Charlotte Hornets should look at trading for Steven Adams

Many teams have made trades during the offseason so far. The Charlotte Hornets could get in on the action if they make a trade for Steven Adams.

The Charlotte Hornets have not had a lot of luck this offseason, but they could make a trade for a veteran center. Most of the league’s stars have found their new homes, and that’s left players like Steven Adams available to be traded away.

It’s clear that the Oklahoma City Thunder are in a full rebuild after trading Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets, and Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers. The last of the Thunder’s trio is Adams, and he could be on the trade block as well.

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Steven Adams is entering his 7th season in the league, and he will likely not be on the Thunder next season. Last season was easily the best year of his career as he averaged 13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds per game, and 1.5 steals per game.

He is also good at making shots, as he has averaged a shooting percentage of 58% for his entire career. He’s not a good spot up shooter, but he could be a force in the paint for Charlotte.

Adams is entering the third year of his 4-year $100 million dollar deal that he signed with the Thunder in 2017. The Thunder could be looking to trade him away so that they can pick up some expiring deals.

The Thunder have a young center backing up Adams, and it could prompt them to trade him since they have some insurance. The perfect team that can trade for him would be the Charlotte Hornets, as they currently need help in their frontcourt.

The Hornets have a variety of players who have expiring contracts that they can trade. Key players who will be playing with expiring deals next season are Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Nicolas Batum, and Bismack Biyombo.

The Hornets were ranked 23rd in defense last season, while also being ranked 22nd in rebounds per game. Their rebounding numbers dropped dramatically after the team traded away Dwight Howard during last season’s offseason (was #3 in rebounds per game in 2017-18 season).

Adams would be a nice addition to the frontcourt, and he’s without a doubt better than the team’s current centers. He does a lot of things that the Hornets’ current bigs can’t do, such as playing terrific defense and rebounding the basketball.

Coach Borrego told reporters after the season was over that he wanted to see the frontcourt upgraded defensively. The team has yet to upgrade their frontcourt with defense, so Adams is the perfect candidate.

Adams is by far not a superstar, but he could dramatically help the Hornets in many of the aforementioned areas. I would like to see him traded to Charlotte because he could be a nice influence on Charlotte’s younger players as well.

This is not an impossible trade, so it could really happen if the Hornets decide to take a shot. I wouldn’t expect too much to be given up in a deal for Adams. If he joins Charlotte, I think he will also get more personal scoring opportunities.

It’s time to give someone else a chance at being the starting center. Cody Zeller has not been a dominant force in the paint, and he has hurt Charlotte with his chronic injuries. I love Cody, but it’s time for a new starter; he’s also missed 82 games in the last two seasons.

I would like to see Adams get this opportunity, and this trade would help Charlotte get rid of some of their non-productive expiring contracts. With the Thunder making these trades lately, I could see Adams being traded before July is up.