Brandon Miller gets realistic about the Charlotte Hornets ahead of the 2026-27 season

Brandon Miller gets realistic about the Charlotte Hornets ahead of the 2026-27 season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Trading away LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges is a big shift for the Charlotte Hornets ahead of the 2026-27 season. They are intent on building around Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel moving forward, but it seems that will take a while before it can fully get going.

They have missed the postseason for the past decade, which was when Kemba Walker was still leading the charge for the Hornets. Something had to change with the Hornets, and it seems that they are doing so for the 2026-27 season. It won't be the prettiest, but they are prepared to fight with this current roster.

Now that the Hornets have ushered in a new era, there is a fair bit of excitement around the organization. Everyone knows that this is a new era for the team, so they are ready to prove themselves. However, it seems that Miller is not getting ahead of himself.

Miller knows that the new-look Hornets will need time to adjust, especially with the lack of game-changing talent. Both Knueppel and Miller have the potential to do so, but they will still need reps as the star players. They are still young, so they need to prove themselves first.

MORE: The Hornets' front office addresses the reason why they traded both LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges

At the same time, the front office is only getting started, so there will most likely be moves with the roster. Knueppel and Miller are stamped as the building blocks, but the rest of the team will need to be worked on. There are plenty of high-potential players in Charlotte, but it should mean that they are still in the development process.

"Do I know if we are going to be good or great? I know we are going to be a hard-working team. It's not about who makes the most shots. It's about who can play consistently at 110% every night. I think that's one thing we are going to take pride in," Miller said to The Charlotte Observer about the future.

As long as the Hornets are intent on building around Knueppel and Miller, they have a bright future. However, that was also said about Ball and Bridges, so the Hornets have to prove that they can be smart in the market, so they can keep building around this project they're working on.

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