Ranking the 3 Hornets that are most likely to be traded this offseason

With the NBA offseason right around the corner, it will be interesting to see what the Charlotte Hornets do to rebuild or re-tool their roster. Obtaining the second overall pick in the upcoming draft was a nice boost to begin the summer, but more will need to be done.

This year’s free agency class isn’t stacked with talent, and anyone Charlotte selects with their other four draft picks will need time to acclimate to the NBA and develop. So, it’s fair to assume that we could see the Hornets enter the trade market in an attempt to begin their roster re-shuffle.

The bigger question is, who are the likely candidates to be traded by the Hornets, and why? Here are three members of the Hornets roster who could be traded this offseason.

#3 The Charlotte Hornets could trade James Bouknight

Since being drafted with the 11th overall pick in 2021, James Bouknight has struggled to replicate the production he flashed when with the UCONN Huskies. The six-foot-five guard has struggled to find his rhythm and is still learning how to control his pace at the NBA level, much to the disgruntlement of Hornets fans.

Over his first two seasons in the league, Bouknight has seen an NBA floor on 65 occasions, averaging 5.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1 assist per game while shooting 35.3% from the field and 31.6% from the perimeter. Surely the Hornets front office was expecting more when they took Bouknight in the lottery.

Fortunately, Bouknight is still young enough to figure things out, and given the potential he flashed during his collegiate career, it might be worth giving him another year to prove himself. However, former lottery picks that are still young enough to ‘pop’ generally have some upside to them in trade discussions, so we could see Bouknight be used as a makeweight in a potential trade for a more established prospect over the summer.