Jusuf Nurkic, and getting two more seconds for taking on Pat Connaughton. All of the moves they made were calculated and pretty smart.

The analyst went on, "Toss in a low-risk $24 million over three years for Tre Mann, Spencer Dinwiddie on the minimum and Kon Knueppel at No. 4 in the draft, and the Hornets have themselves some pretty good complements to (or replacements for) LaMelo Ball and his iffy ankles."

It sounds like Hughes is pretty happy with how things went in Buzz City, though he still didn't award them an A. Nevertheless, as the analyst mentioned, these are not the same Hornets, so a positive grade still marks the shift this franchise is currently enjoying.