The New Most Important Player on the Hornets' Bench Might Be Grayson Allen

It will be a new-look Hornets team that takes the floor for the 2026-2027 season. Gone are familiar faces like LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. In are rookies Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson. However, that is just scratching the surface of all that is different.

Last year the Hornets bench got a boost from the play of Coby White, but now with the trade of Ball, White’s firmly entrenched in the team’s starting lineup. That means someone else will have to play the role of Vinnie Johnson, aka the Microwave of the old Pistons, and if all goes according to plan, I’m confident that person will be Grayson Allen, of all people. Yes, the guy you love to hate (If you’re not a Duke fan) will be someone you absolutely love by season’s end.

Granted, there are questions about his health, but by and large there are plenty of other reasons to feel good about Allen. First off, he’s coming off a stellar year in Phoenix in which he averaged career-highs in points (16.5), assists (3.8), and steals (1.4) (To be fair, shooting percentages were down). Allen will provide a much-needed guaranteed offense boost for Charlotte’s bench, which, while talented, has a lot of guys who are still unproven.

Another reason Allen is now this “guy” is because of the intangibles. No, he is not going to rebound like Moussa Diabaté but like it or not, much like Moussa, there is certain energy that enters an arena every time he steps on the floor. Also much like Moussa, Allen is a terrific defender. In fact, there’s a feeling that business has picked up (copyright WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross) and that can be exactly the spark Charlotte needs to get going when they are struggling.

I mean, you can just picture it: Charlotte is down five, Allen enters, the crowd boos, Allen drains three, and then suddenly the air is sucked out of the building. Or how about this scenario: Charlotte is trailing when Allen draws a questionable foul. Suddenly everyone will be focused on that and not the task at hand, which is putting the Hornets away. The next thing you know, Charlotte is in the lead again.

Of course, Allen will not be the only guy making things happen for Charlotte’s bench. I expect Diabaté to be there too once Steinbach figures out how to play consistently on an NBA schedule. Now add Sion James in the mix, and you've got three energy guys that can flip a game on its head in a matter of moments.

Certainly a lot of ifs, but IF it all comes together, the Hornets may not be all the far away from achieving their goal of making it back to the postseason again.

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