Charlotte Hornets NBA Trade Deadline Mailbag Part Two: A Coby White Trade, Backup PG Chatter, and Moussa's future

The hottest team in the National Basketball Association resides in the frozen tundra known as Charlotte, North Carolina.

Winners of seven-straight games and eight of their last nine, the Charlotte Hornets are buzzing ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. The next time the Hornets put on the short pants will be after the trade deadline clock has struck midnight (3 P.M. Eastern on February 5th) and we'll know if the team has had a major shakeup before the ball is thrown in the air.

Below is part two of the Hornets' trade deadline mailbag where we answer reader-submitted questions in an attempt to parse through what the team might do in the coming days.

From @HiveMindedHoops: Would you do Collin Sexton and Charlotte's 2027 first-round pick for Coby White and Jalen Smith if you felt good about a White extension?

White is a proven perimeter scorer who would thrive in Charlotte's up-tempo egalitarian offense. However, many of the same issues that Sexton has (tunnel-vision, lack of true playmaking skill, poor defense), White struggles with too. I'm not sure that swapping Sexton for White is the upgrade many people think it would be outside of White's acumen as a three-point shooter -- the main difference between the two players.

Coby White makes ~$6M less than Sexton in 2026, and both are on expiring deals who will be looking for new contracts next summer. White will likely be looking to start in his next opportunity, something that Charlotte can't offer him. Is this team at the point where making a like-for-like trade for a rental point guard makes a ton of sense? I don't quite buy it.

If Sexton for White is a lateral move, then the question becomes would I trade Charlotte's 2027 first-round pick for Jalen Smith?

I think Smith is a good player and would be valuable as a backup center in Charlotte, but I don't think he's worth spending an unprotected first-round pick on at this juncture. The Hornets have done a great job at keeping the powder dry on their treasure trove of assets, and a move for Smith that doesn't move the needle too much isn't where I'd like to see them start dipping into their reserves.

My thoughts would be different if Charlotte was 30-21 and jockeying for home-court advantage in the East. If that was the case, then this deal would have some legs. For now, I'd stay away.

If you want the opposite side of the Jalen Smith discussion, check out my colleague Owen O'Connor's side of the argument where he makes the case for the Hornets to target the Bulls' big man.

From @RichGiunta: Do you see them pursuing a backup PG to run the second unit?

This is the move I think they should make. I don't know if it's going to happen, though.

Bringing in a true floor general point guard to lead the second unit would allow Sexton and Sion James to play their more natural roles -- Sexton as a combo-guard bucket-getter, James as a connective playmaker on offense who brings value on the defensive end.

Lonzo Ball does interest me in this regard.

He takes nothing off the table on the defensive end (Dunks and Threes grades him out as a 91st percentile defender) while bring the steady hand, high assist, low turnover, minimal usage goods on offense that Charlotte's second unit needs.

Ball fits nicely into Charlotte's non-taxpayer MLE and the Hornets could cut him this summer with no future financial obligation to worry about. It's a low-risk, medium-reward move that could add just enough juice to the Hornets' bench to steady the uneasy minutes when LaMelo Ball sits.

From @hornets_enjoyer: If Moussa isn't the long-term answer at center, what will the path to acquiring the center of the future look like?

Who's to say Moussa Diabate isn't the long-term answer at center?

The numbers say he is. The eye test says he is.

If it quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck.

I think the Hornets can build out their roster with the assumption that Diabate is going to be playing center for the long haul. He is due for a contract extension next February and can earn up to ~$16M/year on his next deal (150% of the average NBA salary, shoutout to James Plowright for digging up that niche CBA nugget).

A $16M/year deal would make Moussa the 25th highest paid center in the NBA, sandwiched between Zach Collins and Onyeka Okongwu's 2025 salaries. That's a no-brainer - Moussa is already outplaying his meager $1.8M 2025-26 salary, and there's a chance he would provide more value than he's paid even at $16 million per year.

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