Side-by-Side Comparison of Hornets This Past Season and the Revamped Roster

The Charlotte Hornets underwent a major shuffle this offseason. The current roster has some of the previous version's mainstays, but there are a lot of new faces and familiar faces elsewhere.

Time will tell which team is better, but it is worth looking at the depth charts for both the 2025-26 squad and the 2026-27 team to analyze where we are versus where we were.

Here's the depth chart for last season:

PG: LaMelo Ball, Coby White
SG: Kon Knueppel, Josh Green
SF: Brandon Miller, Sion James
PF: Miles Bridges, Grant Williams
C: Moussa Diabate, Ryan Kalkbrenner

Here's the current depth chart, although with a lot of positional flexibility and time before the season, it is very much subject to change:

PG: Coby White, Christian Anderson Jr.
SG: Kon Knueppel, Grayson Allen
SF: Brandon Miller, Sion James
PF: Naz Reid, Grant Williams
C: Hannes Steinbach, Moussa Diabate

Which one is better? It's tough to say. The current depth chart is certainly deeper in many ways. Some backups from last season are now relegated to the third string, such as Ryan Kalkbrenner.

But it also has less talent. Losing LaMelo Ball creates a gaping hole that, with all due respect, Coby White and Christian Anderson Jr. simply cannot fill. Losing Josh Green is also a pretty meaningful blow, because he was quietly excellent off the bench.

The Hornets had a backcourt overflowing with talent last year after adding Coby White. The frontcourt was lacking, though. Now, the frontcourt is brimming with versatile talent, while the backcourt has some major question marks.

Charlotte Hornets guard Coby White (3) alongside forward Brandon Miller (24) give an interview | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Hornets seemed to trade one weakness for another, and time will ultimately decide whether or not the current team is better than the previous one. Most would say it's not, and the Hornets might not even dispute that.

Much of the shuffling this offseason was not done to make the team better and improve their chances of competing in the playoffs. Rather, it was largely done to capitalize on value and set themselves up with talent and flexibility in the years to come.

Charlotte still has plenty of talent. While there are some concerns, that 2026-27 depth chart is very solid, and there were times when Hornets/Bobcats fans would have prayed to see even a glimpse of the current roster.

But since the previous iteration was perhaps a little better, it can all be a tough pill to swallow. Still, when in direct comparison, the depth chart in 2026-27 still doesn't look half bad.

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