Sting or be stung

The Hornets decided to escape the LaMelo Ball business at a rather shocking moment in their arc. Are they of the nature to avoid regret?

Good morning. We're not talking about the other Hornets, OK? Let's basketball.

Among play-in and playoff teams, the Charlotte Hornets had one of the more wild offseasons among those franchises who controlled their own destiny in a way. In other words, Charlotte didn't have a major free agent bail or a veteran star demand a trade. Charlotte made choices, and executed trades to align with those choices, and will now reap the benefits or consequences or both.

In the end, what the Hornets did boils down to this:

• Traded LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges
• Acquired Naz Reid and a couple reserves
• Signed Coby White to a long-term deal
• Added two outright firsts in the 2030s, three first-round swaps and net two seconds

Charlotte replaces two starters, including its most famous and expensive, while netting more draft equity and a clean salary cap sheet. No one on the roster will make $25 million this season. Reid and White are the most expensive Hornets, making $22-23 million but locked up long term. Brandon Miller is eligible for an extension that would kick in for the 2027-28, and his number will be more than $25 million in annual value for sure. But as the deck sits, neither Miller's contract or that two years later due to Kon Knueppel will be a big problem unless Charlotte adds another high-salary player.

For future-proofing Charlotte, this offseason was a true masterpiece for Jeff Peterson, who is two years into his first general manager tenure. Adding all that draft equity, keeping a clean sheet at a time when that's never been more important and building a team that looks as competitive as any Hornets team from this decade – it's some really tidy work. If not for Mike Gansey in Philadelphia, Peterson would have had the most positively notable offseason among all GMs.

There is one small issue to watch, though: will the Hornets regress this season? If so, that would put a real damper on the offseason work.