As one of the surprise teams of the season, the Charlotte Hornets find themselves in the thick of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference due, in part, to rookie LaMelo Ball.
The addition of Gordon Hayward, along with the continued strong play of incumbents Terry Rozier, Devonte’ Graham, Malik Monk, has led to the Hornets hovering around .500 amid a group of teams in the bottom half of the playoff race.
As one of only a few teams with cap space available and apparent areas of need on the roster, the Hornets figure to be one of the teams involved in deals at the trade deadline. ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Kevin Pelton each suggested trades in a piece on Wednesday that involved the Hornets as third teams in deals that land them potential impact pieces and extra draft capital.
In Marks’ trade, the Hornets are the facilitator in a three-team deal with
Due to roster restrictions, the Timberwolves would not be able to take back three players for one, allowing the Hornets to step in and land a bench option.
Jake Layman is a fifth-year forward that would provide Charlotte depth on the wing. In 15 minutes per game across 23 games for Minnesota this season, he has averaged 6.1 points per game on 31.8% shooting from 3-point range.
Pelton’s trade follows a similar outline, though with different teams and players.
In this deal, the Hornets step in to acquire Terrance Ferguson due to a bit of good fortune. In this deal, the Clippers are not looking to acquire a young guard and the Thunder can not reacquire him, leaving the Hornets with the chance to step in and reap the benefits.
After showing flashes with the Thunder over three seasons, Ferguson has played nine games with the Sixers this season. At the cost of literally nothing, it would be a low-risk move for Charlotte to acquire the guard.
While these two deals may not be the exact ones that will play out, it gives an archetype of how the Hornets can be involved at the deadline and net an asset for free in the coming weeks.
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