Hornets should capitalize on Dejounte Murray trade with blockbuster deal

The Atlanta Hawks traded Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans for Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, and two first-round picks, and the Charlotte Hornets should be ready to capitalize on the things that follow.

After the deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Pelicans’ plan is to build around Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum, and they are trying to figure things out with Brandon Ingram.

That last sentence is where the Hornets could step in. If the Hornets want to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference next season, they could jump in and try to make a deal for Ingram.

Hornets should capitalize on Dejounte Murray trade by making deal for Brandon Ingram

There have been rumblings that the Pelicans could look to move Ingram this summer, as he is entering the final year of his contract. It could be worth it for the Hornets to make a move.

Bringing Ingram into the mix would give the Hornets a great scoring punch in the starting lineup and could help fill out a rotation that would be able to compete for a Play-In Tournament spot in the East.

Charlotte could roll out a lineup of LaMelo Ball, Ingram, Brandon Miller, Tidjane Salaun, and Mark Williams while bringing Grant Williams off the bench.

With Murray in place, the Pelicans may try to keep Ingram around to cement their core, but if they can’t get a deal done, they would likely be forced to trade him rather than lose him for nothing.

The question is, what would the Hornets be willing to give up in a trade? Perhaps they could entice the Pelicans with a Miles Bridges sign-and-trade, or maybe New Orleans would rather bring in smaller salaries and take back more draft picks.

With Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III in place, the Hornets have a pretty crowded wing position, but the Hornets could use the extra talent.

Ingram’s mid-range scoring and additional ball-handling would be very useful for the Hornets. If Ball is healthy, the Hornets will have a secondary ball-handler and scorer, but if he gets hurt, they will still have a great option to run their offense through.

A trade for Ingram could help the Hornets finally make the playoffs again for the first time since the Kemba Walker years.