What Will the Charlotte Hornets Get From Naz Reid? Charles Lee Details Excitement About His Game

The Charlotte Hornets clearly have immense faith in Naz Reid the person.

At every turn both Jeff Peterson and Charles Lee have lauded the character of their major offseason acquisition.

"He (Reid) is someone that I've always admired," said Jeff Peterson this summer. "He's been a target for years. We talk about acquiring guys that have a chip on their shoulder, and a guy like Naz; he goes undrafted and he works his way up and eventually wins Sixth Man of the Year."

"His ability to perservere, and he's hit some adversity...he's a young man that doesn't complain. He could have easily been pointing the fingers, that he wasn't getting an ample opportunity, but Naz is a guy that lets the work speak for itself. I could not be more excited to add him to our organization."

It's clear that the organization believes that Naz has 'Hornets DNA' coursing through his veins, a trait that matters immensely to the people making basketball decisions in Charlotte. But what will Reid bring on the court? Charles Lee broke down his game at media day and shined a light into how the veteran big man will affect the Hornets between the lines, but not before detailing Reid's journey and what makes him attractive as a locker room presence.

"Naz is a very unique player," said Lee on Monday morning. "Especially in today's NBA, his versatility is at a premium. You have a guy that has played the three in his career, he's played the four, he's played the five, he's been the Sixth Man of the Year, he's played in the Western Conference Finals, he was an undrafted player who had to bust his tail to get into better shape, to learn how to play defensively and offensively, he's gone through so many of the rigors of an NBA season, that I look forward to utilizing someone like that in our system."

"Defensively, with his size, with his physicality, with his athleticism, he can help us create more of an image to protect the paint. One of our absolutes is to protect the paint, and a lot of that can be swallowed up with a guy like Naz who has such a big presence. I think on the ball we can continue to push him in a lot of different areas, but to have that switchability which is important for us."

Reid isn't really known for his defensive exploits as his unorthodox offensive game takes up the majority of the oxygen used to analyze him. The numbers tell a different story, though.

The Hornets were one of the most conservative defensive teams in the league last year, trading reckless steal and block attempts for sound principles that forced tough shot attempts from their opponents. Three numbers can describe Charlotte's defensive philosophies: they finished 6th in defensive true-shooting, 5th in defensive rebound rate, and 27th in defensive turnover rate (numbers via databallr).

Naz will bring a different flavor to Charlotte's defense; his +0.9 defensive EPM would have been the third best number on the Hornets last season. Reid also boasts a 3.0% STOP% (steals + offensive rebounds + blocks recovered by the defense), good for the 84th percentile league-wide.

He could be the event creator on defense that sparks Charlotte's transition offense. Like Lee said: Reid has work to do as an individual defender, but he has enough tools to think that the Hornets' defensive system can maximize his impact in a new setting.

Lee spoke about Reid's offensive game, too.

"And then offensively, he's a guy that can shoot, he can dribble, he can pass, he can play pick-and-roll, he can punish a mismatch underneath if you want to switch him. I think that we do want to try and push the envelope with a little more offensive rebounding. It's been an area that he's been good at, a little spotty in his career, but we want more consistency in that area."

The Hornets have an abundance of versatility in their front court with Reid as the centerpiece. His malleability on offense will fit nicely alongside any of the Hornets' power forward or center options, giving Charlotte a number of ways to attack opposing defenses on offense.

Something to watch in the preseason: how much will Reid handle the ball in inverted pick-and-roll scenarios? His ability to dribble, pass, and shoot combined with Charlotte's expanded menu of floor spacing options make him an intriguing handler in those situations.

Guard-to-guard screening actions were a pillar of the Hornets' offense in 2025-26, and I think with Reid, Hannes Steinbach, and a healthy Grant Williams all set for minutes in 2026-27, inverted pick-and-rolls could be this year's version of that action.

Lee closed his comments about Reid with this: "There's a ton of upside from a guy who has already accomplished a ton in this league."

Charles Lee, Jeff Peterson and the Hornets believe that Reid, a six-year veteran entering the prime of his career, has some untapped potential in him. We'll find out soon enough if they are correct.

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