Biggest winners and losers from the Hornets' trade deadline

Who was affected the most by Charlotte's trades?

Jan 22, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) handles the ball as Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) defends during the third quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The NBA Trade Deadline ended almost two weeks ago, but it may finally be officially over for the Charlotte Hornets only recently. NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the Hornets never officially protested the Lakers rescinding the Mark Williams trade, so it's a done deal (or undone) at this point.

With that in mind, we can properly assess who won and lost the deadline in Charlotte.

Winners and losers from Charlotte's trades

1. Winner: Nick Smith Jr.

Feb 10, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr. (8) reacts during the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Not only is Nick Smith Jr. starting because of some injuries, but he's going to be guaranteed big minutes even when the team gets healthy. Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic, two players who played some of the spots Smith Jr. does, are gone now. Plus, Smith Jr. was briefly mentioned in trade rumors, so he theoretically survived the deadline himself.

2. Loser: Mark Williams

Feb 1, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) shoots over Denver Nuggets guard Julian Strawther (3) during the second half of play at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images / Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images

There's no bigger loser than Mark Williams, perhaps in the entire NBA. He was unwanted by his current team, but at least he got sent to a title contender. Then even that fell through, and he had to return to a team that wanted to move him. The dispute, though it never officially happened, only made the team's public opinion of Williams look even worse. The only silver lining is perhaps that the Hornets didn't actually protest, so they didn't bury Williams by doing that.

3. Winner: Josh Okogie

Jan 29, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Josh Okogie (12) drives to the basket against Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson (45) during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Josh Okogie, much like Nick Smith Jr., survived the deadline. There were reports that Charlotte would try and flip Okogie to maximize the Nick Richards return, but those proved to be only rumors. He is hurt right now, but he played himself into at least another half-season in 2025-26 with the Hornets.

4. Loser: Jeff Peterson

Oct 11, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; A view of the Buzz City logo on the court prior to the game between the Charlotte Hornets and the Boston Celtics at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images / Jeremy Brevard-Imagn Images

In his first deadline as GM, Jeff Peterson aced two blockbuster moves to set up the Hornets for the future. One of them fell through, though, and it tanked the deadline and Peterson's image a little bit. This sort of failure isn't very common. It's not as if the Hornets truly did try to trade damaged goods since Williams is healthy now, but the perception of Peterson took a hit after the Williams trade was shockingly rescinded.

5. Winner: Jusuf Nurkic

Feb 12, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) shoots against Charlotte Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic (11) during the first quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

While Jusuf Nurkic is on a worse team, he did land on a team that can actually and will actually use him. Nurkic was buried in Phoenix, and he now joins a rotation that will put him in the game a lot. The Mark Williams trade failing hurts Nurkic, but he's still in a much better spot in terms of playing time.

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