Should the Charlotte Hornets trade for Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. this summer?
Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. has been named an offseason trade target for the Charlotte Hornets.
NBA analyst Dan Favale of Bleacher Report thinks Smith Jr. could be a good fit in Charlotte.
"His offensive efficiency is all over the place, but the Houston Rockets have yet to play him alongside proper table-setters," Favale wrote. "The Hornets have no fewer than two of those (LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel), and his defensive malleability will allow head coach Charles Lee to slot him at the 4 or 5."
Many people around the NBA believe the Hornets need to part ways with Miles Bridges and upgrade. If Charlotte acquires Smith Jr., the team could start LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Smith Jr. and Moussa Diabate next season.
For the Rockets this season, Smith Jr. averaged 15.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 45.0% from the field, 36.3% from beyond the arc and 77.5% from the free-throw line. That's production the Hornets would love to have alongside Ball, Knueppel and Miller.
Smith Jr. is only 22. He turns 23 in May. If the Rockets lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2026 playoffs, Houston may look to reshape the roster around Kevin Durant this summer.
Smith Jr. was the third overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He holds career averages of 13.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. The swingman will make $23,643,411 next season.
The Hornets went 44-38 this season. They missed the playoffs by just one game. The team has a bright future with Ball, Miller and Knueppel leading the way, and if Charlotte's front office can upgrade Bridges' spot, the team should make the playoffs next season for the first time since 2016.
The Hornets have two picks in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. After selecting four rotation players a year ago, Jeff Peterson has another opportunity to deepen his roster this year.
"I’m very excited about this draft," Peterson said. "It’s if not the deepest, one of the deepest that I’ve ever been a part of. A lot of good players all over the draft, of course. But again, where we are from an asset standpoint, it’s going to allow us to be flexible. So whether that means we bring two players in, consolidate, we’ll have different options that we’ll continue to explore and look at.
"But I’m excited for whoever we bring in because I know that it’s going to be someone who is a Hornet, and about what we’re about and at some point will contribute to what we are building here."
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