Grading what the Hornets did at the NBA trade deadline

It was a busy trade season in Charlotte, one that marked a dramatic shift in strategy from the Hornets as an organization. It was the first deadline for the new ownership group, and reports indicate they were leading the decisions.

The moves made, and not made, show that the team is finally embracing a full teardown. Hitting the reset button has been the correct move for years, and although it would have been better to realize this and act accordingly years ago, I guess it’s better late than never.

At this point, it’s only fair to grade the moves in a vacuum, and not lament past actions and inactions. The new owners have made it clear that things are different now and they can’t go back and change past moves made by a previous regime.

With that in mind, here is my report card and final grade for the Hornets trades at the deadline and the big one that didn’t happen.

Move #1:

Grade: A-

Although this obviously happened several weeks before the deadline it was still a huge part of the plan and execution by the new braintrust in Charlotte. The trade seemed like a good one at the time, and now it seems even better after seeing the lack of first-round picks that ended up being dealt.

It’s safe to say the Hornets got very fair value for Terry, who has struggled in his early days in Miami. While Terry was a beloved Hornet, he had several years left on a fairly large contract and was blocking the path to development for younger players.

Getting a first-round pick to solve that problem was a massive win, and paved the way for the rest of their moves. If they could have found a way to move Lowry for something else then I would have bumped this deal up to an ‘A’ grade, but it was still a great deal and an excellent first move for the start of what will be a long process.