Charlotte Hornets: Could a trade for Nikola Vucevic work?

After all of their offseason upgrades, are the Charlotte Hornets still eager to add more firepower to the team?

It’s no surprise that the Charlotte Hornets are gearing up for a strong season after their offseason moves. The team’s additions of LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward have brought about a new excitement about Hornets basketball.

Even with their strong additions, the team could still be gearing up to make another upgrade at any time. On Monday, Bleacher Report did an article about blockbuster trades ideas that could occur before the season starts.

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When looking at this list of trades, fans will be able to see that the Hornets were included. In Charlotte’s trade scenario, the team would send the Orlando Magic: Terry Rozier, Cody Zeller, and a 2021 lottery-protected first-round pick.

In exchange for these assets, the Hornets would receive Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu from the Magic. Fans of the NBA South East division know about how Vucevic has become a consistent option for the Magic.

The former All-Star center had another great year last season, as he averaged 19.6 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. As one of the best players on the Magic, a lot of the team’s success was due to his impressive offensive play.

Some key percentages barely dropped for Vucevic this past season, but he still saw a lot of personal success. With the right team, he could be potentially looking at having another All-Star quality season.

This idea to acquire Vucevic from the Magic works because it gives Orlando a consistent scorer with Rozier and helps fill a small void at center Zeller; not to mention their head coach was very fond of Zeller, as he was taken in the top-5 when Steve Clifford was with the Hornets.

Vucevic is set to average $24 million over the next three seasons. While this would be another huge contract to take on, Charlotte would also be dumping Rozier’s contract, as well as Zeller’s expiring one.

A trade of this magnitude would significantly improve the Hornets’ offense and would slightly help them in interior defense and rebounding. Even though the center position is the weakest link of the team, would the Hornets take on another big contract?

The NBA’s regular season is set to begin on Tuesday, and teams will need to be ready. The Charlotte Hornets are set to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night on the road.