Hornets Trade Rumors: $120M NBA Star Could Demand To Be Unchained From Charlotte Similar To Terry Rozier

Published 01/24/2024, 10:40 AM EST

Only two weeks until the NBA trade deadline this season, the Charlotte Hornets remain open for business. After they traded their prized shooting guard Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat for veteran Kyle Lowry, other key pieces of their rooster might soon follow suit.

The trade for Rozier indicates the Hornets wish to be financially successful this season which means another major trade is on the horizon for them. According to their President of Basketball operations/general manager Mitch Kupchak, ” I’m sure most people weren’t expecting something this far out from the deadline, so this is a little early. And one of the benefits of having done something early is that we’ve got more information now, and we can look at more opportunities knowing what we’ve just done.”

He further solidified an upcoming trade by saying, “So, yeah, the trade deadline is still a week or so away and we will continue to be active.” So, this begs the question: who is it going to be next? And people with a bit of idea speculate that it is most like Gordon Hayward. With a four-year $120 million contract over after this season, trading him would mean $35 million cap space for the Hornets. However, nothing can be said for sure as of now.

However, before trading Hayward to any team, there are quite a few considerations. Among the primary concerns, injuries will spring up. The thirty-three-year-old has been out since 26th December and for a team to trade valuable assets for his acquisition, they would need to see him active. Despite Hayward being inactive, there might be some value the Hornets can extract from but it might not be the exact exchange they are hoping for.

Currently, the Rozier trade is all Charlotte has been able to muster up and it’s a great step for the 29-year-old.

Terry Rozier heading to South Florida is a huge step up for him

The young shooting guard is heading to team up with the likes of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, which would make him a contender. For the longest time Rozier never really got a shot at playoff contention especially with the struggling Hornets. His solid average mixed with the mentality of the heat will help him get the opportunity he was striving for. This is also a win for Miami. Rozier’s offensive performance is comparable to guards like Desmond Bane and Anthony Edwards, with an estimated plus-minus in the same range. According to box plus-minus, his offense ranks 25th among qualified players.

Heat Trade News: Hornets trade Terry Rozier to Miami for NBA Champion

In addition to scoring, Rozier contributes at the edges of the game. He’s showing an increased ability to draw fouls and maintains a low turnover rate despite his significant involvement, a characteristic he shares with Butler. Things look positive for the Heat and Rozier come post-season.

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Written by:

Akashdeep Banerjee is an NBA writer at Essentially Sports. After Graduating in Journalism and Mass Communication he forayed into visual Media. A fan of the NBA for the better part of a decade.

Edited by:

Ruth John