Throughout the years, the Charlotte Hornets have made many questionable decisions. One of them was trading former All-Star Gerald Wallace.
The Charlotte Hornets have made many questionable trades in the past. Many of these trades have caused fans to wonder what the organization was thinking when they made them.
One trade that was unpopular was the one where the Hornets (Bobcats) sent Gerald Wallace to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2011. In this trade, Charlotte received Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, Joel Przybilla, cash, a 2011 1st round draft pick, and a 2014 1st round draft pick.
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At that time, the Hornets definitely won the trade because of the amount of draft picks that the team got in return. However, those draft picks actually proved to be worthless, as the trade made no significant change to the team’s future.
All of the players that the team got only stayed with Charlotte for a short amount of time. The draft picks that the team got would only turn into Tobias Harris and Shabazz Napier.
Moreover, Harris was a part of a three-team trade and was traded on draft night to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Corey Maggette and the pick used to select Bismack Biyombo. Napier would also be traded on draft night to the Miami Heat for Semaj Christon, P.J. Hairston, and a 2nd round pick.
While the team was looking to build for the future by trading Wallace, Charlotte was unsuccessful. The team failed to receive anything valuable in return, and the team traded almost all of the draft picks that were received from Portland.
Even though Charlotte was not doing well during the 2010-2011 season, I can understand why they made the trade. What’s sad, is that Wallace would’ve likely been paired with the team’s future franchise player a season after if he was not traded.
During the season that Wallace was traded in, he managed to start in all games that he played in with Charlotte. Wallace averaged 15.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Wallace spent six and a half seasons with Charlotte after signing with the team in 2004. During his time with the Bobcats, Wallace averaged 16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. Wallace was an electrifying dunker, and he proved that he was one of the franchise’s best defensive players.
If Wallace was not traded, he could’ve had the opportunity to play with Kemba Walker. However, keeping Wallace could’ve changed the future decisions that Charlotte made. Wallace ended his time in Charlotte by playing in 454 games; he’s ranked 4th in all-time games played in for Charlotte.
Looking back at this trade, do you think the Charlotte Hornets made the right choice? Do you think that what the Hornets got in return actually managed to help the team’s future? Let us know your thoughts on this trade by tweeting us at @SwarmnSting.