Hornets GM Says NBA Changes Could Reshape How Teams Land Star Talent

For years, NBA teams took one of two routes — build a team that was competitive enough to make a run in the postseason or tear it all down, stockpile assets, and rely on the draft to build your core.

Tanking has become a big issue in the sport, which has forced the NBA to implement changes to the lottery, including a draft relegation zone where the bottom three teams will lose a lottery ball. They will have the same number of lottery balls as the teams that are the 9th and 10th seeds, who participate in the Play-In Tournament. The seven non-Play-In teams will have the most with three, while the loser of the 7 vs. 8 Play-In games will get one.

This will change how every front office in the NBA operates. It will motivate all 30 GMs to build a competitive team to the best of their ability every year. It also makes it a little more challenging to acquire star players.

The draft is how the Charlotte Hornets have built their "big three" with LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel all being selected inside the top five. President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson recently mentioned during an interview with former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski that acquiring top-tier talent may come in a different form now.

New episode of The Program with @hornets President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson on running a franchise, balancing draft/trade/free agency and alignment with ownership and coach pic.twitter.com/Py0OMl6W87
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 12, 2026

“Previously, you could go to your owner and say, ‘Listen, the path is to build through the draft, and that's how we're gonna acquire our star player.’ I don't know if that's necessarily a plan moving forward," Peterson stated. "Again, you're certainly gonna continue to take swings in the draft, but it's not like you can just bottom out because of the new rules. That part is going to make it challenging, for sure. So, I think what you'll see is, again, if you're in a smaller market, you may have to trade for a star player. Obviously, you're making a bet: you're going to give up picks, and maybe a player or two, and you’re just gonna want that star player, of course, who wants to be in your market and is going to embrace it. I think in a vacuum (new lottery reform), it will make it a little bit more challenging for these smaller market teams to land star players, but at the same time, I don't think it's impossible. I know I'm always up for a good challenge. It's one of those things, like I said, (where) we'll continue to adapt, and figure it out.”

The Hornets have the 14th and 18th picks in this year's draft and assuming they build on what they did this past season, they won't be picking at the top of the draft anytime soon. Regardless, making a trade or a splash in free agency is what is going to take this Hornets roster to the next level. There isn't going to be another premier talent that they get from the draft unless they get super lucky and somehow land what ultimately becomes one of the best players in this class at No. 14.

Making the big trade has never been a part of Charlotte's roster-building DNA, but to get where they want to go, it feels like something that is inevitable. It's just a matter of how big a splash they make and what they are comfortable giving up to make it happen.

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