The 2024 offseason has seen the Charlotte Hornets be relatively quiet on the trade front. They have chosen to serve as trade facilitators rather than acquire or unload key players.
However, by participating in the Klay Thompson blockbuster deal, they were able to land a possible starter in Josh Green. The front office also managed to snag two second-round picks in the process.
Charlotte again got involved in a mega-trade, ending up as a winner of the New York Knicks-Minnesota Timberwolves deal. The franchise received a haul of three second-round picks in exchange for being the Knicks' salary dumping ground.
3 Reasons the Hornets will be sellers in the trade market
When the regular season starts, though, the Hornets' strategy may change a bit. Still, the goal of stockpiling draft assets or prospects will likely remain the same.
Some might think that Charlotte should actually try to retain most of its roster, if not bolster it, in the following months. However, several reasons could motivate or compel the front office to ship out by the 2025 trade deadline any of its players, such as Miles Bridges, Nick Richards, Vasilije Micic, Cody Martin, Grant Williams, and Seth Curry.
Keeping the 2025 first-round draft pick is a must
Plenty of experts have deemed the 2024 draft class as one of the weakest in recent memory. However, the crop of rookies entering next year has many aspiring stars and promising prospects. It's essential, then, for the Hornets to find ways to keep their first-round pick in 2025 in their arsenal, even if it entails bottoming out this coming season.
The San Antonio Spurs currently own it after having passed through the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks in previous trades. Fortunately for Charlotte, it is lottery-protected, so the team can retain it and hand over two second-round picks instead if it misses the 2025 playoffs. Such a scenario would give it a chance to land a possible game-changing talent.
Cooper Flagg appears to be the prized pick of next year's draft, as the forward is a generational talent. He could also slot in perfectly with the franchise's core nucleus. There are also several consolation prizes that could fill some of Charlotte's needs, including forward Ace Bailey and swingmen VJ Edgecombe, Dylan Harper, and Drake Powell.
The timeline of any of those incoming rookies aligns perfectly with the Hornets' foundational players. The same cannot be said about Charlotte's older players, which would make them expendable if that means allowing the team to fulfill its long-term goal.
Injuries continue to be a threat
The Charlotte Hornets' roster and coaching staff have displayed enough promise so far that some people view the team as a dark horse play-in tournament candidate. Unfortunately, the injury bug can hold it back again.
Last season, LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, and Cody Martin spent a lot of time on the shelf.
It seems like Ball is on the mend, as he has looked spry again in videos. But the fact that he has to wear ankle braces shows that he continues to be at risk of getting hurt anew. Meanwhile, Williams and Martin have had to be sidelined for a couple of weeks each after their latest respective bouts with injuries.
Fingers are crossed that no one from Charlotte would need to deal with lengthy stints on the injury report. However, if that happens, the squad would probably have no choice but to end up as a cellar dweller in the 2024-25 campaign.
In that case, trading away players might be counterintuitive for the Hornets because they would need as many healthy bodies as possible. On the flip side, that may be precisely why the franchise has to be a seller, as the pieces it has could net more future assets and help it bottom out in anticipation of what would hopefully be the final offseason of rebuilding in a long while.
Allowing veterans to contend
The Charlotte Hornets have a good mix of established and aspiring stars, promising role players, and veterans who can still produce and provide leadership.
The bench could also be a strong suit for the organization. Among those who will offer them support on and off the court are the old guards, Taj Gibson and Seth Curry, and several players who have at least five years of professional hoops experience under their belt, including Miles Bridges, Grant Williams, Cody Martin, and Vasilije Micic.
Those players are seemingly thrilled to don the Hornets jersey, but if the squad loses much more than it wins, they might yearn for a change of scenery and look to be a part of a contending team immediately.
In that case, Charlotte could turn them into future assets in the trade market, as some suitors might express interest in acquiring them.
For instance, the Denver Nuggets have been mentioned as a potential destination for Micic. Nick Richards also appears to be a wanted man, although a trade to a rumored suitor, the New York Knicks, may be complicated now that they have thrown out all kinds of financial flexibility after the Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster deal.
The Hornets could very well turn out to be surprising contenders by the 2025-26 campaign. But if some of their vets can't afford to stay patient, the front office can acquiesce to their possible desire and bring back picks or younger players instead.