To bolster a porous defense, the Charlotte Hornets could leverage its draft capital to land Tari Eason, a versatile wing capable of transforming the roster into a legitimate contender.
The Charlotte Hornets enter the offseason with some momentum before the 2026 NBA Draft.
After drafting an excellent core of young talent in last year's draft, the Hornets made it to the Play-In Tournament. A blowout loss to the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic in April shows how far the team has yet to come before being a playoff contender.
Kon Knueppel is going to be a starter in the NBA, and the team needs to build around the former Duke star and LeMelo Ball. Charlotte holds the No. 14 and No. 18 picks in this year's draft, giving the team flexibility if they want to make a trade to boost the roster for a run next season.
Dan Favale of Bleacher Report came up with a list of options for the Hornets to trade for this offseason. He thinks Charlotte needs to prioritize finding a combo-forward or center.
Favale suggested Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason would be a promising addition for the Hornets' needs.
"Tari Eason is the perfect fit as a chaos agent on defense who runs the floor and drills threes," he wrote. "The Houston Rockets are also expensive enough to envision them entertaining sign-and-trade proposals.
"Charlotte will have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception at its disposal, but a $15.1 million starting salary isn't poaching this type of restricted free agent."
In addition to Eason, Favale suggested the Rockets could look to trade Jabari Smith Jr. if they were fielding offers this offseason. Charlotte has plenty of flexibility on its roster to add Smith because of its offensive efficiency from Ball, Knueppel, and Coby White.
The Hornets have plenty of offensive ability as the roster is currently constructed. Knueppel only promises to become a better scorer as he develops in the league.
Defense is what the Hornets need. The 121-90 loss to the Magic in the second Play-In Tournament game proved that a strong defense is what the team is lacking if it wants to make the playoffs.
Eason would certainly help the Hornets on defense, while giving the offense an option on the perimeter. The trick would be to give Houston a sweet enough deal to make the trade.
