3 Ways the Charlotte Hornets Can Use Their Cap Space Without Signing a Free Agent

Philadelphia 76ers

After two blockbuster trades two seasons ago that netted Philadelphia Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler, the Sixers were sent home following one of the most heart-breaking game 7 buzzer-beaters in playoff history that same year.

Philadelphia swung big in the 2019 offseason. Losing Butler to Miami and signing Harris and veteran free agent big man Al Horford to max contracts, the team went all-in on a starting lineup that averaged almost 6’9” in height in a league that has gotten progressively smaller.

With a baffling 31-4 home and 12-26 away record, the Sixers weren’t able to consistently live up to high preseason expectations, and an injury to all-star utility man Ben Simmons in the restart bubble that kept him out of the playoffs resulted in a disappointing first-round sweep by their division rival Boston Celtics.

With the subsequent firing of longtime coach Brett Brown and serendipitous hiring of ex-Clippers coach Doc Rivers, the Sixers may look to use their collection of picks and skilled young players to retool their roster for the 2020-21 campaign. Sitting on four massive max contracts with Simmons’ extension going into effect, the Sixers are well over the previous year’s luxury tax line.

Enter the Charlotte Hornets.

While Terry Rozier’s 3 year, $56.7 million contract last offseason was panned by fans and media personnel at the time of signing, Rozier has quieted many of his critics. He had a career year from 3 last season in both volume and efficiency, and was in the 96th percentile for catch and shoot 3 point percentage with a minimum of 3 attempts per game per NBA Advanced Stats (ranking only behind coveted shooting specialists Seth Curry, JJ Redick, C.J. McCollum, and Duncan Robinson).

Rozier was brought to Charlotte with intentions to make him the starting point guard, but the emergence of Devonte’ Graham at that position slid him progressively into the role of an off-ball shooter and secondary ball handler.

The optics of moving a quasi-free agent acquisition so quickly in a free agent desert like Charlotte aren’t ideal. Etiquette notwithstanding,  you never know when a career year is an aberration or a trend. Rozier’s value may never be higher if the Hornets decide to give more guard minutes to young players like Malik Monk and Cody Martin. The centerpiece for any Charlotte-Philadelphia trade would be Horford for Rozier, with varying picks and players augmenting it on both sides.

Horford is useful to the Charlotte Hornets as a veteran player, a high-IQ defensive anchor, and a stretch center that can elevate their lackluster 3 point shooting. If they draft James Wiseman with the 3rd pick, Horford is one of the best potential mentors for him among active big men.

While Horford is being paid an exorbitant amount for his level of production as an aging player and a bad fit for Philadelphia’s spacing-deprived roster, the last year of his contract has only $14.5 million guaranteed. If Horford’s performance improves in a new situation, it’s possible to trade him to a desperate team in his last year either as an expiring contract or veteran bench player for a small package. As-is, he is a negative asset whose contract needs assets attached to absorb.

Rozier is useful to Philadelphia as an elite catch and shoot player off the ball (Ben Simmons led the league in 3 pointers assisted last season), and as a secondary ball-handler who can take some of that burden off of Simmons. He also makes nearly $9 million less next season than Horford, and has a shorter contract by a year:

• CHA receives Horford, Zhaire Smith, 2020 PHI picks 34 and 36 OR 2020 21st pick. PHI receives Rozier and a $8.6 million traded player exception.

In this scenario, the Hornets are quickly able to turn the trade into on-court potential. With two good second-round picks or the mid-late first-rounder, they could either take a lot of shots at finding a valuable player in those ranges or package those picks with their own high second-rounder to get another higher first-round pick.

The financial burden of taking on Horford is balanced by the cost-controlled nature of rookie contracts. At only 21 years of age, Zhaire Smith is the kind of high-potential reclamation project (a la Josh Jackson and TJ Warren) who can benefit from the extra minutes he’s able to find on a rebuilding team in Charlotte. He fits the Hornets’ timeline and can help turn the tide of the franchise if he hits on even a small scoring role off the bench.

This trade also nets Philly an $8.8 million traded player exception they can use to later upgrade the roster, and assumes they look to use that exception or free agency for a backup center.

•  CHA receives Horford, Zhaire Smith, Furkan Korkmaz, Mike Scott, 2020 PHI picks 34 and 36 OR 2020 21st pick. PHI receives Rozier and Cody Zeller

A variation of the first trade, this might be a deal PHI is looking to work if the free-agent backup center market doesn’t look promising. With an injury-prone big man in Joel Embiid, PHI relies on a backup that can fill valuable minutes as well as start when necessary.

While Zeller has had his own injury concerns in the past, he is an experienced, quality frontcourt player who puts in good minutes across the board and would instantly be one of the most qualified backups in the league. PHI would inherit his Bird rights, but he would be an expiring contract at the end of the year.

While Scott is more of a salary filler in this trade for the Charlotte Hornets, Korkmaz is a young wing who shot very efficiently from 3 last year and has shown growth defensively and with the ball in his hands. While he’s on the last year of his contract, his age fits the Hornets’ timeline as well and the team would have his Bird rights to work with.