It’s been a less-than-ideal start for the Charlotte Hornets in the first season of the post-LaMelo Ball era. They’re 3-7 and already riddled with injuries.
Kon Knueppel reinjured his hamstring in his first game back and has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. He won’t be re-evaluated for four weeks. Brandon Miller left Friday’s game with a groin injury and is listed as out for Monday’s game. Dennis Schroder also strained his hamstring and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. All injury designations are according to Charlotte Hornets PR.
After Naz Reid was benched in the second half against the Pistons on Oct.28, combined with the Hornets’ poor start to the 2026-27 season, people around the league are wondering whether Reid has a future in Charlotte.
Bill Simmons Wonders about Naz Reid’s Fit in Charlotte
On Sunday’s episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Simmons discussed just that with his usual Sunday co-host, Cousin Sal.
“The other interesting thing that’s happening in the NBA is just that LaMelo [Ball] has been pretty good the last couple games without [Anthony Edwards],” Simmons said. “And Charlotte’s in shambles, and the Charlotte fans are going nuts about that trade now. Because Naz Reid, whether you agree with the trade or not, Naz Reid does not seem like he wants to be in Charlotte.”
Naz Reid’s Start to the 2026-27 Season
Reid so far for the Hornets is averaging 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game. He’s shooting 41.6% from the field and 35.4% from 3-point range, both below his career averages.
With a larger role in Charlotte than he had in Minnesota, Reid is attempting 15.4 shots per game, nearly four more than his previous single-season high with the Timberwolves (11.5 in 2024-25). However, his shooting efficiency has declined.
The Hornets have an offensive rating of 99.7, the worst in the league, and a defensive rating of 113.8, which ranks 19th. Their net rating of minus-14.2 is the second-worst in the NBA. Charlotte is also averaging a league-low 96.3 points per game, nearly 10 fewer than the 29th-ranked Utah Jazz at 106.2, according to NBA.com statistics.
It’s only 10 games into the season, but for context, no team has averaged fewer than 100 points per game since the 2017-18 season, when two teams fell below that mark. The Sacramento Kings averaged 98.8 points per game, and the Memphis Grizzlies averaged 99.3 points.
After emerging from the NBA’s basement last season, winning 44 games following three consecutive seasons with 19, 21 and 27 victories, the Hornets decided they had taken the LaMelo Ball experiment as far as they could. They pivoted by trading the former Rookie of the Year and one-time All-Star, opting to put the team in the hands of its newer, younger stars, Miller and Knueppel.
With Knueppel aggravating his hamstring injury just six minutes into his return and Miller now dealing with a groin injury, things have gone from bad to worse in Charlotte. The situation surrounding Naz Reid has certainly become another storyline worth watching.
Bill Simmons Doesn’t Think Naz Reid is Long for Charlotte