Would the Charlotte Hornets trade Terry Rozier to the Houston Rockets?

As the offseason is set to occur at a later period in time, the Charlotte Hornets will have the opportunity to look at many possible trades.

During times like these, basketball fans look at many aspects of the NBA. For example, fans may explore potential trades for the Charlotte Hornets. Many fans understand that it’s been a while since the Hornets have made any move.

Recently, Bleacher Report did a piece on one course-changing trade that every NBA team could make. This article was full of potential trades that NBA General Managers could take a look at.

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One of the trade ideas in this article was about the Hornets making a trade with the Houston Rockets. In this trade, the Hornets would send Terry Rozier to the Rockets, in exchange for Eric Gordon and a 2021 second-round pick.

In order to make this trade, the Hornets would need to be confident in Devonte’ Graham to lead the team as its starting point guard. This trade would enable the Hornets to dump Rozier’s salary, but the team would pick up Gordon’s not-so-attractive contract as well.

This trade is not random, as the Hornets had an interest in trading for Gordon last year in July. Since a trade between the teams never happened, that does not mean the Hornets have stopped looking at him.

For Mitch Kupchak to trade Rozier to the Rockets, it would require a lot of guts, due to Rozier’s current scoring production. In just 63 games, Rozier has averaged 18.0 points, 4.1 assist, and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Rozier is currently one of the team’s leading scorers, and his departure would make a huge dent in the Hornets’ starting lineup. The Hornets would likely be getting Gordon as a starting shooting guard; however, he saw a lot of bench minutes during this season in Houston.

Sending Rozier to the Rockets would ultimately make him the sixth man of the team, and would dramatically improve their team. This situation would not be new to Rozier, as he’s played behind previous All-Stars in the past with the Boston Celtics.

Moreover, at 31 years old, Gordon could still have some gas in the tank. During this season, Gordon averaged 14.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Gordon has also seen a decrease in his shooting percentages.

Gordon got put in a lot of tough situations with the Rockets this season, as the team primarily switched to small ball. Along with the deduction in minutes, the Rockets’ rotation could’ve also played an impact in how consistent he was.

Trading for Gordon allows the Hornets to get a seasoned veteran that brings a little more size to the guard position. Currently, the tallest guard on the Hornets is Malik Monk, who’s 6’3.

As a consistent shooter, Gordon could be a great mentor to Monk, who’s been dealing with his own shooting woes. At a 28% three-point percentage, Monk has shot a career-low in this category this season.

If the Hornets are looking at shaking up their roster so Graham can be the team’s main point guard, then this trade may be the one to make. However, I do not see this trade happening because of Rozier’s role on the team.

With that said, a trade between the Hornets and Rockets should not be off the table. Mitch Kupchak and Mike D’Antoni have a history, and they both could still have a great direct line of communication between each other.