Charlotte Hornets GM Jeff Peterson expressed satisfaction with the strides his team has made, but emphasized that he has no intention of rushing the process to reach the playoffs next season.
The Hornets were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament game for the eighth seed.
“We can’t skip steps,” Peterson said. “Again, I’ve seen it too many times and it ends up not going the way that you think it goes, in terms of trying to speed things up.
“Look, we’ve made a ton of progress this season internally, and I’m excited because I know that’s going to continue to happen. 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.”
Holding two first-round selections in the 2026 NBA Draft, Charlotte is positioned to further strengthen its roster.
After adding four rotation players last year, the team has another chance to build additional depth.
“I’m very excited about this draft,” Peterson said. “It’s if not the deepest, one of the deepest that I’ve ever been a part of. A lot of good players all over the draft, of course.
“But again, where we are from an asset standpoint, it’s going to allow us to be flexible. So whether that means we bring two players in, consolidate, we’ll have different options that we’ll continue to explore and look at.
“But I’m excited for whoever we bring in because I know that it’s going to be someone who is a Hornet, and about what we’re about and at some point will contribute to what we are building here.”
Jeff Peterson Won’t Take Shortcuts To Push Hornets Forward https://t.co/fjtpuNqv8F
— RealGM (@RealGM) April 21, 2026
