Veteran guard Josh Green praises recent addition to Hornets' roster

Josh Okogie was part of the return from the Nick Richards trade. The Charlotte Hornets were expected to look into flipping him to net even more assets. Whether they do or don't, Okogie has been a boon for the Hornets, who have won five of their last eight contests. Josh Green, who knows what it's like to join the Hornets midseason, likes what he's seeing so far.

Josh Green hypes up Josh Okogie

🎙️ Josh Green: "Josh (Okogie) has been amazing. Coming in, he's been a vocal leader and a veteran in the locker room, which has been great."

"The energy he's brought from us, offensive rebounds to defensive rebounds, pushing the pace, it's been amazing. He's great to play with." pic.twitter.com/tJOLZu6KFt
— /r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) January 27, 2025

After shootaround today before tonight's tilt with the Los Angeles Lakers, Josh Green was asked about Josh Okogie's arrival. The Hornets have gone 4-2 since they acquired Okogie on January 15. Green said, "Josh (Okogie) has been amazing. Coming in, he's been a vocal leader and a veteran in the locker room, which has been great... The energy he's brought from us, offensive rebounds to defensive rebounds, pushing the pace, it's been amazing. He's great to play with."

The sample size is really small, but Okogie has been a revelation for the Hornets. He has a team-high 123.2 offensive rating. His defensive rating is second among all Hornets at 95.2, and only Jared Rhoden is lower but he's only played about 10 minutes on the entire season. In the same sense, Okogie leads in net rating by a wide margin at 28.0. Among regulars, only Moussa Diabate is still a net positive in that metric.

The initial idea that Okogie would be traded again made sense. He wasn't impacting the Hornets that much. His first two games netted 11 total points on 11 shot attempts. Since then, he's scored 23 points on 15 shots with 14 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, six steals, and only three turnovers.

It took him some time to be activated and then even more time to get used to his new surroundings, but Okogie has been excellent the last two games. He's providing the leadership that Green referenced while adding major impact on the court. He might've played his way into sticking around.

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