Charlotte Hornets: What’s in the future for Cody Zeller?

With recent moves during the offseason, will the Charlotte Hornets be moving on from Cody Zeller soon?

Fans of the Charlotte Hornets have shared a lot of excitement during the offseason, as the team has continued to make improvements to the team’s roster. With these moves, many of the team’s needs for depth at positions have been filled.

A notable need that the Hornets have added to is the team’s center position. Heading into the offseason, the Hornets were set to lose both of their backup centers, as they were both unrestricted free agents.

More from Swarm and Sting

• Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
• Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
• Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
• Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
• Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?

During the offseason so far, the team has re-signed Bismack Biyombo, who started in 29 games last season. With that signing, the Hornets did lose their other center, Willy Hernangomez, to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Hornets also made some additions during the second round of the NBA Draft when they selected Vernon Carey Jr. and Nick Richards. Carey Jr. is a forward out of Duke that can play both frontcourt spots, while Richards played center for Kentucky.

With these additions, it questions what Cody Zeller’s role will be in the Hornets’ future. The longtime starter’s time in Buzz City may be coming to an end, as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

During this past season, fans saw one of the best years of Zeller’s career, as he averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. However, he also struggled with his defense; he was not able to average over one block per game.

The Hornets have the depth to try out some new roster combinations, and General Manager Mitch Kupchak has been on fire with his second-round draft choices as of late. If the team continues to go young, could fans see Carey Jr. or Richards in the starting lineup?

If all, the Hornets could look to trade or buy Zeller’s contract out this season as they did with their veterans last season. Moving forward, fans will want to watch what the team does with Zeller.

Fans can expect to see the Charlotte Hornets back in action in a couple of weeks, and the team will need to be ready for this upcoming season.