The Charlotte Hornets went 1-4 in Las Vegas, and the coaching staff seems fine with that trade. Per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte treated Summer League less as a showcase for its incoming rookies than as a checklist for last year’s draft class, with each returning player handed a specific assignment — and none bigger than the one given to Liam McNeeley, who was asked to run the offense as its primary facilitator.
Summer League coach Blaine Mueller told Boone the second-year wing answered on both ends. “Obviously (McNeeley’s) been our primary creator and his ability to score the ball at all three levels has done a great job on that end of the floor,” Mueller said, adding that McNeeley’s one-on-one defensive possessions against New Orleans stood out for their technique. Sion James also saw creation reps, per Boone, as Charlotte searches for a reliable backup to Coby White.
The assignments extended through the frontcourt. Ryan Kalkbrenner was used as a post playmaker and spent the week calling out pick-and-roll coverages, while rookie Hannes Steinbach — who closed his Vegas run with 22 points and 11 rebounds — shared the floor with him in twin-tower looks that fit the size-and-physicality roster Charlotte assembled this summer. Tidjane Salaun, back for a third Summer League, was graded on defensive coverage execution and keeping his offense simple, and Mueller singled out undrafted two-way signee Michael Ajayi for mastering a versatile defensive role.
Taken together, Boone’s reporting sketches the rotation battles that will define Charlotte’s camp: McNeeley’s ballhandling load, James versus the field behind White, and how many minutes the staff can justify playing two centers together. The record in Vegas will be forgotten by August. The evaluations will not.
For fantasy purposes, McNeeley is the mover here — a creation role on top of his scoring would lift his assist ceiling and makes him one of the more interesting second-year dynasty holds in the division. Kalkbrenner’s defensive command keeps his blocks-and-percentages profile relevant in deep leagues, and Ajayi is a name to file away in case a wing rotation spot opens.
