By Will Eudy
April 20, 2026
The Hornets’ season has officially come to a close, and while there’s considerable disappointment among the fanbase following the disappointing play-in loss to the Magic, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson is looking ahead.
Peterson opened by emphasizing how much the fans meant to the organization, highlighting the jump from 19 wins last season to 44 this year — the first winning season in four years. He also pointed to the Summer League and G League championships as franchise successes worth celebrating before getting into the questions.
“From an organizational standpoint, that I think, again, were positives as you sit back and reflect and not let that moment in Orlando sting as much,” Peterson said. “Friday hurt. Still hurts thinking about it.”
But he was quick to separate the pain of Friday night’s 31-point loss from the bigger picture. The Hornets were 12 games under .500 in mid-January before reeling off one of the best records in the NBA over the final three months of the season. Peterson credited the team’s refusal to abandon what head coach Charles Lee had built, even when the wins weren’t coming.
“It’s hard when you’re losing games and you think you’re doing the right thing, but you’re not winning,” Peterson said. “It can be easy to give up or to give in and let go of the rope. So I’m really proud of the guys for continuing to fight, and… do everything that the coaching staff was asking them to do.“
Physicality Should be the Offseason Priority
Peterson acknowledged that physicality wasn’t just an Orlando problem, calling it a recurring theme across the entire season. He was also candid about what it will take to address it.
“Everyone has to look themselves in the mirror,” he said. “Players have to get stronger and be willing to lift more and… get uncomfortable from that standpoint… it ramps up even more in the playoffs.”
It’s something that he and Lee will examine more formally as they sit down to evaluate the roster in the coming weeks. Peterson noted that the two had dinner just the night before the presser, but the deeper roster conversations are still ahead.
For a team that had multiple rookies in key roles this season and limited postseason experience, the physicality gap is partly expected — but also improvable over time and through potential acquisitions.
Coby White Viewed as Long-Term Piece
One of the more interesting threads from Monday’s presser was Peterson’s comments on Coby White, who was acquired via trade before the deadline. White played just 21 games in a Hornets uniform, but Peterson made it clear the organization views him as a long-term piece.
“When we traded for Coby, we envisioned him as somebody who’s going to be with the Hornets for a long time,” Peterson said. “He embodies what we’re about… on the court, he’s a really, really good player… his approach, his professionalism; he probably hit one of the biggest shots in Hornets history the other night, and it couldn’t have happened to a better human being.”
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Peterson also took a moment to acknowledge how difficult midseason trades can be for players on a personal level, given the pressure to quickly integrate into a new system. White handled all of it very well and was a key contributor off the bench, providing much-needed scoring from the second unit.
The Draft, Internal Development, and Not Skipping Steps
Charlotte holds two first-round picks in what Peterson called one of the deepest draft classes he’s seen in his 14 years in the league. Having those assets gives the Hornets flexibility, whether they use both picks or consolidate to make a bigger move.
When asked about whether those draft picks might burn a hole in his pocket and push him toward a more transformational move, Peterson stayed true to form.
“We can’t skip steps… I’ve seen it too many times, and it doesn’t end up going the way you think it goes in terms of trying to speed things up,” he said. “But we’ll continue to be strategic, and when the opportunity presents itself, I know we’ll be ready because of the flexibility that we have.”
He later spoke about Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons as organizational blueprints when asked — teams that prioritized development before layering in the right veteran additions. He specifically referenced Isaiah Hartenstein and Tobias Harris as examples of moves made only after the foundation was already built out and solidified.
“I think one of the consistent themes with those teams is just, there’s a premium placed on internal development.” Peterson said.
LaMelo’s Durability, Rookie Development, and a Clearer Path Forward
Peterson was effusive about LaMelo Ball’s 72-game season, the second-most games he has played in his career, crediting an intentional offseason of discomfort and body maintenance as the reason for his durability. He was equally proud of how all four rookies (Kon Knueppel, Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Liam McNeeley) handled the grind of an 82-game season for the first time, noting their professionalism, self-motivation, and daily approach as reasons for optimism moving forward.
He also addressed Tre Mann, who didn’t have the individual season he wanted due to a lack of minutes in the rotation after signing a three-year deal last offseason. Peterson acknowledged it wasn’t easy for Mann to show up every day with energy while the wins were piling up around him, but he applauded him for doing it anyway and said Mann should be motivated for a big summer.
The Hornets are not a finished product. The ending to this year’s campaign was a difficult one for everyone to stomach, but after a season that exceeded almost every reasonable expectation, and with a young core still nowhere near its ceiling, the path forward is clearer than it has been in a long time in Charlotte.
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