The (maybe?) big day is here.
The NBA trade deadline is today at 3:00pm Eastern time. Given the catastrophically poor season the Charlotte Hornets have had, they’re expected to be sellers today. They’ve historically made some sort of move around this time most seasons, but they were usually tune-ups around the margins. This trade deadline should be different, though I know all of us are worried it won’t be.
We talked about the rumors surrounding the Hornets about a week ago, and not much has changed in that regard. The same players and the same teams are still in the rumor mill.
A couple of significant trades have gone down already, and at least one of them has some implications for the Hornets. The Timberwolves traded D’Angelo Russell to the Lakers for Mike Conley, which would remove any chance that either attempt to trade for Terry Rozier. That trade will also likely result in Russell Westbrook being bought out, and the Clippers would target him in free agency. That’s another team with rumored interest in Rozier.
Here’s what we’ve had prior to the publishing of this post:
- The Nets traded Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, and future draft picks
- The Jazz, Timberwolves, and Lakers completed a three team trade that sends D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jared Vanderbilt to the Lakers; Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and second round picks to the Timberwolves; and Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, and a Lakers first round pick to the Jazz
- The Blazers are trading Josh Hart to the Knicks for Cam Reddish and a first round pick
- The Spurs are sending Jakob Poeltl back to the Raptors in exchange for Khem Birch, a protected first round pick, and a couple of second rounders
- The Suns are acquiring Kevin Durant and TJ Warren (I think) in exchange for Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and like every first round pick they can possibly give up
Use this space to talk about any trades that do or don’t happen.
This is now an open thread!