The Charlotte Hornets Should Target Kristaps Porzingis in Free Agency This Summer

During the "parity era" of the NBA, there have been seven, soon to be eight, different NBA champions.

The Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, and either the New York Knicks or San Antonio Spurs have all won a title over this timeframe, with the Warriors, Celtics, and Miami Heat being the only teams to have multiple finals appearances.

Outside of the Warriors, each of these teams have posed a similar distinction: they have a starting big man who has the ability to stretch the floor. Marc Gasol, Anthony Davis, Brook Lopez, Nikola Jokic, Al Horford, Chet Holmgren, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Victor Wembanyama have all displayed this ability, and played key roles in helping their team reach the mountaintop.

For the vast majority of the 2023-24 NBA season, Al Horford came off the bench for the Celtics. In the starting lineup, Kristaps Porzingis filled the center role, one of the premier floor stretching big men of the last decade. Porzingis dealt with several injuries during his tenure with the Celtics, which led to a trade to the Atlanta Hawks last offseason.

After a second trade to the Golden State Warriors close to the NBA Trade Deadline, Porzingis played just fifteen games with the Warriors, averaging 16.1 points in about 24 minutes a night. In just a few short weeks, Porzingis will hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career, and NBA Insider Jake Fischer reported this week that the Warriors are "hopeful they can re-sign Kristaps Porziņģis on more of a cap-friendly deal after absorbing his $30.7 million expiring contract from Atlanta on Deadline Day in February."

After turning heads during the second half of the 2025-26 NBA season, it appears the Charlotte Hornets and their President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson will be looking to improve their team in the offseason, and make a leap into the playoffs.

Head Coach Charles Lee runs his offense similar to that of Boston's Joe Mazzulla, a three-point heavy offense that essentially requires all five players on the court to have the ability to knock down the three-point shot.

Of the two primary starting centers for the Hornets over the course of the season, they took a combined seven three-point shots, knocking down just one. While Ryan Kalkbrenner was taking threes during his final season at Creighton, it's difficult to envision him ever turning into someone teams will need to respect on the perimeter.

As for Moussa Diabaté, the Hornets breakout star told me prior to the 2025-26 season that he intends to strengthen his current skills before adding a jumpshot, and that adding a three-point shot is not a priority at this time.

Both have proven to be excellent bigs for the Hornets, and Diabaté has the 68th best DPM in the NBA, an advanced stat that measures a player’s overall impact on both ends of the floor through a predictive, all-in-one model.

Of any lineup who played 400 or more possessions together, the starting five of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Moussa put together the best net and offensive rating, while adding the seventh best defensive rating.

At the current moment, there is no reason to break up the five of them. Bringing in Porzingis gives the Hornets extra firepower, without breaking apart what they currently have.

Kristaps proved in the NBA Finals that he can come off the bench and provide a spark, doing so in game one where he scored 20 points, while adding 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. During the 2025-26 season, Porzingis came off the bench nine times, and in his ninth and final time he recorded 30 points while shooting 61.5% from the field.

It's evident that Charles Lee's offense greatly needs a big man who can knock down the three-point shot, whether it be in the starting lineup or off the bench. Adding Porzingis allows more offensive versatility for Lee, giving him a big who can stretch the floor, play in the post, and give excellent rim protection.

Porzingis' upcoming contract has been floated between $10 million and $25 million per year. The Hornets can offer plenty of money to the big man, but priorites lie ahead before they can go about handing out a big deal in free agency. Coby White and Brandon Miller will both likely receive new contracts this summer, which does cut down the amount of money the Hornets have to spend.

The Hornets are still in need of a big man who can stretch the floor. If they can find a way to add Porzingis, as well as keep Coby White around, there might not be many teams who want to face Charlotte next season.

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