What to Expect From Coby White in His Charlotte Hornets Debut

Veteran combo guard Coby White is on the brink of making his debut for the Charlotte Hornets.

On Monday afternoon, Charlotte Hornets PR updated his status from 'OUT' to 'PROBABLE' for the first time since he was traded to the Queen City ahead of the NBA trade deadline. His debut comes during a light strech in the Hornets' schedule that includes road games against two taking teams in Chicago (an early homecoming for Coby) and Indiana before making his home debut against a banged up Trail Blazers squad.

Based on how the Hornets have handled players coming back from injury this season, I'm expecting White to be on a minutes limit in some of these early contests as he eases back into the rotation.

The natural expectation is for White to usurp the minutes Tre Mann has been playing since the trade deadline.

Projected Starting Five

Point guard: LaMelo Ball
Shooting guard: Kon Knueppel
Small forward: Brandon Miller
Power forward: Miles Bridges
Center: Moussa Diabate

Projected Reserves

Point guard: Coby White
Shooting guard: Sion James
Small forward: Josh Green
Power forward: Grant Williams
Center: Ryan Kalkbrenner

In those seven games, Mann's minutes have been as follows: 16 (@ HOU), 10 (@ ATL), 13 (vs. DET), 15 (vs. ATL), 18 (vs. HOU), 12 (vs. CLE), and 20 (@ DET). Assuming White is more effective than Mann on day one, it's safe to assume that he will play somewhere between 15-20 minutes per game while he ramps up.

The majority of White's impact will be felt on the offensive end of the floor.

Non-LaMelo Minutes	Net Rating	Offensive Rating vs. League Average
Tre Mann on, LaMelo Ball off	-5.6	-4.5
Collin Sexton on, LaMelo Ball off	-5.2	-5.9
Sion James on, LaMelo Ball off	-0.9	-2.9

The Hornets have consistently lost the minutes with LaMelo Ball off the floor. James, Mann, and Sexton have all been useful players in scaled down roles alongside their star point guard, but when they've been asked to run the offense sans LaMelo, Charlotte gets blitzed.

White will help that. He was a net positive overall in Chicago this season (+1.9), with a nagging calf injury playing against starting units, and he should continue to provide positive minutes in Charlotte.

The Hornets' bench mob has become a strength for the team. Josh Green, Grant Williams, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Sion James have all provided positive impacts this season, and having Coby on the floor to orgainze them could supercharge those impacts.

White's proclivity as a driver and pull-up shooter will be the major changes here. His ability to touch the paint will create looks for Green and Williams that Charlotte's other back-up point guard weren't able to, and his pull-up shooting will futher juice the Hornets' offensive rebounding numbers.

Tonight will be the first full-strength game we've seen from the Hornets since before the trade deadline, and it will be a nice window into the team's 2025-26 future.