Charlotte Hornets: 3 Blockbuster trades to explore this offseason

Charlotte Hornets get their centerpiece from Minnesota, make deal for Karl-Anthony Towns

https://tradenba.com/trades/xbeGCQBj-

In the summer of 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a star big man on their roster (Kevin Garnett) but had struggled to translate it into much in the way of team success. The Timberwolves eventually traded that star big man for a haul that included five players and two draft picks, and he helped his new team win the NBA Championship the next season.

Now, in the summer of 2021, the Timberwolves find themselves in a similar situation. Karl-Anthony Towns has been in Minnesota for six seasons while the team has managed to qualify for the playoffs just once. The Timberwolves now come off of a year in which they finished in 13th place in the Western Conference, 10 games out of the NBA’s play-in tournament.

There is no denying that Towns is one of the league’s premier big men and would immediately vault the Hornets up a few rungs in the Eastern Conference hierarchy. A two-time All-Star and still young at the age of 25, Towns would immediately form one of the league’s most exciting star tandems alongside LaMelo Ball. A 25-point and 10-rebound threat on any given night, Towns also led the Timberwolves in PER by a wide margin this past season at 23.13.

To make the deal work, Charlotte would have to part with several assets, the most notable being Terry Rozier. A controversial free agent addition just two years ago, Rozier has pleasantly surprised many of the Hornets’ faithful and led the team in scoring this past season. However, the presence of Ball and the overall depth of the Charlotte backcourt would make Rozier a departure one that the Hornets could stomach.

The Hornets also would give up Caleb and Cody Martin as well as Jalen McDaniels and Vernon Carey Jr. in the deal, mostly in order to help the salaries match. This would give Minnesota a crop of young players who could either develop into rotational pieces or could be used in future trades while not having much impact on Minnesota’s salary cap.

By placing the top five protection on the pick, Charlotte can insure itself against missing out on a transformational prospect; any pick the Hornets could make after the fifth spot would most likely have a ceiling of developing into the level of player that Towns already is.

Charlotte would be adding Towns to a core that includes Ball and Gordon Hayward to form one of the better rosters in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2021-22 season.