Projecting Charlotte Hornets Depth Chart Ahead of Crucial Offseason

Here's how the Hornets look heading into free agency, trading, and draft season.

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (left) shakes hands with forward Moussa Diabate | Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images

The Charlotte Hornets are entering a crucial offseason. While they're lacking the usual major questions, they do need to do a few things right. If the Hornets do, they'll improve on their darling season. If they don't, they'll flounder in a rapidly improving East.

How are they looking right now? Here's what the depth chart currently looks like. Remember, Coby White is about to be a free agent, as is Pat Connaughton (club option), Xavier Tillman, and Antonio Reeves.

PG	SG	SF	PF	C
LaMelo Ball	Kon Knueppel	Brandon Miller	Miles Bridges	Moussa Diabaté
Tre Mann	Josh Green	Sion James	Grant Williams	Ryan Kalkbrenner
		Liam McNeeley	Tidjane Salaün	PJ Hall

Immediately, the need to re-sign Coby White becomes wildly apparent. Tre Mann being the backup point guard is a recipe for disaster, as the Hornets were 17.2 points worse with him on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass. That's unplayable.

If not him, then Sion James will have to run the point at times, and that was a disaster, too. James was a much better player, but the Hornets were still -4.9 with him on the floor. Plus, his 12.1% assist percentage doesn't work when he's backing up LaMelo Ball (38.4%).

Charlotte Hornets guard Sion James (4) is guarded by New York Knicks forward Pacome Dadiet | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The second thing that stands out is the frontcourt. It's full of bodies, but they're not all that good. Miles Bridges was the worst starter. Despite being part of the best five-man unit in the NBA, the Hornets were -5.9 when he was on the floor.

Grant Williams was a way more positive contributor, and he might be the better option moving forward. Moussa Diabaté was really exceptional, but he's a little undersized to be the main center. Ryan Kalkbrenner was solid, but the Hornets were better when he sat, too.

Tidjane Salaün showed flashes, but he played a total of 575 minutes last season at the NBA level. PJ Hall is a G-Leaguer at heart, and Liam McNeeley, who can play the four if needed, was also not ready for NBA action.

Therein lie the two needs for the Hornets in the draft, trade market, or free agency. They've got to re-sign Coby White. They can't really afford a guard of his caliber otherwise because of the salary cap, but because of the trade, they can exceed the cap for White.

They also need frontcourt depth and upgrades. Bridges may be traded, and if he is, that need is only exacerbated. Fortunately, everything else is in good shape, so the Hornets can focus their assets on those two things and be just fine.

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter for the latest news and updates on the Charlotte Hornets