Is Ryan Kalkbrenner in Danger of Losing His Role with the Charlotte Hornets?

With help likely on the way, the former second-rounder's future is uncertain.

Feb 22, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) looks on before a game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

For a second-round draft pick, Ryan Kalkbrenner had a pretty solid rookie campaign for the Charlotte Hornets. In 69 games (31 starts), he averaged 7.6 points, 5.5 rebounds (2.4 OREB), 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 75% from the field on an average of 4.2 attempts.

Nothing he did jumped off the page or made you truly wonder how so many teams passed on him in last year's draft, but he helped shore up what looked to be a weakness for the Hornets on paper heading into the season. Once he was moved to the bench in favor of Moussa Diabaté, he excelled in the backup center role and gave Charlotte some rim protection and a true lob threat on the other end of the floor.

The biggest problem for him, like many of the pieces in Charlotte's frontcourt, was the physicality. Even at 7'1", 256 lbs, opposing bigs played right through him, bullying their way to the basket. It didn't happen all the time and did not have nearly as much trouble handling physicality as Diabaté, but it was noticeable in certain matchups.

The on/off numbers for Kalkbrenner (-8.5) would suggest that the Hornets would benefit from making an upgrade at the center spot and moving Moussa Diabaté to the bench. It would improve their bench production, in theory, but it's also difficult to see Charlotte wanting to move Moussa out of his current role because of how productive he is. The Hornets were a +10.7 with him on the floor, which is in the 95th percentile.

So, what do the Hornets do with Kalkbrenner?

Mar 31, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets forward E.J. Liddell (9) during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It really depends on how they upgrade the roster.

Bringing in someone from the outside doesn't necessarily mean the Hornets will just throw in the towel on Kalkbrenner and move on from him. If it's a veteran who is well into his 30s and takes on the backup role, perhaps it can serve as a redshirt type of year for Kalkbrenner. He'll still play, so it's not like he would be completely kicked out of the rotation, but his role would shrink significantly.

If they do decide to bring in a big-time player who would slide Diabaté to the bench, then it probably makes sense to either include him in that deal (if it's a trade) or be open to the possibility of trading him. Teams will absolutely have interest in him, given what he did this past season. In a separate deal, the Hornets aren't going to get a ton back, but they wouldn't just get a bag of chips either.

There's also the possibility of Jeff Peterson running it back with Diabaté and Kalkbrenner, and instead upgrading the power forward spot. In that case, they would be banking on both guys to have huge offseasons, adding more strength and being able to play through physicality and play with more of it.

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