Hornets have three of the highest-valued first-round picks via trade

The Charlotte Hornets are determined to no longer wallow in the shallow pools of the lottery any longer. Following a shopping spree in free agency and making trades during the offseason, they are now only making moves to win games.

Charlotte has LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel all as top-five picks in the last few years. They have also been able to assemble an impressive number of first-round picks that they can use in trades to further improve the roster.

According to CBS Sports' Sam Quinn, the Hornets have some of the most valuable first-round picks to be traded. In fact, they have three of them to be used to grab further assets.

The Charlotte Hornets have three of the most valuable first-round picks in the NBA

Quinn ranks the 2029 first-round pick that they have from the Utah Jazz as the 57th most valuable pick that can be traded. He also has the 2027 Miami Heat first-rounder ranked at 26.

The crown jewel of the first-round picks that the Hornets own is the 2027 first-round pick that they are owed from the Dallas Mavericks. Quinn cites the short title window that the Mavericks are now operating in.

"Even with that top-two protection, this is the best Dallas pick of the bunch. Flagg likely won't be anywhere close to his prime yet, but all of the scary Davis- and Irving-induced worst-case scenarios are still in play. We can reasonably assume the Western Conference will be as scary in 2027 as it is in 2026. My early guess is that Dallas is a play-in team in both 2026 and 2027, potentially giving you access to a late lottery pick with a puncher's chance of moving up (which is ironically how Dallas got Flagg)."

The Charlotte Hornets can use these first-round picks to become playoff contenders

If the Hornets are serious about becoming playoff contenders in the near future, they will be using at least one of these first-round picks to help improve the roster. Trading these assets for players who can help win now should be Jeff Peterson's priority.

Using first-round picks as trade assets instead of drafting young players is the last step in the Hornets' rebuild. Once they start dealing these picks, they will no longer be looked at as a cellar dweller.

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