After first agreeing to include three second-round picks in their trade for Coby White, the Hornets revised the deal after White’s physical revealed a left calf injury, removing one of the draft selections.
Despite that finding, the injury did not dampen Charlotte’s excitement about bringing in the North Carolina native, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
“As soon as I touched down, I felt wanted,” White told Boone.
“I called my family, and I’m like, ‘Everybody here is just super-welcoming and super-nice. And they keep talking about long term, long term, long term.’ And just hearing that somewhere where you’re valued for a long term, especially being back home, it means a lot.”
Although White is playing on an expiring contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the Hornets are hopeful about keeping him beyond this season.
President of basketball operations Jeff Peterson emphasized the importance of the acquisition and the flexibility it provides moving forward.
“Just being able to acquire Coby and being able to acquire his Bird rights is very, very important for us in terms of how we’re operating and how we are building it out,” Peterson said.
“So, as I said earlier, he fits everything that we want to be about and hope that he’s a Hornet for a very long time.”
Head coach Charles Lee also expressed enthusiasm about White’s addition, smiling when asked about the team’s newest guard on Saturday, via Boone.
“Spend a minute with him, you can already feel a sense of maturity, a sense of eagerness to want to play and build relationships, a competitiveness to him,” Lee said.
“He’s super engaged in everything we do. A great human being. … I think he’s already trying to put his fingerprint – or put his stamp – on our environment and on our culture.”
Southeast Notes: White, Powell, Wagner Bros., J. Carter https://t.co/Xc61tIhI7r pic.twitter.com/mLZAQ9jvPK
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) February 9, 2026
