The season is over for the Charlotte Hornets, and preparations for the 2025-26 campaign have begun. This summer, Spectrum Center will enter phase two of its renovation, and be ready to welcome fans to a pristine new viewing experience by the time October rolls around. Additionally, the Novant Health Performance Center recently began construction, and is set to be a ground-breaking new facility for the organization.
As for the players on the roster, several have already expressed their focus on getting better over the next five-plus months before training camp begins anew. Miles Bridges, for example, revealed that he won't even be leaving Charlotte during the offseason, opting to forego any vacation time in favor of building toward next season and beyond.
Though it may not be obvious, things are trending positively for the Hornets under their new leadership. Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin have been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes to shift Charlotte's fortune, and it is paying off little by little.
Both Schnall and Plotkin are undoubtedly constantly looking for ways to level up, and one hypothetical opportunity recently presented itself to them. On Monday, news broke that the Atlanta Hawks had parted ways with General Manager Landry Fields. This could be someone the Hornets' owners may want to look at adding to their front office in the near future.
Landry Fields could be a name to monitor as a potential addition to the Charlotte Hornets front office.
— James Plowright (@British_Buzz) April 21, 2025
He worked closely with Hornets assistant general manager Dotun Akinwale, and has ties to co-owner Rick Schnall from his time in Atlanta.
The Hornets are thought to be… pic.twitter.com/7VXe4bzGU0
Recently-fired Hawks GM could be a target for Hornets
Why might Fields be an appropriate addition to Schnall and Plotkin's regime in Charlotte? We can start with their prior connection. Schnall was part of the group that purchased the Hawks for $850 million back in 2015, and Fields was hired in 2020, then promoted to GM in 2022 while Schnall was part of the ownership group in Atlanta. It would make sense for Rick to want to bring someone on in Charlotte that he is already familiar with.
From there, we should note that a report from CLTure's James Plowright indicates that the Hornets are supposedly interested in finding an assistant General Manager to work under Jeff Peterson. There are not going to be a lot of better candidates for that position right now than Fields, who leaves the Hawks after four and a half years with the organization.
For Charlotte to continue building credibility under new leadership, making a hire like this one would be an excellent move. Bringing in an experienced leader with a track record of making crucial decisions will only strengthen this front office, and benefitting from a divisional rival's bold firing is the cherry on top.