The Hornets Should Consider Trading Ryan Kalkbrenner...Just Not Right Now

It's wild how much just one season can change your outlook on a specific position.

Before the start of the 2025-26 campaign, everyone thought, myself included, that the Charlotte Hornets would struggle mightily in the frontcourt with just Moussa Diabaté, Mason Plumlee, and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner.

That's a guy who played his way out of a two-way contract, a seasoned veteran whose best basketball is well behind him, and a second-round draft pick, and we all know how rarely those guys pan out.

While it may not have been some three-headed monster anchoring down the center position, the Hornets received stronger contributions from Diabaté and Kalklbrenner than pretty much everyone expected, perhaps even the Hornets' front office. They did struggle against physicality, but they did more than hold their own on most nights.

Diabaté's relentless effort on the glass and on defense, plus Kalkbrenner's shot blocking, is a nice one-two punch, although it offers very little offensive production. That's where this year's first-round draft pick, Hannes Steinbach, enters the conversation.

As a freshman at Washington, Steinbach averaged 18.5 points on 57% shooting, including 34% from three-point range on limited attempts. He won't hoist up a bunch of triples in his first year in the NBA, but he is capable of occasionally stepping out there and knocking down shots, which is something neither Diabaté nor Kalkrenner proved they can do at this level yet.

Steinbach is much smoother with the ball in his hands, too. He's comfortable handling it, facilitating, and creating his own shot. I'm not sure you want the other two putting the ball on the deck outside of a power dribble to go up with it near the rim.

If Steinbach proves he can be a starting-caliber player, then the Hornets should absolutely entertain the idea of trading Kalkbrenner. Sure, Diabaté has more trade value and would net you a much more intriguing return, but you also don't want to lose what he brings to the table.

Assuming he stays healthy and builds on what he did as a rookie, someone is going to want to take a shot on Kalkbrenner. There aren't very many true 7-foot centers in the league, and ones that have a knack for blocking shots. If moved by himself, you're probably looking at a back end of the rotation player of future second-round draft picks coming back, and you know Jeff Peterson loves those.

There's almost no sense in keeping all three beyond the trade deadline if Steinbach is playing well and Diabaté is healthy and doing Moussa Diabaté things. Get some more help in the backcourt or add to the war chest of draft picks.

Trading Kalkbrenner this summer doesn't make a ton of sense unless he is included in a package of players that nets an interesting return.

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