Coby White will miss the Hornets preseason with a calf strain and Dennis Schroder takes the point guard job

The Charlotte Hornets' post-LaMelo Ball backcourt took another hit before its first exhibition. Coby White suffered a left calf strain during training camp and will miss all of Charlotte's preseason games, the team announced Monday, with further updates to come "as appropriate." The Hornets open their preseason Tuesday night at Spectrum Center against the Brooklyn Nets, and they will do it without their projected starting point guard.

Dennis Schroder, acquired from Cleveland in August, is expected to start at point guard during the preseason, with No. 18 overall pick Christian Anderson Jr. in line for more backup minutes. Charlotte has not said whether White will be ready for the regular-season opener on Wednesday, Oct. 21, in Brooklyn.

Why White matters so much to Charlotte

White is the player the Hornets chose to build the backcourt around after trading Ball to Minnesota in June. Charlotte acquired White from Chicago before last season's February trade deadline, and he gave them a scoring punch, averaging 15.6 points and shooting 39% from three in 21 games. The Hornets made re-signing him a priority this summer and landed him on a three-year, $74 million deal.

The plan was simple: White runs the offense, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel score on the wings, and Naz Reid and Moussa Diabate handle the frontcourt. That plan has now lost two of its four perimeter pieces for the entire preseason.

Calf strains are also a recurring theme for White. He dealt with a calf injury while with the Bulls in the fall of 2025, and calf issues have a habit of lingering when players rush back. Charlotte has just over two weeks before the opener, which is enough time for a mild strain but leaves little margin if he suffers any setback.

Charlotte's preseason injury list

White joins Knueppel and Grant Williams, who were ruled out for the preseason with hamstring injuries in late September. Knueppel hurt his left hamstring and Williams his right during on-court workouts, and both are scheduled to be reevaluated during the first week of the season. The team has said both are making progress in their recoveries.

That means Charlotte will spend its exhibition schedule without its starting point guard, last season's breakout rookie and a rotation forward. The Hornets play at Brooklyn on Oct. 21 and host Atlanta two days later.

The Brandon Miller extension is the other Charlotte storyline

While the injury news piles up, the Hornets' biggest off-court decision is close. The rookie-scale extension deadline for the 2023 draft class is Oct. 19, and Marc Stein of The Stein Line has reported that Charlotte is expected to sign Miller, the No. 2 pick in that draft, to an extension "in the coming days."

Miller is coming off his best season: 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 65 games, shooting 43.5% from the field and 38.3% from three. Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus has projected a five-year deal worth about $191 million, while other reports have pointed to the five-year, $208 million extension Amen Thompson reportedly received from Houston as a likely comparison.

The extension market so far:

For fantasy purposes, an extension does not change Miller's role. What it does is lock in the franchise's direction: this is now Miller's team, and with White and Knueppel sidelined during the preseason, he will be the focal point of every half-court possession Charlotte runs over the next two weeks.

Fantasy fallout

Coby White: The good news is the timeline. A strain that sidelines him for the preseason does not automatically threaten opening night, and the Hornets have every reason to be cautious in exhibition games. The bad news is that calf strains are unpredictable, and White has a history with them. In drafts this week, nudge him down a round or two rather than off your board. His upside as the starting point guard on a team that has to replace Ball's usage is still real once he is healthy.

Dennis Schroder: He goes from backup to the most likely opening-night starter if White is not ready. Schroder has a long track record of producing points and assists when handed the keys, and Charlotte's lack of healthy ball handlers gives him a clear path to minutes. He is a late-round pick or early waiver target in deeper leagues, especially in points formats. His value shrinks quickly once White returns, so treat him as a short-term asset.

Christian Anderson Jr.: The No. 18 pick out of Texas Tech was a third-team All-American who averaged 18.5 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 41.5% from three as a sophomore. Size questions followed him into the draft, but the preseason now gives him meaningful reps as the backup point guard. He is a dynasty stash and a deep-league watch-list name, not a standard-league pick yet.

Brandon Miller: Already the Hornets' first option, Miller's usage should be as high as it has been in his career early in the season if White or Knueppel miss any regular-season time. He is a confident pick at his current draft slot, and the preseason injuries only reinforce his role.

Kon Knueppel: His ADP has already been sliding during the preseason, falling from roughly 38.7 to 44.9 in RotoWire's tracking between Sept. 20 and Oct. 4. With a reevaluation set for the first week of the season, there is a real chance he misses some October games. That makes him a buy-the-dip candidate for patient managers in the fourth or fifth round, not a reach.

What to do in your league

Draft Miller with confidence. Take White a little later than planned and pair him with a guard who can cover the first week or two if he is not ready. If you are in a deep league or a points league, Schroder is worth a late pick as insurance, and he could be a free waiver addition in shallower formats after drafts.

For bettors looking ahead to the opener, Charlotte's availability in Brooklyn is the key variable. A Hornets team without White and Knueppel is a very different matchup than the full version, and early lines should move on any update from the team. Readers can find the model's game-by-game outlook once the season begins at /nba/predictions.

What's next

Watch for three things over the next two weeks. First, whether White returns to practice in any capacity before the Oct. 21 opener. Second, how the Hornets split point guard minutes between Schroder and Anderson in preseason games, starting Tuesday against Brooklyn. Third, the Miller extension, which must be completed by Oct. 19 and, by Stein's reporting, could come any day now.

If White is ruled out for the opener, Schroder becomes a strong short-term pickup, and Miller's early-season usage climbs even higher.