Why the Charlotte Hornets will be buyers at the trade deadline

Looking at the Charlotte Hornets’ recent history and their current situation, it’s easy to see why they should be buyers this year.

With less than half the season left, the Charlotte Hornets are under .500 but showing signs of life. They haven’t made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season and only have three postseason appearances in the last 13 years. The trade deadline is quickly approaching and Rich Cho should be looking to add an asset or two.

This season, the NBA moved up the trade deadline to before the All-Star break which means that Charlotte will have to do their work in the trade market early. The trade deadline will be on February 8th this year. There are plenty of options for the Hornets to target and they have the players and picks to get a deal completed.

The question for every team is if they will be buyers or sellers at the deadline. While Charlotte has a couple reasons to sell including dumping salaries, tanking, acquiring picks and getting a valuable return for Kemba Walker, I think that they should be and will be buyers. Here are three reasons why the Hornets will be buyers this season:

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Trader Cho’s deadline history

In each of the past five seasons, Charlotte’s been buyers at the deadline. They traded for Josh McRoberts in 2012-13, Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour in 2013-14, Mo Williams and Troy Daniels in 2014-15, Courtney Lee in 2015-16 and Miles Plumlee last year. Whether or not all of those trades panned out is up for debate but it’s clear that under Rich Cho, the Hornets have been buyers.

It’s safe to say that this will be the case once again this season. Trader Cho will be scouring the market for a piece that could help the team in the same way that Courtney Lee did two years ago.

High Expectations

Before the season started, most experts picked Charlotte to finish anywhere from the top-four in the East to the top-six. After a miserably slow and poor start to the year, those goals are unlikely. Now, their goal for the remainder of the season will be to win at all costs and hopefully, sneak into the playoffs.

Anything less than a postseason appearance will be a complete disappointment for the franchise. Despite the slow start, those high expectations are still around. To meet their goals, they will need to improve the team. To do so, they may have to risk part of their future. A win-now mentality may not be the smartest approach but if I had to bet, I think the Hornets would rather go in that direction than selling their assets like Kemba Walker and tanking/rebuilding.

Fighting for job security

General Manager, Rich Cho, is in the final year of his contract with the Hornets. It is do or die for him and many other front office figures for Charlotte. If the team fails to make the postseason, there’s no chance that Michael Jordan re-signs him. If they do complete their second-half push for the playoffs, he still could lose his job but there’s a better chance of him keeping it.

The same could also be said for Steve Clifford. Although he still has one more year left on his current deal, missing the postseason for a third consecutive year could put his job in jeopardy. With both the GM and the head coach fighting to save their jobs, it’s a safe bet that they will be even more aggressive in the trade market in hopes that a good more of two will help save their futures in the Queen City.

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Ultimately, we will have to wait to see what the team does leading up to the trade deadline. They could go one of two ways in terms of buying and selling but I don’t see them standing pat and not doing anything. History tells us that the Charlotte Hornets will be involved in a trade or two before it’s all said and done.