What Do the Hornets Do if They Can't Re-Sign Coby White?

The number one priority for the Charlotte Hornets is re-signing Coby White. Unfortunately, he's an unrestricted free agent, and there will be other teams interested in him. He's one of the best free agents regardless, and he's probably the best point guard on the market.

There could be a bidding war for his services, although not a ton of teams have the cap space to bring him in. The Hornets need to take advantage of that, but what if they don't? What if the unthinkable happens and he signs elsewhere?

Re-signing White is almost essential. If they don't re-sign him, it's not as if they can go out to the rest of the free agent market and sign Collin Sexton, Trae Young (if he opts out), or Ayo Dosunmu. They're rather cap-strapped.

Charlotte Hornets guard Coby White (3) dribbles the ball against the Phoenix Suns | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The only reason they can re-sign White for what is likely to be a lucrative deal is that they traded for him and landed his bird rights. This means they can exceed the salary cap to re-sign him. Otherwise, they can't afford a high-end guard.

They could get creative and sign a lower-end free agent and move some money around, but doing all that to add Russell Westbrook or Aaron Holiday just isn't ideal. In many ways, in free agency, it's White or bust.

But that's not the only path to acquiring a guard. If White is not re-signed, then there will be a guard selected with either the 14th or 18th pick or perhaps both. They may even consider trading up for one.

In that instance, look for Brayden Burries, Mikel Brown Jr., Labaron Philon Jr., Bennett Stirtz, Ebuka Okorie, and Meleek Thomas to rise to the top of Charlotte's draft board. Unfortunately, it's not a terribly deep class of point guards.

They could also trade for a point guard. They have Miles Bridges, Josh Green, and Grant Williams as valuable expiring contracts that could bring in a guard. They could flip some of those assets and draft picks for Kyrie Irving, Jamal Murray (if the Nuggets tear down), Ja Morant, or another available guard.

As you can see, those options aren't totally inspiring, either. That's why re-signing White is imperative. The Hornets would be in big trouble without his services, and they'd have a really hard time just finding a capable point guard to just survive the minutes LaMelo Ball sits.

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