The Charlotte Hornets have been connected to an intriguing offseason trade.
The Charlotte Hornets have been rolling the last couple of months and have morphed into one of the best teams in basketball, which is not something anyone saw coming before the season started.
That being said, it's clear that the Hornets still have some holes to fill heading into the offseason, and they may need to make some trades in order to do that.
Charlotte's roster is certainly coming together, but things will get expensive quickly. That means the Hornets may have to shed some salary ... or extract some value for expiring contracts.
That's why Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz has listed Grant Williams as the Hornets' top trade candidate with the summer quickly approaching.
"Grant Williams makes the most sense as trade bait, as the veteran forward will be on an expiring $14.3 million contract," Swartz wrote. "He returned from a torn ACL and is shooting 38.3 percent from three this year, giving his new team a floor-spacing power forward who's shown good defensive chops in the past."
Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams. Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images.After a solid four-year run with the Boston Celtics to begin his NBA career, Williams signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks in July 2023. Seven months later, the Mavericks traded him to Charlotte.
Williams got off to a strong start with the Hornets during that 2023-24 campaign, averaging 13.9 points and 5.1 rebounds over 30.6 minutes per game on 50.3/37.3/76.5 shooting splits. That came in 29 contests.
Then, last year, the 27-year-old played just 16 games before tearing his ACL. He eventually returned midway through this season and has been mildly productive in a bench role, but it seems pretty clear Charlotte won't be re-signing him.
Taking that into consideration, it would make sense for the Hornets to trade him this offseason to recoup an asset in return.
Williams' $14.3 million salary for next season is certainly palatable, so Charlotte should be able to land something in return for him. He's still a solid three-and-D forward, and a contender may be able to find use for the University of Tennessee product.
It's important to remember that Miles Bridges will also be an expiring contract heading into 2026-27, so he could comprise another trade candidate for the squad.
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