The Charlotte Hornets have to be planning on enjoying extra small ball subsequent season.
On Sunday, the Hornets dealt middle Jusuf Nurkic to the Utah Jazz for guard Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round decide, by way of ESPN’s Shams Charania. The transfer looks like a head-scratcher.
The Hornets already dealt middle Mark Williams to the Phoenix Suns in the course of the first spherical of the 2025 NBA Draft. Williams, 23, tied fellow middle Nick Richards (now with the Suns) tied for the crew lead in blocks final season, averaging 1.2 per sport in 44 video games.
Buying and selling Nurkic ought to make the Hornets’ frontcourt even thinner. Charlotte took Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner with decide No. 34 of the second spherical after he gained the 2025 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as faculty basketball’s finest middle.
Nonetheless, he seemingly lacks the upside to turn into a dominant drive within the NBA.
“As for his long-term upside, he might not venture to All-Star ranges, and even constant starter standing,” Bleacher Report’s NBA staff wrote of Kalkbrenner. “However in the correct system, he profiles as a sensible, skilled, versatile rotation large with potential two-way impression.”
Sexton — a 2018 first-round decide — might be a good complement for Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball. In 63 video games for the Jazz final season, he averaged 18.4 factors per sport and 4.2 assists per sport whereas capturing 48% from the sphere.
He might be thought-about a defensive legal responsibility, although. According to Basketball Reference, Sexton posted a below-average 124 defensive ranking (an estimate of factors allowed per 100 possessions) final season, the worst mark of his profession. Nurkic has by no means had a defensive rating above 120 in his profession.
The Hornets ranked sixteenth within the league in factors allowed (114.2) this previous season. With Williams and Nurkic now not on the roster, Charlotte’s protection might backslide after a disappointing season, the place it went 19-63.
