After securing a top-2 selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets have every reason to begin rebuilding their roster around LaMelo Ball. Regardless of whether it’s Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller, the Hornets will be adding a future All-Star talent to their rotation on draft night.
Perhaps Charlotte will also add another ready-made contributor with the 27th pick, or they make a splash in free agency. Frankly, the Hornets have options. However, if Mitch Kupchak really wants to shake things up this summer, most of his work will be done in the trade market.
Fortunately, the Hornets have a bevy of tradable assets, ranging from a surplus of draft picks, young talent that hasn’t figured it out yet, all the way to veteran contributors on expiring deals. As such, here are the Hornet’s top-5 trade assets heading into the 2023 off-season.
#5 Terry Rozier is a trade option for the Charlotte Hornets
Entering the second year of a $96 million contract extension, Terry Rozier is a veteran guard under team control, which makes him a valuable asset in trade discussions. A genuine ball-handler with three-level scoring capabilities, Rozier could be deemed a difference-maker by contending teams around the league or a team that is looking to upgrade their guard position in order to make a push next season.
Given Rozier’s age (29), and the interest he drew around the trade deadline, the Hornets could potentially look to cash in on the veteran guard to open up additional minutes in their guard rotation. However, due to Rozier’s proven fit alongside LaMelo, the Hornets won’t be in a rush to move on from him, and any potential deal would have to make sense.
It’s worth noting, though, that Rozier isn’t a high-level defender, meaning a potential trade could open the door to adding a legitimate lockdown perimeter guard to help empower LaMelo on the offensive end – similar to what the Atlanta Hawks thought they were doing when they acquired Dejounte Murray last summer.
#4 James Bouknight could need a fresh start away from the Charlotte Hornets
When the Charlotte Hornets drafted James Bouknight from the UCONN Huskies in 2021, they thought they were getting a fearless scorer who had the potential to put up points in bunches and take over games. To this point, though, things haven’t worked out as planned, as Bouknight has found the step-up to the NBA a difficult transition.
Just because Bouknight has struggled in his first two years doesn’t mean he won’t figure things out though. The question is, will he figure them out while with Charlotte? In two seasons, Bouknight has played in 65 games as he struggles to crack the rotation behind LaMelo, Rozier, and, this season, Dennis Smith Jr.
Of course, injuries have played their part in Bouknight’s slow start in the NBA and are a legitimate reason why he hasn’t seen the court more frequently. However, NBA front offices appear to love the notion of being the team that helped a guy figure things out in the league, so Bouknight is probably a reasonable trade asset due to his potential, status as a recent lottery pick, and team-controlled salary until 2025 (with the 2024-25 season being a team option.)
#4 The Charlotte Hornets could package some of their 2023 draft picks
Outside of owning the 2nd overall pick in the upcoming draft, the Charlotte Hornets also boast the 27th, 34th, 39th, and 42nd selections. If we’re being honest, it’s highly unlikely the front office keeps all of those draft picks, so it would make more sense if the team looked to package some of them into a trade.
The question then becomes, do the Hornets look to move up in the first round or add a proven talent from a team that’s looking to get younger? Either route will have its pros and cons, but both make sense from a team-building sample.
Personally, I would like to see Charlotte use some of their picks to get into the early 20s, where they can take a run at acquiring Michigan Wolverines’ wing Jett Howard, or maybe the Hornets add Bouknight into a potential deal to slide into the late lottery in order to acquire draft combine standout Amari Bailey.
Regardless of what Kupchak decides to do, having so many selections in the upcoming draft ensures the Hornets have multiple avenues to improving their current core of young talent.
#3 Nick Richards is used as a sweetener in a Charlotte Hornets trade
Both Mark Williams and Nick Richards enjoyed somewhat of a breakout year for the Charlotte Hornets this past season. However, it’s clear that Williams will likely be the starting big man of the future for the Hornets, with Richard’s being their primary bench big man.
Sure, Richards is currently the more polished player of the two, but he also boasts less upside than Williams, who flashed a more polished game, but he doesn’t appear to have the upside Williams does, especially when it comes to expanding his shooting profile. Add in Richards’ team control for the next three seasons courtesy of a $15 million extension, and suddenly he becomes a desirable asset in trade discussions.
Clearly, Richards isn’t going to be the centerpiece of a potential trade for the Hornets, but his presence in an offer could be the type of sweetener that sees Kupchak get a deal over the line. After all, who doesn’t want a young center with upside as a reliable role player on a team-friendly deal? Still, if you ask me, keeping Richards around, at least for this season, makes far more sense than packaging him a trade – unless you’re getting a genuine talent boost, of course.
#2 The Charlotte Hornets end the Gordon Hayward experiment
As he enters the final year of his $120 million deal, Gordon Hayward will be seen as a desirable trade chip for the Charlotte Hornets. When healthy, the former All-Star is a valuable veteran who can provide secondary ball-handling, solid perimeter defense and is capable of being a featured offensive piece on a team.
The problem is health has eluded the veteran over the past five or six years, at least consistent health. Hayward consistently misses between 20 and 30 games per season for one reason or another, which has limited his ability to generate a rhythm on the floor, and, thus, ensures we seldom see his full potential on display.
For the Hornets, who had hoped Hayward would be their star player – or second star after they drafted LaMelo, Hayward’s health has been a big blow. Yet, for a team that is looking to add some extra firepower, potentially off the bench, and is willing to absorb the final year of his deal to do so, Hayward could be seen as an ideal trade candidate.
Furthermore, cap space teams looking to take on a bad contract in return for some draft assets and young talent could also be interested in acquiring Hayward, especially if it means adding someone like Bouknight or Kai Jones along with some late first and early second-round draft picks.
#1 The Charlotte Hornets 2023 2nd-overall draft pick
If you thought LaMelo Ball was going to be listed as the Charlotte Hornets’ most tradeable asset, you would be wrong – not because he isn’t, but more because he shouldn’t even be considered as a potential trade piece. In my eyes, LaMelo is untouchable unless he specifically requests out.
As such, Charlotte’s upcoming 2nd overall draft selection ranks as their biggest trade asset of the summer. While it’s unlikely the Hornets decide to move on from being able to add someone like Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller, the front office will certainly field calls about a potential trade.
Still, as Kupchak stated after the draft lottery, there is always a temptation to try and trade up in the draft or even to land a ready-made star should the right deal become available.
"“Yeah, there’s a temptation [to trade up]. I just don’t think that’s realistic, to be honest with you,” Kupchak said. “If we had the number one pick, I would take phone calls because that’s my job, but I probably wouldn’t listen very hard.”"
I would expect we see the Hornets keep their 2nd pick and select a future star to pair with LaMelo, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be options on the table on draft night. What those options are, though, we will likely never know.