Hornets Roster Crunch Deathmatch

5 Players, 1 Roster Spot, Who Will Make It?

The Hornets officially signed rookies Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner to standard NBA contracts yesterday, pushing the roster total to 19 players—four above the regular-season limit of 15. With no obvious path to a consolidation trade, Charlotte now faces a difficult roster crunch situation.

A three-for-one deal would be the cleanest solution, but pulling that off is easier said than done—especially since the Hornets will be looking to move fringe rotation players from a bad team. More realistically, the front office will need to waive, stretch, or offload players in smaller trades to meet roster requirements.

I've narrowed the field to five players I believe are most likely to be on the chopping block. Only one looks like a solid bet to stick. Let’s break down the candidates and their situations.