Trade Up, Stay Put, or Trade Down? What is the Most Likely Outcome for the Hornets?

As expected, the NBA Draft Lottery was rather boring for the Charlotte Hornets and President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson. They had a 97.6% chance to stay at No. 14, and that's exactly what happened. No crazy luck of the draw this year.

Shortly after the lottery results were revealed, Peterson spent a couple of minutes reacting to the news and what this means for the organization's plans this summer.

“We’re excited," Peterson said. "Obviously, we weren’t able to move up, which is part of it, part of life. But at the same time, we have two really, really good picks in a very deep draft. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll get to work and figure out how to add a couple of really good players to this Hornets team.

“It allows us to be flexible,” he continued. “It adds some optionality in terms of being able to trade up, trade back, move out... it's always good to have options in life. Even if we stay put, we're confident that we'll get two really good players there."

Dealing with reality

As our guy Zach detailed in a story he published earlier this morning, there probably won't be very many trade partners for the Hornets when it comes to trying to move up in the draft. When a draft class is as good — and as deep — as this one, teams aren't going to be as willing to move down the board. The only way one would is if they are just a few spots ahead of Charlotte and probably need to take a couple of cracks at the plate.

Trading back doesn't make much sense

I'm sure some team in the early-mid 20s would love to make a big jump up the board to No. 14, but I don't see what value it would bring to the Hornets unless they are able to land a future first + other assets or a rotational player in the deal, which probably isn't likely. I understand that it's mostly GM speak by mentioning the idea of trading back, but it would have to take an overwhelming offer for Charlotte to consider it.

Don't be surprised if the Hornets stay put

Not just because the Hornets may not be able to find a trade partner to move up the board, but Peterson has made it widely known that he is not willing to skip steps in this rebuild. Although the team took some massive steps this past season, they are still very early in their process. And by that I mean, their championship window hasn't even opened yet. Instead of packaging No. 14 and 18 this year, they may rather use both picks, knowing the talent is better in this class and then try to move two or perhaps all three of their firsts in the 2027 draft to land a big fish.

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter for the latest news and updates on the Charlotte Hornets

Add us as a preferred source on Google