5 Trades where the Hornets completely fleeced their trade partner
By Jack Simone
3. Got Stephen Jackson from Warriors for Raja Bell
Going way back in time for this one, the Charlotte Hornets technically didn’t make this trade: The Charlotte Bobcats did. In 2009, the then-Bobcats traded Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic to the Golden State Warriors for Stephen Jackson and Acie Law.
According to Marc Stein, who was then writing for ESPN, the deal was made in spite of Jackson’s wishes. He had become disgruntled in Golden State and wanted to go to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Instead, the Warriors sent him to Charlotte.
Bell only ever played one game for the Warriors, and while Radmanovic played some solid minutes for Golden State, it was nothing compared to Jackson’s impact in Charlotte.
Jackson was only a Bobcat for a short period of time, but during his stint with the team, he played some of the best minutes of his career. He finished 12th in MVP voting the year he was traded to the Hornets at the deadline.
He helped the Hornets cap off a playoff push in his first season there, and while he wasn’t able to bring them back to the postseason the following year, Charlotte got some value out of him the following summer.
They traded him in a three-team that saw them land Corey Magette and Bismack Biyombo, who both played real minutes for Charlotte.