Coby White's calf strain moves the Hornets' shots to Brandon Miller

Charlotte announced on October 5 that Coby White has a left calf strain and will miss the rest of the preseason, as reported by ESPN and Yahoo Sports, and neither report would say whether he will be ready for the opener at Brooklyn on October 21. This is the third calf problem in fourteen months for a guard who strained his right calf in August 2025 and was held to 50 games last season, a career low, so the question for fantasy managers is no longer whether he is talented but how many games to plan on.

White signed a three-year, $74 million contract with Charlotte this summer and was expected to carry much of the backcourt after the LaMelo Ball trade. With Kon Knueppel also out with a left hamstring strain, which the Hornets will re-evaluate in the first week of the regular season, the team could open the year without two of its main shooters, including the player who made more threes than anyone in the league last season, and somebody has to take those shots.

Coby White, and the games to expect

Our projection still has White at 69 games, 31.5 minutes, 20.5 points and 2.8 threes a night, a line that would be the best of his career. That number does not yet reflect a strain announced two weeks before the season, and if he misses Charlotte's first two weeks, which are seven games under our week calendar, his total falls into the low sixties before any further setback. We rank him 85th on points under ESPN's scoring and 99th in 9-cat, both below the consensus, because he shoots 45% from the field, contributes few steals and blocks, and turns the ball over almost three times a game. At those ranks he is a bench guard you hope stays healthy, not a starter you build around, and the safer move is to let a league mate pay for the career-high projection.

Brandon Miller, the Hornet to draft

Miller is the player who gains the most. We project 21.7 points, 3.5 threes and 88.9% at the line over 68 games in nearly 32 minutes, which is already a starting line in both formats, and the consensus has him 45th on points and 43rd in 9-cat. With White and Knueppel both doubtful for the opener, Miller is the one healthy Hornet with a proven high-usage role, and the early weeks are when his shot volume should be at its highest. His risk is his own durability, since he played 65 games last season, but that is a smaller risk than either of the two guards around him carries today.

Kon Knueppel, and the price of a missed October

Knueppel led the league in made threes as a rookie and we still project 3.5 threes a night over 73 games, but that games figure assumes he returns at or near the start of the season. He is 63rd on the points consensus and 56th in 9-cat, so in most drafts you are paying a sixth-round price for a player whose first week is uncertain. If he slides two rounds, take him, and if he does not, let him go.

Grayson Allen, the cheap way in

Allen is the deep-league answer. He is 146th on the 9-cat consensus and we project 2.6 threes and 84% from the line in 24.5 minutes, which is the kind of line that fills a threes gap on a final-round pick. He is not worth a roster spot in a ten-team league, but in fourteen teams or more he is the cheapest way to own a piece of Charlotte's missing shots.

What to do

Draft Miller at his consensus price and do not let the injuries around him push you off him. Treat White as a mid-round bench pick until he has played a regular-season game, and wait on Knueppel unless he falls. If you are already holding White, check the Weekly Slate for Charlotte's first two weeks before you decide whether to start a replacement.

Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.