5 Trades where the Hornets completely fleeced their trade partner

4. Hornets trade up to select Emeka Okafor

Calling any deal that landed Emeka Okafor a “fleece” seems a bit weird, but he was a genuinely impactful player for the Charlotte Bobcats for a long time, and they had to trade up to select him.

At the time, the Bobcats were in the midst of being added to the NBA, and they had the fourth pick in the draft. Meanwhile, the LA Clippers owned the second overall pick.

So, the Bobcats made a move. They send the fourth pick and a second-rounder to the Clippers while also agreeing not to select Predrag Drobnjak in the expansion draft in exchange for the second pick.

With that pick, they added Okafor, who was a staple of Charlotte’s rotation for the better part of a decade. He took home the Rookie of the Year award in his first year and 11th in Defensive Player of the Year voting in his third season.

Okafor was a double-double machine early on in his career, and Shaun Livingston, who the Clippers ended up picking with the fourth selection, dealt with injuries in the first few years of his career.

Livingston probably would have carved out a solid role in Charlotte, but considering his injuries, Okafor’s success, and the fact that Drobnjak only played one season with the Clippers, this deal was a win for the then-Bobcats.