Which Hornets Players Could See Fewer Minutes in 2026-27?

The Charlotte Hornets enter the 2026-27 season with some of the best top-to-bottom roster depth in the Eastern Conference for Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee and his staff to work with.

While that brings plenty of lineup optionality, it also creates an inevitable rotation-minutes crunch for both returning players and newcomers to Charlotte's roster. There is only so much playing time to go around, which leaves several players likely to see fewer minutes than they did last season.

Grayson Allen

Nov 18, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) warms up before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From a pure minutes standpoint, Allen is the most obvious candidate on Charlotte's roster to see a notable decrease from last season. Some of that is naturally expected when moving to a different team and into a different role, but Allen averaged 28.8 minutes per game last season, the third-most on the Phoenix Suns, while starting 27 of the 51 games he appeared in.

The 30-year-old guard figures to see fewer minutes in purple and teal. With Brandon Miller still working his way back from his offseason left shoulder procedure, Allen could spot-start next to Coby White if Miller misses time at the start of the season.

With a healthy rotation, though, Allen will primarily be deployed as Charlotte's backup shooting guard and fits nicely in that spot. He is still a highly useful offensive player as an elite floor spacer and shooter who can provide secondary playmaking as well.

Allen is better suited for the 18-to-20-minute range rather than the high 20s on a nightly basis. That reduced workload would benefit both parties, with Charlotte avoiding overtaxing Allen, given his limitations guarding on the perimeter.

Ryan Kalkbrenner

The former second-round pick played a significant role for Charlotte last season, including opening the year as the Hornets' starting center for the first month and a half.

Kalkbrenner has established himself as a rock-solid drop-coverage NBA big who screens well and finishes efficiently around the basket, but his minutes could become collateral damage from Charlotte's added frontcourt pieces.

The biggest factor in that potential decrease is Hannes Steinbach, whom the Hornets selected No. 14 overall in June. It is still up in the air exactly where Charlotte uses Steinbach positionally, but he is likely to see time at both the four and five.

One way or another, Steinbach is going to get on the court, and some of those minutes are going to come at Kalkbrenner's expense.

Pair that with Naz Reid and Grant Williams both being options for small-ball five minutes, and Kalkbrenner's 21.4 minutes per game and 31 starts from last season are both likely to come down with a healthy Charlotte club.

That does not mean the 24-year-old is any less important to Charlotte's rotation, but his minutes are likely to be more matchup-dependent than they were last season. With Kalkbrenner's sheer size and height, the Hornets are going to need him against teams with bigger centers and frontcourts, especially with Moussa Diabaté and Steinbach both undersized for typical fives.

Kalkbrenner is still going to play plenty, but it is difficult to envision him carrying the same nightly role he did for the majority of last season.

Sion James

This one is a little trickier because Charlotte is still going to lean heavily on James, just as they did in 2025-26. James ranked sixth on the Hornets in total regular-season minutes played with 1,843 and was also sixth in minutes per game at 22.5.

Arguably, his skill set is even more indispensable on the Hornets' current roster as Charlotte's lone true perimeter defensive stopper. That said, there are several other wings and guards competing with James for minutes.

Allen, as already mentioned, will be featured prominently in the second unit. Charlotte needs to see what it has in Liam McNeeley, a former first-round pick who had an impressive Summer League. Royce O'Neale is in the mix as a proven NBA role player with playoff experience, and even Christian Anderson could get some burn at the two, playing off the ball next to Dennis Schröder or White, a usage that could benefit him early in his career.

Unlike in his rookie year, James will not be getting the primary backup ball-handler minutes he received at times last season. With Schröder now running Charlotte's second unit, there are simply more bodies in play for Lee to utilize at James' position.

That is a good problem to have if you are the Hornets, but it will, in all likelihood, lead to James not reaching that 22.5-minute-per-game mark again. Somewhere in the high teens makes more sense on a typical night, with the potential for more against teams featuring star scoring guards or wings who James will be tasked with slowing down.

Regardless, the second-year guard is one of the best defensive players on the roster. Even if his minutes are more selective, his importance to Charlotte winning ball games should be anything but.

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