Why this trade makes sense for the Charlotte Hornets:
The Hornets have definitely improved a lot this past offseason and look like a completely different team this year, in a good way, but the one thing they are still lacking is production in their frontcourt. Second-year big man P.J. Washington has been solid at the power-forward position, but Cody Zeller is not a reliable center that can help take the Hornets to the playoffs.
He could be utilized as a great role player and secondary player, but with him being in the final year of his contract and being owed $15.4M this season, he would definitely be a player that is packaged in a deal with the Magic to acquire Nikola Vucevic.
Overall, the Hornets are a middle-of-the-pack offensive team and given their struggles rebounding, they could really benefit from adding an established All-Star like Vucevic to control their frontcourt. Washington can be a great complimentary player in the frontcourt, but he is not capable of leading things down-low for the Hornets.
Charlotte has not been to the playoffs since 2016 and while acquiring Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball definitely helps their chances of making it back to the postseason in the Eastern Conference, they still seem like they are one piece away. They do not have much depth nor production in their frontcourt, which is exactly why a guy like Nikola Vucevic could be the difference maker for this team this season.
If the season ended today, the Hornets would be in the playoffs, but they would likely be a team that gets booted in the first-round. Adding Vucevic gives the Hornets plenty of weapons and all of a sudden, they are a team who could potentially pull off an upset of one of the better teams in the East.
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This team plays hard and with a lot of energy, which is why adding a reliable, All-Star talent like Vucevic could be the final piece to their playoff puzzle. Losing the production of Bridges and Monk off-the-bench definitely takes some of the overall depth away from this team, but Vucevic is a guy that would be hard to pass up on.
Acquiring Nikola Vucevic definitely puts the Hornets in the playoffs and they could possibly be a team that could make some noise and threaten some of the top teams in the East. Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier and Nikola Vucevic would be a high-scoring trio and with role players like Devonte’ Graham and LaMelo Ball, Charlotte would be set up for a lot of success moving forward.
