The Next Move Charlotte Hornets GM Jeff Peterson Must Make

Charlotte Hornets GM Jeff Peterson has been wheeling and dealing this offseason. Even those who expected the Hornets to make some moves were surely blindsided by the number and magnitude of the moves Peterson pulled off.

To sum it up, LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Josh Green were traded. Naz Reid, Dorian Finney-Smith, Grayson Allen, and Royce O'Neale were brought in. Coby White was re-signed. Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr. were drafted.

That may sound like a complete offseason, but it's not. For one thing, the Hornets have too many contracts right now. They have to clear roster space at the very least. But they also have a pressing need that should spur Peterson into one more move.

Jeff Peterson must trade for another Hornets point guard

Charlotte Hornets guard Coby White (3) in action against the New York Knicks | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Charlotte Hornets need a point guard. Coby White is a very good player, and he'll do fine as the starting point guard in Buzz City. But he's one player, and he can't play 48 minutes a night.

Behind him, the Hornets appear ready to rely on a rotation of Christian Anderson Jr., Sion James, and Tre Mann. Anderson could turn out fine, but his Summer League suggests he's not quite ready for that role. James and Mann are either ill-suited to run an offense or just not very good.

The obvious move is to bring in a backup point guard. Sadly, the free agent options are not very good. Russell Westbrook, Gabe Vincent, and Aaron Holiday headline, and those are options the Hornets probably aren't interested in.

Fortunately, Peterson has more avenues to explore an addition. What he should be looking for is a player on a short contract. At most, two seasons left. That way Anderson Jr. has time to develop and can step into the backup PG when ready.

Ideally, it's a guard on an expiring contract, but even a two-year run gives the Hornets flexibility to trade that expiring contract in 2027-28. Peterson also has that $40.7 million trade exception from trading LaMelo Ball to make things easier.

The parameters laid out above don't cast a wide net, unfortunately. Still, the Hornets can trade for Kyrie Irving, Jrue Holiday, Dejounte Murray, or Fred VanVleet, all of whom have two years or fewer left and could be traded based on injuries or team setups.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday (5) against the Phoenix Suns | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Hornets really need to snag one of them to be the backup to White for at least one year while Anderson develops. For my money, Holiday, who has been coached twice by Charles Lee, makes the most sense.

The Portland Trail Blazers have a weird glut of point guards, too. But if not, then the other options are solid, too. The Hornets just need to trade for one, whether it costs Grant Williams' expiring contract and more or the $40.7M exception.

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