Jeff Peterson teases a lofty goal for 2025-26 on the heels of disappointing first season in Charlotte

Playoffs? Jeff Peterson says the goal is for Charlotte to compete.

Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Jeff Peterson's first year as the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations of the Charlotte Hornets had more twists and turns than your favorite roller coaster at Carowinds.

Completed trades, rescinded trades, coaching hires, maligned draft picks, two-way and 10-day contracts, and countless injuries have all coalesced into a 19-63 record that folks who follow basketball in the Queen City have become all-too-familiar with.

At his end-of-season media availability, Peterson both praised the growth of his coaching staff and players that just completed another disappointing season while firmly stating that 19 wins will not be the standard going forward. Peterson believes that the Charlotte Hornets are ready to compete.

"The goal is to build a sustainable winner. Nobody is happy we won 19 games this year. It's not fun quite frankly. The goal next year is to win and compete for the playoffs. But I'll double down - we're not going to expedite things and skip steps."

Peterson has proven that he's willing to do whatever it takes to improve the long-term future of the team he's been handed even if it means trading away one of his assumed building blocks.

That was never more clear than when Peterson agreed in principle to deal starting center Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and a tasty unprotected first-round draft pick. That move signaled that while Williams was productive in 2024-25, there are questions about the sustainability of a starting five with him in it long-term.

Instead of solely rehashing the past, Peterson is fully focused on bringing a sustained winner to the Queen City. His first chance at acquiring a talented piece to add to his core will be in the 2025 NBA Draft. Charlotte will own one of the draft's top seven picks, and they have a 14% chance at landing the projected number one overall pick, Duke's Cooper Flagg.

Jumping from 19 wins into a playoff chase is a lofty, but not unprecendented, goal. The Detroit Pistons laid out a blueprint that involved internal growth (Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren, for starters) shrewd free agency signings (Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley), and nailing their lottery pick (Ron Holland).

All of that is doable for Peterson and company this summer. Will it happen? Hard to say. This regime has done minimal to prove that they are capable (or incapable) of making such a titanic leap in one offseason, but time will tell.

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