Charlotte Hornets GM Jeff Peterson earns solid GPA for offseason effort

What if Jeff Peterson were in school? He'd be doing just fine.

Oct 20, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; The Charlotte Hornets logo on the doors to the locker rooms prior to the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images | Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images

Jeff Peterson was busy this summer. The Charlotte Hornets GM made trades, draft picks, and even signed some players in free agency. But busy doesn't always mean good, because the moves you make have to improve the team or the outlook. You can't just make moves to make moves.

Fortunately, that seems to be what Peterson avoided. On paper, the Hornets are better, and they're moving in the right direction. If this were a college career path, Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey believes Peterson would have a solid 3.3 GPA.

Hornets GM earns solid grade for trades, signings, and draft picks

Ashley Stroehlein

The team has a lot of new faces, for which Andy Bailey gave Jeff Peterson a B grade. "The Charlotte Hornets certainly didn't add a star in free agency (or through a trade), but they picked up a handful of helpful veterans, including Collin Sexton, Spencer Dinwiddie, Mason Plumlee and Pat Connaughton," he wrote.

He also said that if Charlotte does think LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller are the star duo this team needs (which they currently do, so the implication here is a little strange), the "the approach makes sense" because all the signings are "solid, supplementary talents."

As for continuity, the GM also got a B, although Bailey isn't sure continuity is necessarily a good thing for a 19-win team. He also said there's a case for trading LaMelo Ball now, "given his struggles with availability and the lack of winning the team has enjoyed during his career." Ultimately, Bailey did say it's "too early" to call it on Ball in Charlotte because he still fits so well with the current roster.

The draft is where Peterson stood out, though. Earning an A grade, the four picks he called in were all pretty good. "This is where the Hornets really made hay this summer, picking up Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, and even Sion James to supplement the wing rotation and landing rim protector Ryan Kalkbrenner to potentially start at the 5," Bailey concluded.

The Hornets added two possible starters, a key bench player, and someone who might end up being a defensive sub. That's a big win for a team that's drafted so poorly over the years, including in 2024.

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