MEDIA DAY 2025 – Jeff Peterson Media Availability

MEDIA DAY 2025 – Jeff Peterson Media Availability

Good morning uh to everyone. Uh good to see everyone. Excited to be back up here and get going. Um before we uh get into questions, I’m going to uh open up with some uh remarks and then uh we’ll we’ll get into questions at the end. But first, I just want to say thank you to uh Queens University of Charlotte uh for hosting us here today as Spectrum Center continues to go into renovations. Uh Queens has been a tremendous partner this entire offseason, giving our players and our staff a place to call home for the past five months. So really appreciate them for um again opening their doors and and everyone who’s played a a role in to making this happen. Um next I want to say thank you to our fans. Uh your unwavering support uh and passion means the world to this organization. Uh you truly are the backbone uh of what we do and you know we get that without you guys you know the Charlotte Hornets would not exist. So just appreciate your support, your energy, uh the love that you guys show every night. Um, I know you may not see it on a regular basis, but uh, the way that you’re able to impact our our team and our coaching staff goes a long way, certainly in in our good moments. And then, uh, you guys played a huge role in helping us push through some of the more challenging times last season as well. Um, our ownership group, Charles Lee, myself, we have one singular focus, and that’s to bring a consistent winner uh, to the city of Charlotte, the Carolinas, uh, and every Hornets fan across the world. uh as you guys deserve nothing nothing less. Um I’m sure some of you guys will have questions uh as it relates to my expectations for the season. So I’ll briefly address that. Uh winning is hard, extremely hard at this level. And as I’ve always said, getting to the playoffs once uh is not the goal, right? We want to build a program that can get there and and sustain uh success year after year. um you know by maintaining discipline and a strategic approach we feel that once we do break through and we will break through uh we’re in a position to stay there for a very long time uh as we continue to lay the foundation for this organization um daily improvement is is going to be a pillar for us. So we know that we can’t control every result or every outcome uh but we do take pride in being able to control the process uh which will inevitably lead to the results that that we want to seek. I can’t promise you exactly when that’s going to be, but what I can say is if our players and our staff continue to attack uh every day like we did this past offseason um and just continue to improve uh on a daily basis, uh I have no doubt that you guys and our fans will be proud of of what we’re building here in Charlotte. Um and then lastly, before we get into questions, I I’ll touch on just a few player updates from a injury standpoint. Josh Green and Grant Williams, uh they’ve done extremely well with their rehabs. um they uh we fully expect them to to contribute to winning at some point this season. They do not have a definitive timeline on return, but once we um get closer to them integrating with the team from a live play standpoint, we’ll make sure to update you guys. Uh Brandon Miller, uh very excited for him to get out there. He’s done a great job with his rehab. Of course, he started his a little bit earlier than everyone else. Um you know, he’s he’s he cannot wait to get back out there with with his brother. So, um, he will wear some tape around his wrist just from a preventative standpoint, but he is, uh, fully healthy. He’ll be 100%, uh, participant in in training camp. Uh, LaMelo, LaMelo’s in a great place. He’s, uh, had a tremendous summer, very consistent this offseason, just the time he spent uh, in the gym, of course, working on his game, more importantly, working on his body, uh, strength and conditioning. He’s made a ton of gains in that space, so he’ll be 100% in training camp as well. Um, and then lastly, Trey, man. Uh, Trey is, first of all, very excited to have Trey back with us. He’s a very important piece to to what we’re doing here. He’s about all the right things, and um, he obviously dealt with some back issues last year, but he’s put the time in and the work uh, this off season, and he’s 100% as well, and he’ll be a full participant in camp as well. So, uh, with that said, I’ll open up to questions. you could raise your handic Jeeoff I think the last time we were able to talk to you was right around the draft before uh some of the trades and free agency stuff can I know there was a bunch of moves but what do you like about the group that you brought in the Colin uh Spencer Mason those guys and how do they fit in uh with what you’re trying to build here and the team’s identity yeah Colin Spencer Mason you know all of them I would say fall under the uh the veteran category uh they’ve been around the block a a few times. You know, they they each have uh a unique perspective on the league. Um they’ve been traded, they’ve been free agents. Uh so they’ve they’ve been able to experience a ton. And I’d say, you know, with uh with our group of, you know, primarily being on the younger side, I think all three of them again will be able to bring something unique to the table to uh to show our our younger guys. Jeff, this is an off seasonason where you had to make some tough roster moves and almost kind of felt like there was a glut at some certain positions, particularly at the guard spot. Does that mean that you feel that the developmental part of this thing is now starting to transition into, hey, we we now have a roster that feel like is ready to compete on a night in nightout basis? Yeah, absolutely. Like I I think and I love the word that you just used, compete. Like we it is a priority for us to compete every single night. Um, you know, the players, of course, they hear that from Charles Lee. Uh, I’ve made that clear that whoever, uh, puts on that Hornet jersey, that is the expectation to compete on a nightly basis. And on the center position, how satisfied are you about where that position is now? I know you you lost Mark in the offseason and and you brought in Mason. You you’ve obviously done some work in the draft with Ryan. You know, where do you feel like that position is going to look in terms of who will get the majority of the minutes, who will get the majority of the starts? Do you want Ryan to develop into that role? How do you feel that that plays out over the year? Yeah, I think all three of them uh again the versatility of that group is what we’re intrigued about the most. Um again, they are able to play different types of coverages and schemes. Um offensively, they bring something different. Uh as you said, Ryan, he’s more of a developmental piece. Um he’s had a great summer. Uh so we look forward to seeing what he does, you know, in the preseason and regular season. Of course, Musa um hit some adversity early in his NBA career, but of course was able to bounce back. I don’t think anyone can doubt uh or deny the uh the impact he was able to make on the team last year. And then of course, again, Mason’s a vet um who brings a different look as well. So, um fortunately, I don’t have to make the decision on who uh who starts in the rotation. That’s that’s up to Charles and the players. But um again, more than anything, I’m just excited about the versatility that they all bring. with uh LaMelo. What do you want to see from him in terms of his growth in this season? And you mentioned his health. Just how much important is his health to this team kind of moving forward here knowing that he’s, you know, the franchise player? Yeah, LaMelo’s health is very important. Um I’d say all of our players, you know, their health is important. Uh but again, that’s that’s one of the reason I’m excited uh about the amount of work and time that they put in this offseason. I got to give those guys credit. I’ve been in the league for it’s my 14th season and uh I I don’t remember seeing an offseason like this in terms of the amount of guys being in Charlotte uh getting work in um on a consistent basis. So, um but LaMelo, I I can’t tell you how excited I am for him this season because he has put the work in. He’s been extremely consistent. Um he took a big step in terms of just his body and and strength and conditioning. he knows that that’s, you know, he has to to be great in that area to continue to take the next step. But, um, Charles Lee, myself, LaMelo, we’ve had several conversations, dinners, um, you know, again, he’s it’s hard to find someone more talented than him, um, especially at that guard position. And, he’s just excited to get out there and bring winning back to Charlotte as well. And then bringing in Colin Ston, how did that move come about and how do you think he’s going to help LaMelo um, as well kind of moving forward here? Uh yeah, I won’t get into specific uh details of the conversation that I had with uh with the Jazz at the time, but um you know, clearly both sides thought the trade made sense, you know, for both sides. Um but I think, you know, you take a guy like Colin, he you know, he takes pride in competing on a nightly basis. Um that guy is just tenacious. He uh you know, relentless in his approach every day, his work ethic. So, um I think just Colin being able to not only push LaMelo but everyone, you know, he he does not uh he doesn’t back down from anyone. Um which I love. He likes to get after it on both ends of the floor. So, and just again his overall level of experience. He’s seen playoff atmospheres. Um he’s played in both conferences. So, really excited for our entire group including LaMelo to be able to learn from him. Speaking of Colin Ston and Den Witty and and bringing back Trey Mann as well and when you consider Lamela Ball, all four of those guys tend to play with the ball in their hands a little bit more. Uh is that a challenge or or conversations that you’ve had with Charles Lee in terms of maximizing those players, but also knowing they’ve got to play off ball? Yeah. Uh Charles and I have definitely have had those conversations. Uh Charles has also had the conversations with the uh with the players. Um I I think the way that the games played nowadays, it’s it’s not as much of a factor. Um you need multi multiple ball handlers, guys who can create uh obviously not only for themselves but for them teammate for their teammates. Of course, LaMelo, he’s elite at that. Um you know, Trey, obviously we didn’t get a great sample size of him last year, but he’s very good at that as well. Spencer’s been doing that his entire career. Um Colin can do that as well. So I think it’s a bonus. Uh you know, it just puts more pressure on the defense, more guys getting in the paint, collapsing the defense, and able to make good decisions from there. Jeff, uh, you passed up on a couple big-time scorers and Ace Bailey and Trey Johnson when you took Kon Canipple. How do you feel? Why did you take Khan Canipple as far as his fit on the team, maybe compared to a couple of players like that? How do you see that work? Yeah, look, we we’ve watched Khan a ton, uh, of course in his career at Duke, um, and even before that in high school, and he’s just, you know, a guy that fits everything that we’re about. Um, on the floor, you know, there’s no secret what he provides. Uh, and it’s not just the shooting, you know, he’s just a winner. He he figures out how to make impact plays and and help you win the game. Um, you saw a little bit of a snapshot of that, of course, uh, in summer league, of course, at Duke. Um, but the guy, you know, he he has stitches. He had a borderline concussion. Every reason to not play in that game in the summer league after that happened. And, um, he he did not accept when we said, you know, you shouldn’t play. He’s like, no, I’m playing. Um, and that’s who Khan is, you know. So, that’s one reason we took him. And again, I I won’t go down the line in terms of, you know, his his skill set, but more importantly, just his competitiveness, his approach. Um, he is always looking to get better. U basketball is his priority. And, um, again, he I can’t wait to see just what he’s able to bring, not only this year, but just his his career. He’s going to have a long career in this league. Greensboro made the playoffs for the first time. You guys won a summer league championship. What impact does winning at those like grassroots level of the organization have on the senior Hornets? Yeah, we we talk about, you know, you got to celebrate every win. Um, winning is a mentality. It is something that uh certain people can do and some people can’t do. Um, but in order to to win, we talk about you got to believe you’re a winner before you actually achieve it. Uh, and once that mindset starts to kick in, you see these these small wins, if you will, uh, whether that’s with the Swarm, who did an excellent job, uh, Cole Till, the GM there, and DJ Baker coaching the team, um, or summer league this past season. And, you know, I I the guys in summer league, that was it still gives me chills. It was just fun to watch them because, um, it’s not easy, right, to take a group of of players, quite frankly, who have not played a long time together. um they’re asked to come in jail uh in a short period of time. Um quite frankly, everyone usually has different agendas, right? You’re trying out for all 30 NBA teams. You have uh international spots that you’re trying out for, but for them to be able to set their egos to the side and play for the team in that short amount of time was extremely fun. Um and and again, I just think when you figure out how to uh not accept losing, right, it’s a mindset um at any level. I think that uh certainly carries over to to the Senior Hornets. Good morning, Jeeoff. So, three years ago, Nick Smith Jr. was the number one recruit on 24/7 Sports and two years ago the team selected him in the first round. Uh what was the process in deciding to release him and were there was there any trade interests around the league in him? Yeah, we look, we wish Nick nothing but the best. Um he since I’ve been here, of course, I was only here a year with him, but he uh was a true professional gentleman. Um, I have no doubt that he’ll continue to get better just because he loves basketball and continues to work. Um, where we are, you know, just in terms of our guard rotation that someone touched on earlier, um, you know, we just felt like it was the best best thing, uh, to to move off of him at this time. Going back to the, uh, center position, uh, though that position came off the market very quickly as soon as free agency started. How did those guys coming off of the market immediately like that affect what you guys wanted to do at that five spot? Um, look, we we don’t necessarily uh react to to other people’s plans or whatnot, right? We we stay consistent. We always go into it with a plan. Um, you know, and it it’s not just a one-year plan either. We we have a a way of of doing things in terms of, you know, looking ahead into the future. So, uh, we know knew exactly what we needed to accomplish uh, in free agency at the center position. Uh, of course we had already drafted uh Ryan and and Resign Musa, so we knew we wanted to get one more big and um, again, Mason was a guy that we identified, of course, he’s been here in Charlotte before. Um, Charles and I both had uh, some level of a relationship with him and just felt like again that he would be a good fit for for what we’re trying to do right now. Having the full year down with you and Charles as a tandem here as you’re going into another year, how advantageous is that for you guys to come in together again? It’s not a full reset. And do you feel like you have a different mindset now that you have a full year here in Charlotte under your belt? Yeah. Uh I I couldn’t think of a better partner to to go into year two with. Um Charles is is like a brother to me and we uh we see things a lot, you know, the same way, which helps. Um but we do have our disagreements uh at times, but he is uh again, he’s a a very good coach and and again just an even better partner. um we know that we can um have healthy debates and not take it personal and wake up the next morning and we know that we’re we’re always striving for the uh same thing which is again to to bring uh a consistent winner here to the city of Charlotte. So um could not be more excited to have have Charles as a partner. What does a successful Tan Salon season look like this year? Uh Ton, man, he is uh he’s been another one just consistently in the gym uh this off seasonason. He has added a ton of strength um and muscle mass. Um I think he’s also been able to get a little bit more more fluid with some of his movements. Um you saw his couple summer league games that he that he played. He uh has certainly showed flashes of continuing to to improve in terms of just decision- making. Uh of course shot making. Um he’s always relentless on the on the re on the board. So, I think if he continues to, again, he’s never going to stop working. Uh, but just continues to um get reps and and process the game, you know, most young players struggle with the speed of the game. Um, it’s usually happen a little bit than faster than they’re accustomed to. So, uh, the game has truly slowed down for him and he’ll continue to get better. So, excited for I don’t I don’t want to put a ceiling on it because I truly don’t know, but I’m excited for for what he has in store for us this season. Jeff, um, going back to Caniple for a second, was there a one game that you saw him play at Duke or one particular moment, whenever it was, where you were super impressed and maybe he elevated uh his status in your mind? Um, I I don’t think I would I don’t think I would limit to one game. you know, we try to each evaluation is a kind of a a different period. Um, and we kind of look at it as more of a mosaic and you try to piece it piece it all together. And, um, you know, he I guess you can go to the tournament game when, you know, Cooper went out when they were playing in the ACC tournament and again, he didn’t flinch, he didn’t bat a eye, he they put the ball in his hands more and he was able to function and and again help his team uh, contribute to winning. So, that certainly helped him. Um but again I never want to limit you know the evaluation just to one particular game. He’s we we try to look for consistency uh more than anything and and he certainly possesses that trait. You mentioned Trey earlier. Just what does he bring to the table you think? And how much you looking forward to having him back and and just what was it like to kind of get him to come back to the team knowing that how important he is? Yeah. Uh he is uh man Trey brings so much just you know not even on the court but just professionalism professionalismisism um his approach on a daily basis uh he’s a worker um you know he he saw a taste of what they did in OKC of course and um he wants to be up there holding the trophy so everything that he does is is focused towards that um is is getting better and helping his teammates get better. So, um, on the court, of course, he he is very dynamic, of course, with the ball in his hands. Uh, he can score, he can make plays for others. Um, he has a calming presence about him. Um, you know, you see his flashes of athleticism. You guys remember the the donkey he had, I believe that was at Brook Brooklyn last year. So, he’s he’s extremely dynamic. Um, we’ll continue to challenge him on the defensive end, of course, um, because we know that he can he can disrupt the ball and and be a good presence on that end of the floor as well. So, um, look, we’re excited to have him back. I know he can’t wait to get back out there with his teammates, you know, in terms of, uh, an actual game. Um, and of course his his teammates, his brothers, they’re excited to have him out there as well. And then that center position, you mentioned the guys you bought in here, but with Mark Williams, why do you think that it didn’t work out here? And why do you had to move on from him to kind of move him to to Phoenix? Yeah, I’ve said it before, guys. Mark is an extremely he’s one of the best humans I’ve been around. He’s a uh just consummate professional. Um I know he’s going to have, you know, Phoenix, they have a a great coach and Jordan Odd. Um and I know Mark is going to, you know, be able to go down, you know, down to Phoenix and and fit in there as well. So, we wish him nothing but the best. He’s again, even after, uh the trade got rescended. You know, it’s not a um easy thing for anyone to navigate. Uh and quite frankly, I don’t know if Mark could have handled it better. Jeff, I know that the easy answer to this question is a requisite amount of wins, a playoff birth, but given your opening comments, you seemed a little more open-ended. So, independent of those things, what do you need to see to tell you that this whole process is working? Um, I again, I just think I go back to continue to stack days. Um, look, we know that as I said before, you can’t control the results, you can’t control the outcomes, but you can control the process. Um, so as long as we don’t deviate from that, um, and there’s going to be some really hard days, uh, of course, but, um, to me, that adversity, that’s what makes it worth it because when we get, you know, I don’t know when it’s going to be 2, three, four year years down the line and we’re able to look back and say we’re in this position now because everything that we went through um, you know, a few years ago. So, I think just uh again for us to be able to stick to the process, respect it, um and continue to figure out how to get better. Um you know, be curious of of what that looks like. Uh to me, that’s that’s success. Jeeoff, uh your thoughts on Brandon coming back from the wrist surgery and what are you expecting from him this year? I didn’t hear the last part of your question. What are you expecting from him this year? You expect Oh, yeah. Um Brandon, um thoughts of him coming back again, really excited for him to be back. Um I know when the injury initially occurred it was uh you know scary for him. He’s never experienced anything like that. So um for him to you know be able to persevere through the more challenging time of his his professional career um says a lot. And it’s no secret again that he’s he’s able to be out here today now because or for training camp because he uh he put the time in. He put the work in. um those rehabs, they can be very um you know, strenuous at times and monotonous, but again, I give him all the credit in the world cuz he figured out not only way to rehab his wrist, but he also put time in in other areas to get better um in terms of watching film. Charles gave him some uh coaching projects and uh Brandon voiced how frustrated he was because he told the players to do something, they didn’t do it. So, we joke now you know what it’s like being a coach. Um, so but just expect him to, again, I don’t want to put a cap or ceiling on him as either cuz Brandon can be as good as he wants to be. He can be a Hall of Famer. Um, and he knows, you know, the expectations on him this season. More importantly, he has those same expectations for himself. So, uh, we look for him to take a jump not only on the court, but from a leadership standpoint. And, um, again, just can’t be excited, more excited to have him out there. Talking about leadership, you guys brought in four rookies. one of the younger teams in the league. You guys relied on Taj and Seth for like leadership last season. Are there any specific players you guys are going to be leaning on to be leaders in the locker room? Yeah, I think you know starting off as we said like uh Spencer, Colin, Mason, of course those guys, they they’ll lead in their own ways. Uh again, they they have the most experience on the team. They’ve been around been around the most. Um excuse me. A guy like Grant Williams, of course, he’s been on different teams. uh he will continue to lead uh in his own way of course, but more importantly like everyone’s a leader on this team. You know, Brandon can lead in his own way. LaMelo certainly can lead in his own way. Uh Miles can lead on in his own way. Uh I can go down the line. Josh Green, you know, he’s a little bit more quiet, but he he certainly has an impact on this team from a a leadership standpoint. So, um, you know, I think true leadership comes from whenever whenever you’re, you know, you can go to your teammate, you can go to your brother, um, and address a situation. Um, you’re not just waiting for Charles or the coaching staff to address something, good or bad, right? You can, um, you can go to them and have that dialogue themselves. So, and I think every player on our roster is capable of doing that. With this being such a guard heavy team, I I don’t know if it’s going to take time to build an identity, but in your early visions, building the team through the offseason, what would you say is the identity of this team right now? Yeah, just I’d say we need to take pride in competitiveness and and overall physicality. Um would be the the two things that I would continue to harp on. Um you know, it’s competing is something that is a uh requirement uh for us, you know, on both ends of the floor. Luckily, you can compete if things are going your way or they’re not going your way. Um, and the B, you guys know, basketball is not a perfect game. So, we expect that level of competitiveness and uh, physicality on a nightly basis. Um, of course, from a skill standpoint, we want guys to be able to continue to hone in on their specific skills and um, you know, do what Charles and the coaching staff is asking of them. But, uh, again, overall, just competitiveness and and physicality are going to be a couple of things that we continue to to harp on. It’s almost time to get back to the Spectrum Center. How excited are you guys to get back in your facility and how excited are you to welcome the fans to the Reimagine Arena? Yeah, can cannot wait to to get back in Spectrum. Uh, as I said earlier though, Queens has been a tremendous partner. They they it’s it’s been a it’s almost like a seamless transition. Uh, they’ve been great. But, uh, there’s no place like home, right? So, can’t wait to get into Spectrum. Um, again, another shout out to our ownership group for for pouring in the resources to to make the Spectrum Center uh just a place that again the fans want to come, enjoy coming to. They they’ve put a ton of time and of course money, resources into it. Uh, it’s going to be a special place. So, um, and then again, yeah, that place would not be the Special Center without the fans. So, we can’t wait to get back in there. Um, they were able to share some of the the victories we had in summer league with us. Uh, and can’t wait to to get there for the regular season for them to do the same thing.

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