Coby White Lands New Hornets Contract After LaMelo Ball Trade, Full Details Revealed in NBA Rumors

After a strong performance for the Charlotte Hornets to close the 2025-26 season, Coby White is returning to the club in free agency.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, White intends to sign a three-year, $74 million contract that will keep him with the Hornets through the 2028-29 season.

White's agreemment comes amid a very busy Thursday for the Hornets that started with LaMelo Ball being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a package headlined by Naz Reid and an unprotected 2033 first-round draft pick.

Once the Ball trade went down, it seemed likely that White would be back with the Hornets to become their starting point guard.

White was acquired by Charlotte from the Chicago Bulls prior to the trade deadline in February. He immediately proved instrumental to the Hornets' late-season run that nearly catapulted the team into the playoffs.

The North Carolina alum averaged 15.6 points on 39.1 percent shooting and 3.0 assists per game in 21 appearances off the bench for the Hornets. He has averaged 15.4 points on 36.9 percent three-point shooting in 472 career games.

Charlotte went 15-6 in those games and finished 44-38 overall, its most wins in a season since 2015-16. The Hornets just missed the postseason after losing to the Orlando Magic in the play-in tournament to determine the No. 8 seed.

Despite the disappointing finish to the season, White had nothing but positive things to say about his return to North Carolina after growing up in the state and playing college basketball for the Tar Heels.

"Obviously, love it here," White told Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. "I think first off, just the people. The people, getting to know the staff and the support staff and training staff, weight room staff, just getting to know all these people, they're just fun to be around. They create a fun environment. They create an environment to where every day you come in here, you look forward to it. You never know what you're going to get."

One byproduct of their late-season success is the Hornets suddenly look like a formidable team with some financial wiggle room going forward, particularly after shedding Ball's contract.

Brandon Miller's future is a little unclear coming off a disappointing season and shoulder surgery in May. He still seems like a safe bet to extend given how well he has played at his peak and only being 23 years old, but the Hornets might be able to negotiate a more team-friendly deal as he heads into the final year of his rookie deal.

There is no significant long-term money on their books for Charlotte going forward. Kon Knueppel still has three years remaining on his rookie deal. Miles Bridges has one year left on his contract.

Things are set up for the Hornets to take a step forward in the Eastern Conference as long as they stay healthy.

White quickly acclimated himself in with this group and will get the chance to continue to grow with them now that he has secured a new contract.