Hornets Roster Crunch: Predicting the Two Players Who Could Be Moved

The Charlotte Hornets have made a ton of moves this offseason, but Jeff Peterson still has a little more work to do ahead of the 2026-27 season. They have 17 players under contract, so two will have to be moved/let go of two more players before things get underway.

Who could it be? Here's a breakdown of the roster and my two picks for who will be shown the door, in one way or another.

Hornets' current roster

Guards: Coby White, Dennis Schröder, Christian Anderson Jr., Kon Knueppel, Grayson Allen, Sion James, Pat Connaughton

Forwards: Brandon Miller, Royce O'Neale, Dorian Finney-Smith, Liam McNeeley, Naz Reid, Grant Williams, Tidjane Salaün

Centers: Moussa Diabaté, Hannes Steinbach, Ryan Kalkbrenner

Dorian Finney-Smith

Mar 16, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Dorian Finney-Smith (2) reacts after a turnover during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Finney-Smith was acquired by the Hornets earlier this summer for virtually nothing. The Rockets wanted to move off his $13.3M salary (next two years), and the Hornets gladly agreed, giving them another veteran option for the bench while also stacking on three second-round draft picks — 2027 (via Memphis), 2028 (via Houston), and 2033 (via Houston).

Finney-Smith is a solid player, but there isn't really a clear path to playing time for him, especially since the Hornets landed Royce O'Neale from the Phoenix Suns in the Miles Bridges trade. Brandon Miller and O'Neale will eat up a good bulk of the minutes at the three, and I'd imagine that any remaining minutes they would like to reserve for Liam McNeeley.

Pat Connaughton

Connaughton wasn't even expected to be a part of the roster last year and was told as much by Jeff Peterson himself. Things ended up working out for him to stay rostered, providing the Hornets with a seasoned bench piece in the backcourt who served as the older voice in the locker room. He saw just seven minutes per game last season, and with Sion James being bumped to the No. 3 spot on the depth chart due to the addition of Grayson Allen, minutes will be few and far between for Connaughton at the two. And the same can be said for him on the wing, as mentioned above with DFS's situation.

In all likelihood, the Hornets will have to waive both Finney-Smith and Connaughton. There isn't going to be anyone out there willing to give anything up to add them to their roster.

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