The Charlotte Hornets Have a Tough Decision to Make for the Final Roster Spot

There are just fifteen players allowed to be on a standard NBA contract. Only about nine of them will see the court regularly, and only five of them will find themselves as consistent starters.

After a 44 win season, the Charlotte Hornets made some drastic changes to their roster. Long time members of the team such as LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges were out the door, and the new guard led by Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel would lead the new-look squad.

With the moves the Hornets made, they acquired several high-level role players, each coming from a playoff team who relied on them to get where they were. Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and Naz Reid were some of the names the Hornets added this offseason, each expected to come in and make an impact for Charlotte on day one.

With a little over a month to go until training camp begins, the Hornets have put themselves in a position where they currently have 17 players under contract.

For those who did not do the math, it means the Hornets will need to cut two players prior to the start of the 2026-27 season. In recent years for the Buzz, it's been easy to identify the weaker links on the roster. This year, however, the Hornets are filled with depth that will make it difficult to determine who should eventually find themselves either in free agency or part of a new organization.

That being said, there were three names that clearly stuck out as being the likely candidates for the Hornets to move on from at the end of the preseason.

Tre Mann

Is he starting to become a "what could have been"?

Prior to a devastating injury to his back that kept him out for almost all of the 2024-25 season, Tre Mann looked to be a star in the making for the Hornets. He was averaging 14.1 points while shooting 40% from three, and things were looking up for him as the future sixth man for the Hornets.

Mann did not look himself in the season after returning from injury, where after Christmas he was out of the rotation. Tre averaged just 5.5 points, shot 36% from the field, and the Hornets were 20.6 points worse with him on the floor.

To make matters worse, Mann ranks 503rd in DPM, 578th in 1YRAPM, and 679th in 2YRAPM. With $8 million guaranteed this season before a team option, it's almost impossible to justify both why the Hornets would pay him that money for this production, and if he keeps it up why they would even bother considering picking up the option.

Mann's saving grace keeping him on the roster is the Hornets' lack of guard depth. As the team dealt LaMelo Ball, it left Coby White, Sion James, and Christian Anderson as the lone ball-handlers on the team. There is a clear path for Mann to get his groove back and find his way back into the rotation, but he'll need to make the team first.

Dorian Finney-Smith

Is there such thing as an untradeable contract?

The Hornets acquired Dorian Finney-Smith along with three second-round picks in what was a salary dump from the Houston Rockets. After receiving a 4 year, $52.7 million deal during 2025 Free Agency, Finney-Smith largely disappointed for the Rockets. He averaged career lows across the board, scoring 3.3 points in 16.8 minutes while shooting 33.3% from the field and 27% from three.

Houston was 4.4 points worse with Finney-Smith on the floor, and he ranks 307th in the league in DPM, while being 517th in 1YRAPM.

Finney-Smith does have two things going for him, though, which is his 2YRAPM and his contract. He has the 39th highest 2YRAPM in the league, albeit, which does play in large part due to his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers. As for his contract, Finney-Smith still has $13.3 million guaranteed this season, and still has $40.9 million left on the final three years of his deal.

It's an extremely tough contract to trade for the production he has put up, and Finney-Smith could still end up with the Hornets this season.

Pat Connaughton

Never say never with Pat Connaughton.

This time last year, Connaughton was expected to not make the Hornets roster. In fact, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson outright told Connaughton that he probably would not end up making the Hornets final roster.

Instead, the former NBA Champion showed up, worked, and earned the final spot on the Hornets roster, where he played a key role as a leader off the bench.

Connaughton is going into the final year of his deal, where he is expected to earn just $3.8 million after the Hornets picked up his team option. Of the three players mentioned, his contract would be the easiest to cut, and Charlotte could already view him as one of their two subtractions.

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