B/R proposes that the Charlotte Hornets should trade for Chris Paul

Bleacher Report proposed a trade for each team that wasn’t invited to finish the season in Orlando, Florida. The trade for the Charlotte Hornets was almost shocking.

Heading into July, the Charlotte Hornets were one of the eight teams that were not chosen to finish the season in Orlando, Florida. The league only allowed the 22 best teams to travel; the Hornets were ranked #23.

As of now, each team that was not chosen to finish the season will have nothing to do for a few months. The season is set to start back in late July, while free agency and the NBA Draft will not start until October.

However, Bleacher Report kept each team that did not get to finish the season in mind by making trade scenarios for each. For the Hornets, Bleacher Report proposed that the team should trade for Chris Paul.

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In this proposal, the Hornets would send Nicolas Batum, Cody Zeller and a first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In return, the team would only receive Paul, who averaged 17.7 points and 6.8 assists per game this season.

Bleacher Report made a point to let fans know that Paul has roots in North Carolina. They also pointed out that he was drafted by the Hornets (New Orleans), which has nothing to do with the current Hornets organization.

When looking at this proposal, a fan’s automatic answer will likely be no. What makes this trade very interesting is the fact that the Hornets would be dropping two huge contracts for Paul’s monster one.

Paul is set to make $41 million during the 2020-21 season. Giving up Batum and Zeller would give the Hornets $40 million in cap space, but the team would still lose one-million by trading for Paul. As of now, Paul is not set to become a free agent until 2022; he could make $80 million before then,

The Hornets are so close to finally clearing the bad contracts that they have on their roster. Taking on another big one may not be in the team’s best interest right now. General Manager Mitch Kupchak may not be looking to bring in another huge contract.

Moreover, bringing in Paul would make Coach James Borrego shift his rotation even more. With his contract, Paul would likely be a starter, meaning one of the Hornets’ starting guards would have to be moved to the bench.

This trade would also require the Hornets to give up a first-round draft pick. As of now, the Hornets may not be looking to trade their pick, as they’re trying to put together a roster of young talent.

A trade like this would be hard for the Charlotte Hornets to make, and I’m sure fans would voice their displeasure in seeing this trade happen. Do you like Bleacher Report’s trade idea for the Hornets?