The Charlotte Hornets are in the early days of probably their most important offseasons in recent history. They’ve finally shown some signs of life, so now we get to see general manager Jeff Peterson take on a new challenge. We’ve seen that he’s very adept at acquiring assets. In the process, the team took a leap on the floor and is now ready to compete for playoff basketball. That means the teams is going to have to shift its focus from prioritizing future assets to striking a balance between improving the current iteration of the roster without sacrificing too much long term flexibility. We’ll look at more specific ways the team can improve in the coming days. For now, let’s look at the starting point.

Cap Space/Resources

It’s hard to accurately depict the amount of cap space teams have to start the offseason given all the rules around cap holds and exceptions and things. In simplest terms and according to Spotrac, the Hornets will start the offseason about $12 million over the cap. They can get below the cap if they renounce all of their free agents, which is not going to happen in the case of Coby White. So for all intents and purposes, the Hornets will operate over the cap for the full offseason. That entitles them to the full mid-level exception, which will be worth around $15 million. While the team is over the cap, they have over $50 million in room before the luxury tax comes into play and another few million before they reach the first apron. It should be pretty easy to navigate the offseason without threatening those numbers.

Pending free agents

• Coby White (unrestricted)
• Xavier Tillman (unrestricted)
• Pat Connaughton (team option)
• Antonio Reeves (restricted)

The big one is obviously Coby White. Xavier Tillman will almost certainly be allowed to walk while Antonio Reeves would likely just be brought on another two way deal if the team wants him back. The Hornets traded Collin Sexton and second round picks to bring in White, and you have to assume that wasn’t just for a late season rental. He’s going to cost a pretty penny to keep around, but he’s worth it given the scoring punch and energy he brings off the bench. I expect he’ll command a contract somewhere in the $25 to $30 million per year range. The Hornets have his Bird rights, meaning they can re-sign him regardless of cap space. There shouldn’t be any problems keeping him around with how much room the team has before the luxury tax.

Draft Assets

• Round 1, Pick 14
• Round 1, Pick 18

We talked about where the Hornets ended up in the draft after the play-in results and tiebreaking drawings. They’re in a good spot with two picks in the teens in a very strong draft, though it’s looking increasingly top heavy with how many potential early entrants are heading back to school. There should still be talent available at those spots though.

The Plan

There are a number of directions the organization could choose to go. The first and easiest is to run it back with the group that played so well in the second half of last season while adding a couple of first round picks to replace Xavier Tillman and Pat Connaughton. That’d make the team more talented but even younger. I’d be surprised if the front office took that more passive approach to the offseason.

I anticipate that there are going to be some fireworks this summer. The Hornets have a perfect combination of future draft assets and expiring contracts that would appeal to a team looking for a reset. Miles Bridges, Josh Green, Grant Williams, and Tre Mann could all be mixed and matched to equal just about any salary for an incoming acquisition. I’d like to see them hold onto one pick from this year and the Mavericks pick next year. Everything else is on the table. There are a number of players that would make a lot of sense as trade targets that could elevate the Hornets to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.

This is the offseason Jeff Peterson has been preparing for. I don’t think he’s going to go “all in,” but I do think this is the inflection point where the team starts making moves like a contending team instead of a rebuilding team. It’s going to be weird compared to what we’re used to, but it should be exciting.