June 28, 2025 • 10 mins
After a highly acclaimed 2025 NBA Draft, Charlotte Hornets President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson joins Sam Farber to discuss his four selections, the class as a whole, and the state of the franchise.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Hornets Hoivecast, presented by Charlotte I ear
nosen Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen Throatcare provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host, Sam Farber.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets Podcast, your Hornets
Podcast with all the notes, quote, san daily buzz around
your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam Farber and it is
a pleasure and a privileged heavy with us here once
again on the Hornets iove Cast, brought to you by
Santa Charlotte, I ear nos and Throat Associates, the official
I hear nosen Throatcare provider of the Charlotte Hornets. Special
(00:34):
edition of the HC the twenty twenty five NBA Draft
now in the rearview mirror, and the man who was
in charge of the Hornets draft room, President of Basketball Operations,
Jeff Peterson, is our special guest today breaking down the
four selections he made Conka Nipple number four overall, of course,
the product of a trade that is to be finalized later,
but Liam McNeely already in town with the Charlotte Hornets.
(00:58):
And then the two second round picks on James and
Ryan called brennant. We're going to talk to Jeff about
the process making the picks, what he likes about all
four of his new players, and where we are on
the road towards building that consistent, sustained winner that is
going to be here in the Queen City very very soon.
Without further ado, joining us now here on the Hornets Podcast,
Jeff Peterson, President of Basketball Operations, Congratulations on a very
(01:20):
successful twenty twenty five draft.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Thank you, Sam. I appreciate you guys having me here,
And yeah, we're really excited. All four of those young
men we believe will help get us to where we
want to go.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Those sentiments aren't just yours, It's not just mine. It
seems like the draft under Tree World is very high
on the Hornets labeling Charlotte is one of the winners
of the draft.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
What does that mean to you?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
What does that feel like coming out of a very
grueling process that it goes into drafting four guys in
the NBA.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
No, we're excited, you know, again, just identifying these these
four guys, their unique skill sets, but a couple of
things that they do possess the traits that we desired,
their competitiveness, again, their winners. Their work rate is unmatched,
very unselfish. So we're excited. And you know the thing
that just excites me the most, you know, all four
of them, that they're not content with just getting drafted.
You know, they're all saying the real work starts now.
(02:07):
So just cannot wait to continue to see them through
this journey.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
You drafted four players. Let's try and touch on all
of them. There's a lot of guys, but let's start
at the top. Conk Nipple, fourth overall pick out of
Duke A one and done. All the accolades you could
ask for. What made him the right selection for the Hornets?
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah, I can talk about con all day.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Again, I'll just start simply with his winning mentality, his competitiveness.
You know, you see you could see him a lot
this year, and no task is too small for him.
You know, if it's going to set a screen, if
it's bringing the ball at the court. Of course, he's
a knockdown shooter, he's versatile, he can guard multiple positions.
So again just watching him and a player of that
caliber able to do those things. And then he's also
(02:46):
diving on the four for loose balls, things like that,
you know, that's what's going to ultimately translate and again
help us be a better team.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Also, grab Liam McNeely in the first round. What made
him the right selection for the Hornets?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Liam too. He comes from a winning program, you know,
high school he won obviously in college he did a
lot of good things and it's another successful program. So
he is as competitive as they come. You know. Again,
he's another guy who hates to lose. He has some
versatility to his game on both ends of the floor.
He's already asking Charles can he get in the gym,
So he's again he's another guy that just wants to
continue to get better.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Seon James player in the second round, transferred into Duke
but became an integral part of that program and helped
them to the ACC title here in Charlotte. What made
him the right selection for the Hornets?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Yeah, see on two. You know, he had a different
path than the other two. But again just being able
to co from Tulane where he had a nice career
and then step into to Duke, which is, you know
a bit of a higher level. But for him to
be able to assimilate and step into the spotlight and
start and you know, and that team, he was very
much a connector, and you know, he was able to
again show his versatility on both ends of the floor,
(03:50):
high energy, again, a physical specimen. He'll be able to
guard multiple positions as well.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
And finally, Ryan called Brenner the big man out of
Creighton four times. I'm Big East defensive player of the year.
I'm sorry I stole your line there. I know, what
else do you like about it?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
It's impressive, you know, just that in itself right, that
does not happen very often. But again it's just I
think it's a testimony of one him knowing who he
is and embracing that role. Great size, he's able to
protect the rim, alter shots, you know, and offensively good
touch around the rim, and he can make a shot
every now and then. So he's we're so excited to
have him as well.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
You mentioned one of the through lines in terms of
the intangibles that they all share. What's maybe a trait
you were looking for in this draft class on the floor,
something statistically that you wanted to upgrade in the Horn States.
You feel like you did over the last couple of days.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, I think if you can quantify winning that's it.
You know. Again, all all four of them have won
at different levels, and winning's hard. Winning's really really hard,
especially at this level, and it's not for everyone. You
have to sacrifice a lot. It comes down to habits
and just these guys, and of course they're not finished products.
They'll they'll continue to learn, you know, there'll be some
adversity that they'll hit as well. But because they've won
(05:00):
before and they know what it takes to win again,
that will ultimately help them again contribute to what we
have going here.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
All of them have immense upside. But one thing that
they also all have in common a lot of experience
playing with other high level players. And for a lot
of guys that come into the NBA, that can be
something hard to adjust to. You're used to having the
ball all the time, you're used to being the man.
All of these guys, while they have that ability, they're
accustomed to playing with other talented players. How much does
that streamline their path to maybe getting on the floor
(05:28):
here right away.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
For the Hornets, Yeah, it's great. It's a great trait
for them to have because, look, they're smart, they know
that it's truly a team game, and you need each
other to have success. So of course we already have
some amazing talent on the roster and mellow Brandon Miles.
I can go on and on and on. But these guys,
they can adapt in real time. So you see it,
all four of them. They've played large roles, they've played
(05:49):
some smaller roles. But again, I think the comment thread
is they know they need one another and they know
they need the rest of their teammates to have success.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Last one for you, Jeff, as you settle in still
to the role. I mean, it's been over a year,
but things change quickly in the NBA. You've now drafted
personally a third of the roster. I know you don't
want to skip steps, and no one's asking you to.
But where do you feel you are now on that
pathway towards building the consistent winner that you've set out
to do with the picks you've made this year, the
(06:17):
free agency period that you've had, the trade deadline in
the previous draft.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yeah, it's just another again step in the journey. We're
heading in the right direction again. It's one of those
things where you know, I try to preach to my groove.
It's just a step at a time you've got to
continue to just again stack days on top of one another,
be patient. At the same time, we want some level
of urgency in terms of what we're trying to do here.
But again, as long as we can stay patient and
discipline and continue to add players who embody Hornets DNA,
(06:44):
I think at the end of the day we'll be
in a good place.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Well, the fan response has been outstanding. The pundits are
all lauding you and your team for a great draft.
Best of luck in Las Vegas and over the course
of free agency, and we look forward to seeing it
summer league.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Thank you, Sam, Thanks again, Jeff.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
One more piece of news to pass along here on
this episode of the AHHC, and that is Summer League
now less than two weeks away, and we have the
official schedule here for the Hornets and Charlotte definitely going
to be one of the featured teams in Las Vegas
for the summer league schedule. Of course, anytime you have
a top five pick, that tends to be the trend.
(07:20):
Charlotte picked fourth with kan Ka Nipple and of course
three other really highly lauded picks. Hornets very much viewed
favorably by the NBA draft pundits out there, most of
them giving the Hornets high marks, if not the highest marks.
But they're going to play some other teams that have
really been in the news quite a bit for their picks.
(07:41):
In one way, shape or form. They're going to start
things off against Utah. Ace Bailey, the number five overall selection,
will be on the Jazz team. So we think that
one's going to tip off the Hornets summer league schedule
on July eleventh, seven pm Eastern tip time. Then the
next day it'll be Conka Nipple versus vj Edgecomb of
the phill Ladelphia seventy six ers. Day off after that,
(08:02):
and then it's a head to head matchup depending on
which lens though you're looking at it, a couple of
former teammates going head to head. Hornets are taking on Dallas,
So Dallas has Cooper Flagg the number one overall pick.
So you can look at it as two duke, actually
three duke. See on James went and played for the
Blue Devils as well as Kanaka Nipple, those two against
(08:23):
former teammate Cooper Flag. Or you can go back to
the mont verd days and say it's Liam McNeely versus
his former teammate. Either way should be a lot of fun.
On July the fourteenth, and then last but not least,
amongst these scheduled games, July the seventeenth, Hornets are going
to take on the San Antonio Spurs. We'll see who
is still playing at that point of Summer League for
(08:43):
all of the squads, and then after that game Charlotte,
we'll see if they're in the knockout rounds. We'll see
what the remainder of the schedule. As always, we will
be reviewing each and every Summer League contest and as
we get closer to it, we will preview NBA Summer League,
especially the Hornets Summer League squad in the coming days.
Also coming up over the next couple of weeks, we
(09:04):
are going to be sitting down with all of the
Hornets draft picks, so look forward to that content coming
up on future episodes of the Hornets Hoodcast. We'll sit
down with first round pick Liam McNeely, fourth overall pick
Conka Nipple, and the two second rounder se On James
and Ryan Caulkbrenner on their initial thoughts about arriving in
Charlotte and joining the Hornets franchise, so lots of great
(09:26):
content for you over the coming days. We thank you,
as always for tuning into our draft coverage. Thanks to
Jeff Peterson for sitting down with us. Thanks to my
producer Rob Longo for putting this podcast together. Most of all,
thanks to all of you for tuning, and we will
talk to you in a few days as we sit
down with the newly acquired Hornets draft picks. Till then,
for everyone here, I'm Sam Farber saying it's been a pleasure,
(09:48):
in a privilege having you along and we'll talk to
you next time right here on the Hornets Ivecast.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by SENTA, the official i ear nosen Throadcare provide
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot com.
Welcome to the Hornets Hoivecast, presented by Charlotte I ear
nosen Throat Associates, the official I ear nosen Throatcare provider
of the Charlotte Hornets. Here's your host, Sam Farber.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome to another edition of the Hornets Podcast, your Hornets
Podcast with all the notes, quote, san daily buzz around
your favorite NBA team. I'm Sam Farber and it is
a pleasure and a privileged heavy with us here once
again on the Hornets iove Cast, brought to you by
Santa Charlotte, I ear nos and Throat Associates, the official
I hear nosen Throatcare provider of the Charlotte Hornets. Special
(00:34):
edition of the HC the twenty twenty five NBA Draft
now in the rearview mirror, and the man who was
in charge of the Hornets draft room, President of Basketball Operations,
Jeff Peterson, is our special guest today breaking down the
four selections he made Conka Nipple number four overall, of course,
the product of a trade that is to be finalized later,
but Liam McNeely already in town with the Charlotte Hornets.
(00:58):
And then the two second round picks on James and
Ryan called brennant. We're going to talk to Jeff about
the process making the picks, what he likes about all
four of his new players, and where we are on
the road towards building that consistent, sustained winner that is
going to be here in the Queen City very very soon.
Without further ado, joining us now here on the Hornets Podcast,
Jeff Peterson, President of Basketball Operations, Congratulations on a very
(01:20):
successful twenty twenty five draft.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Thank you, Sam. I appreciate you guys having me here,
And yeah, we're really excited. All four of those young
men we believe will help get us to where we
want to go.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Those sentiments aren't just yours, It's not just mine. It
seems like the draft under Tree World is very high
on the Hornets labeling Charlotte is one of the winners
of the draft.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
What does that mean to you?
Speaker 2 (01:39):
What does that feel like coming out of a very
grueling process that it goes into drafting four guys in
the NBA.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
No, we're excited, you know, again, just identifying these these
four guys, their unique skill sets, but a couple of
things that they do possess the traits that we desired,
their competitiveness, again, their winners. Their work rate is unmatched,
very unselfish. So we're excited. And you know the thing
that just excites me the most, you know, all four
of them, that they're not content with just getting drafted.
You know, they're all saying the real work starts now.
(02:07):
So just cannot wait to continue to see them through
this journey.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
You drafted four players. Let's try and touch on all
of them. There's a lot of guys, but let's start
at the top. Conk Nipple, fourth overall pick out of
Duke A one and done. All the accolades you could
ask for. What made him the right selection for the Hornets?
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah, I can talk about con all day.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Again, I'll just start simply with his winning mentality, his competitiveness.
You know, you see you could see him a lot
this year, and no task is too small for him.
You know, if it's going to set a screen, if
it's bringing the ball at the court. Of course, he's
a knockdown shooter, he's versatile, he can guard multiple positions.
So again just watching him and a player of that
caliber able to do those things. And then he's also
(02:46):
diving on the four for loose balls, things like that,
you know, that's what's going to ultimately translate and again
help us be a better team.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Also, grab Liam McNeely in the first round. What made
him the right selection for the Hornets?
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Liam too. He comes from a winning program, you know,
high school he won obviously in college he did a
lot of good things and it's another successful program. So
he is as competitive as they come. You know. Again,
he's another guy who hates to lose. He has some
versatility to his game on both ends of the floor.
He's already asking Charles can he get in the gym,
So he's again he's another guy that just wants to
continue to get better.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Seon James player in the second round, transferred into Duke
but became an integral part of that program and helped
them to the ACC title here in Charlotte. What made
him the right selection for the Hornets?
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Yeah, see on two. You know, he had a different
path than the other two. But again just being able
to co from Tulane where he had a nice career
and then step into to Duke, which is, you know
a bit of a higher level. But for him to
be able to assimilate and step into the spotlight and
start and you know, and that team, he was very
much a connector, and you know, he was able to
again show his versatility on both ends of the floor,
(03:50):
high energy, again, a physical specimen. He'll be able to
guard multiple positions as well.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
And finally, Ryan called Brenner the big man out of
Creighton four times. I'm Big East defensive player of the year.
I'm sorry I stole your line there. I know, what
else do you like about it?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
It's impressive, you know, just that in itself right, that
does not happen very often. But again it's just I
think it's a testimony of one him knowing who he
is and embracing that role. Great size, he's able to
protect the rim, alter shots, you know, and offensively good
touch around the rim, and he can make a shot
every now and then. So he's we're so excited to
have him as well.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
You mentioned one of the through lines in terms of
the intangibles that they all share. What's maybe a trait
you were looking for in this draft class on the floor,
something statistically that you wanted to upgrade in the Horn States.
You feel like you did over the last couple of days.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, I think if you can quantify winning that's it.
You know. Again, all all four of them have won
at different levels, and winning's hard. Winning's really really hard,
especially at this level, and it's not for everyone. You
have to sacrifice a lot. It comes down to habits
and just these guys, and of course they're not finished products.
They'll they'll continue to learn, you know, there'll be some
adversity that they'll hit as well. But because they've won
(05:00):
before and they know what it takes to win again,
that will ultimately help them again contribute to what we
have going here.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
All of them have immense upside. But one thing that
they also all have in common a lot of experience
playing with other high level players. And for a lot
of guys that come into the NBA, that can be
something hard to adjust to. You're used to having the
ball all the time, you're used to being the man.
All of these guys, while they have that ability, they're
accustomed to playing with other talented players. How much does
that streamline their path to maybe getting on the floor
(05:28):
here right away.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
For the Hornets, Yeah, it's great. It's a great trait
for them to have because, look, they're smart, they know
that it's truly a team game, and you need each
other to have success. So of course we already have
some amazing talent on the roster and mellow Brandon Miles.
I can go on and on and on. But these guys,
they can adapt in real time. So you see it,
all four of them. They've played large roles, they've played
(05:49):
some smaller roles. But again, I think the comment thread
is they know they need one another and they know
they need the rest of their teammates to have success.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Last one for you, Jeff, as you settle in still
to the role. I mean, it's been over a year,
but things change quickly in the NBA. You've now drafted
personally a third of the roster. I know you don't
want to skip steps, and no one's asking you to.
But where do you feel you are now on that
pathway towards building the consistent winner that you've set out
to do with the picks you've made this year, the
(06:17):
free agency period that you've had, the trade deadline in
the previous draft.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Yeah, it's just another again step in the journey. We're
heading in the right direction again. It's one of those
things where you know, I try to preach to my groove.
It's just a step at a time you've got to
continue to just again stack days on top of one another,
be patient. At the same time, we want some level
of urgency in terms of what we're trying to do here.
But again, as long as we can stay patient and
discipline and continue to add players who embody Hornets DNA,
(06:44):
I think at the end of the day we'll be
in a good place.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Well, the fan response has been outstanding. The pundits are
all lauding you and your team for a great draft.
Best of luck in Las Vegas and over the course
of free agency, and we look forward to seeing it
summer league.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Thank you, Sam, Thanks again, Jeff.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
One more piece of news to pass along here on
this episode of the AHHC, and that is Summer League
now less than two weeks away, and we have the
official schedule here for the Hornets and Charlotte definitely going
to be one of the featured teams in Las Vegas
for the summer league schedule. Of course, anytime you have
a top five pick, that tends to be the trend.
(07:20):
Charlotte picked fourth with kan Ka Nipple and of course
three other really highly lauded picks. Hornets very much viewed
favorably by the NBA draft pundits out there, most of
them giving the Hornets high marks, if not the highest marks.
But they're going to play some other teams that have
really been in the news quite a bit for their picks.
(07:41):
In one way, shape or form. They're going to start
things off against Utah. Ace Bailey, the number five overall selection,
will be on the Jazz team. So we think that
one's going to tip off the Hornets summer league schedule
on July eleventh, seven pm Eastern tip time. Then the
next day it'll be Conka Nipple versus vj Edgecomb of
the phill Ladelphia seventy six ers. Day off after that,
(08:02):
and then it's a head to head matchup depending on
which lens though you're looking at it, a couple of
former teammates going head to head. Hornets are taking on Dallas,
So Dallas has Cooper Flagg the number one overall pick.
So you can look at it as two duke, actually
three duke. See on James went and played for the
Blue Devils as well as Kanaka Nipple, those two against
(08:23):
former teammate Cooper Flag. Or you can go back to
the mont verd days and say it's Liam McNeely versus
his former teammate. Either way should be a lot of fun.
On July the fourteenth, and then last but not least,
amongst these scheduled games, July the seventeenth, Hornets are going
to take on the San Antonio Spurs. We'll see who
is still playing at that point of Summer League for
(08:43):
all of the squads, and then after that game Charlotte,
we'll see if they're in the knockout rounds. We'll see
what the remainder of the schedule. As always, we will
be reviewing each and every Summer League contest and as
we get closer to it, we will preview NBA Summer League,
especially the Hornets Summer League squad in the coming days.
Also coming up over the next couple of weeks, we
(09:04):
are going to be sitting down with all of the
Hornets draft picks, so look forward to that content coming
up on future episodes of the Hornets Hoodcast. We'll sit
down with first round pick Liam McNeely, fourth overall pick
Conka Nipple, and the two second rounder se On James
and Ryan Caulkbrenner on their initial thoughts about arriving in
Charlotte and joining the Hornets franchise, so lots of great
(09:26):
content for you over the coming days. We thank you,
as always for tuning into our draft coverage. Thanks to
Jeff Peterson for sitting down with us. Thanks to my
producer Rob Longo for putting this podcast together. Most of all,
thanks to all of you for tuning, and we will
talk to you in a few days as we sit
down with the newly acquired Hornets draft picks. Till then,
for everyone here, I'm Sam Farber saying it's been a pleasure,
(09:48):
in a privilege having you along and we'll talk to
you next time right here on the Hornets Ivecast.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Thank you for listening to the Hornets Podcast, brought to
you by SENTA, the official i ear nosen Throadcare provide
of the Charlotte Hornets. For more coverage, visit Hornets dot com.
Hosts And Creators
Sam Farber
Rob Longo
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