All Hornets

Charlotte Hornets Updated Depth Chart After Coby White Trade

The Hornets have a new pecking order.
Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) drives to the basket against Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun
Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) drives to the basket against Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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The Charlotte Hornets made their first (and probably only) splash of the deadline. They flipped Collin Sexton, Mason Plumlee, and three future second-round picks for Coby White and Mike Conley, hoping to address the backup guard situation while they surge towards the Play-In.

Sexton was the most likely player to be traded, so in moving him as part of this deal, the Hornets removed the asset they could've played around with. They can still do any number of things, but this is probably it.

Where does it leave the Hornets now? Their depth chart has changed. Conley is expected to be bought out, so he doesn't really factor in. Sexton and Plumlee are gone, so what does the team look like moving forward?

PG

SG

SF

PF

C

LaMelo Ball

Kon Knueppel

Brandon Miller

Miles Bridges

Moussa Diabaté

Coby White

Josh Green

Sion James

Grant Williams

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Tre Mann

Coby White

Josh Green

Tidjane Salaün

Grant Williams

KJ Simpson

Sion James

Liam McNeeley

Liam McNeeley

PJ Hall

Tre Mann

For now, Conley will be listed on the official depth chart, but reports indicate he will not be sticking around. He's playing the Kyle Lowry role for the Hornets.

The Hornets felt that the backup point guard situation needed to be addressed. They were probably right. Sexton had been performing well in the traditional metrics, but he was a negative player in terms of on/off.

Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) on defense against the San Antonio Spurs
Charlotte Hornets guard Collin Sexton (8) on defense against the San Antonio Spurs | Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images

So was Mann, who actually has one of the worst on/off splits in the entire NBA. White isn't perfect, but the Chicago Bulls were +5.2 points better with him on the court. Sexton, for comparison, was -6.3.

The Hornets' main lineup is almost impeccable, and LaMelo Ball has one of the best on/off splits in the entire NBA. He ranks third in the NBA with +14.9 among those with 1,000 minutes. He's been great, but because of his injury history (including missing time this season), he can't play as much.

He's only averaging 27.4 minutes per game, a career-low which includes his rookie season when he came off the bench for 20 of his 51 games played. They're trying to manage his minutes, and it's working because he's healthy.

However, the backups weren't cutting it, and it was impacting the team, so the Hornets made what they perceive to be, and based on the numbers is, an upgrade with White.

- MORE STORIES FROM CHARLOTTE HORNETS ON SI -

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Charlotte Hornets Could Be Playing a Dangerous Game at the Trade Deadline

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The Wildest Possible Scenarios for Charlotte Hornets' Trade Deadline


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Zach Roberts
ZACH ROBERTS

Zachary Roberts is a journalist with a wide variety of experience covering basketball, golf, entertainment, video games, music, football, baseball, and hockey. He currently covers Charlotte sports teams and has been featured on Sportskeeda, Yardbarker, MSN, and On SI