The Charlotte Hornets' Backup Point Guard Situation is Dire

LaMelo Ball is an astonishing +14.1 points when he's on the floor versus when he's off. Pretty much everything, even on defense, improves when he plays. The Charlotte Hornets can hardly afford to sit him.

There's evidence of this from yesterday's win over the Pelicans. In a seven-point win in which the Hornets trailed by 22 at one point, Ball was +24. He was the most impactful player by a wide margin.

Part of the reason for this is that Ball is so good. When he plays, everything is much better. The other part, the one that is cause for major concern in Buzz City, is the fact that the backup point guard situation is so dire.

It's part of why the strategy of bringing Ball off the bench on back-to-backs didn't work, because whoever started in his place was just not very good.

Jan 24, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Tre Mann (23) shoots during warm ups against the Washington Wizards at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Hornets have, in theory, good players who can play backup point guard, Collin Sexton chief among them. Yet, the Hornets are actually so much worse when he plays: -6.3 points on/off. That's despite his traditional stats being so good.

Sexton is averaging 14.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 48.8% from the field and 39.9% from three. Those are great numbers for a backup point guard, but the Hornets are absolutely horrible with him on the court.

If you thought that was bad, you're really in for it. Tre Mann was supposed to be a good backup guard, too. That's why the Hornets re-signed him to a three-year deal. Despite it being a cheap deal, it's been an utter disaster.

Mann is one of the worst on/off players in the entire sport. The Hornets are 17 points worse when he's on the floor. That's why he hardly ever plays. Sion James, the only other player who has handled PG duties, is -8.0 on/off.

Ball is not playing big minutes to try and stay healthy, but if he's not on the floor, the Hornets are drowning. They're not even treading water. They're drowning rapidly.

So what can they do? A trade seems to be in order, and it seems as if Sexton might end up being traded after all. They can cash in on his good traditional stats and may not lose all that much if they can find someone who's got decent on/off splits.

There are a ton of trade candidates at point guard, but some of them don't make sense. The dream would be to add Coby White, but the Chicago Bulls aren't likely to actually pull the trigger on a deal even though they also probably won't re-sign him. White is +5.8 when on the floor, for the record.

Dejounte Murray is only slightly negative (-0.2), but he's hurt and probably won't play much. The Lakers are +2.1 with Gabe Vincent on the floor, but that might make them hesitant to trade him since they're actually contending.

Lonzo Ball has been linked to the Hornets, but he's been pretty bad this year, and the Cavaliers are 4.9 points worse with him on the floor.

Jose Alvarado checks a lot of boxes. He plays good defense, he's a positive contributor (+3.5 on/off), he's on a fairly inexpensive contract, and the Pelicans are really bad. The Hornets could and probably should make a move for him.

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