No LaMelo, no problem going forward, Hornets predict

NBAE

Coby White, who re-signed with the Hornets in the offseason after a strong showing after a February trade, steps into LaMelo Ball's spot in the lineup.

The NBA season is nearing, and the Charlotte Hornets will lean on their new big three. 

There was an offseason flurry of transactions, none larger than the trade of franchise centerpiece LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves. It came as a shock to Hornets fans after the team reaching the play-in and falling just a game short of the playoffs. 

Vice President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson didn’t want to discuss Ball too much at Monday’s media day but did thank him for his contributions.

“What I’ll say about LaMelo is, he’s someone who I appreciate everything that he did in my time here,” Peterson said. “He was great to be around. He’s a fantastic talent. I wish him nothing but the best in Minnesota.”

With Ball gone, it adds more responsibility for guard Coby White, who re-signed in the offseason. After a February trade with the Chicago Bulls, White averaged 15.6 points, 3.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game and hit one of the biggest shots of the season against Miami in the first round play-in game to send it to overtime.  

“The biggest thing I want for Coby is for Coby to be Coby,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “He doesn’t need to play the point guard position like anyone else in the NBA or anyone that was in that seat previously. I think what he has done throughout his career has already been really effective, and we want to help him become an even more overall basketball player. I think that offensively, he has always shown he can score. Now he has to find that balance of scoring and passing, playing off the ball at times, too. I think he has embraced every bit of the challenge that is going to come his way.”

Said White: “I feel extremely confident and I think I have to do it my way. I’m excited to see what that looks like for myself. I got to do it the Coby White way, but I have the utmost confidence in myself. I think work always going to show, and I work really hard in my craft, and I sacrifice a lot for the game that I love. I’m excited to see what this year holds, just a different opportunity.”

Guard/forward Brandon Miller underwent labrum surgery in May and has resumed full contact workouts. 

“I'm back now,” he said. “I have been doing a lot better. I think the most important thing throughout this process was staying connected with my teammates. They did a great job of just keeping me focused on the controllables that I can control during my rehab, and just kind of having that mindset throughout the summer has gotten me back to where I'm at now.”

Miller played 65 games last season, the most since his rookie season (74) and averaged 20.2 points per contest. He will have an elevated role but insists he is just looking to do whatever he can to win games.

“I’m willing to do whatever the winning play might be,” Miller said, “whether it's me guarding the best player every night, or it's me scoring the ball. I will do whatever my team needs to win basketball games.”

Forward Kon Knueppel looks to build on his rookie campaign where he finished second in rookie of the year voting behind Dallas Mavericks forward — and former Duke teammate — Cooper Flagg. Knueppel was recently reported to have sustained a hamstring injury in a pickup game. 

“We’ve been doing live play days throughout the summer and off season, and just got a rebound, defensive rebound, and went coast to coast with it. I just felt my hamstring pull up on me. It kind of felt like a cramp. Then I was like, ‘I don't think that's a cramp.’ So just a little tug of the hamstring. But I’m progressing really well. It feels good. I'm not dealing with any pain.”

Knueppel, much like White and Miller, will have to raise his level of play with Ball gone. He looks forward to embracing the challenge. 

“[There will be] a lot of ball handling, a lot of secondary playmaking coming off ball screens,” Knueppel said. “Those things can be really important for our team. We need guys that can create offense for others. I think we’ve got a lot of guys that can do that and pitch into that but that's definitely an area of growth, as a focus, both for myself, but also from the team.”

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