We’re officially a week away from the Feb. 10 NBA Trade Deadline and the Charlotte Hornets are one of the teams who everyone is looking at it to make a move. It’s not a certainty that Charlotte make a move, but the team is at that sweet spot of being one of the league’s better young teams that’s super close to truly competing in the playoffs. There’s been a handful of Hornets trade rumors that have gotten some buzz in the past few weeks.
Most Hornets fans, in particular, would probably love to see the team make a move for one of the big-name centers that have been named in trade rumors in the past few weeks.
Despite a random stretch of good defensive form a few weeks ago, the Hornets’ defense has been putrid all season long. The biggest hole is the need for a true defensive center. Mason Plumlee is currently the only true and playable player on the roster who could be considered a traditional center. PJ Washington gets a lot of minutes at the center position but he’s more of a power forward or a small ball five at best.
Neither of those players is the answer at that position long term. Outside of them, you have a handful of young guys with JT Thor, Kai Jones, Nick Richards, and Vernon Carey Jr.
Richards is the only one to have gotten any meaningful playing time. Thor has shown promising flashes but doesn’t have the size yet to bang bodies down low, Jones is like three years away from being ready to play and it would be surprising if Carey finished the season on the team.
Hornets trade rumors: 5 Centers Charlotte can trade for that could make the Hornets contenders
The center position is without a doubt the number one issue on this team and it’s not out of the question to think that if the Hornets brought in a good enough player, they could turn the corner and be true contenders in the Eastern Conference.
In this article, we will look at five players who might be available and could potentially move the needle for the Hornets if they chose to go in the direction of putting all their chips in.
In no particular order, but sort of in a particular order.