The Orlando Magic traded guard Tyus Jones and two second-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets for cash considerations, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Charlotte received the least favorable 2027 second-round pick via Boston/Orlando and Orlando’s 2028 second-round pick. The move pulled the Magic out of the luxury tax for the season.

The Hornets continue to add draft capital now at 11 first-rounds and 13 second-rounders, while Orlando took a conservative step to create financial flexibility after an underwhelming 25-24 start. The Magic entered the season with championship expectations but have yet to meet them.

Jones averaged career lows across the board after entering the season expected to play a key role off the bench. He posted three points and 2.4 assists per game and now gets an opportunity to reset in Charlotte. Orlando could turn to rookie Jase Richardson for expanded minutes as it looks to regain momentum following the NBA All-Star break.

During the offseason, the Magic signed Jones to a one-year, $7 million deal, a move viewed as a key under-the-radar addition alongside Desmond Bane, Jase Richardson and Noah Penda. With those expectations, Jones was projected to lead the second unit, using his playmaking ability, elite assist-to-turnover ratio, and reliable three-point shooting to stabilize the lineup.

Following the Magic’s blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Desmond Bane met with the media and said the locker-room energy remained strong, with the group focused on improving. With the team falling short of expectations, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman chose to take a different direction.

"All that jumps out of our control,” Bane said. “So whatever happens, happens. But for us, we're just trying to get better. We still laugh. We still love each other. We still find joy in every day with our group. We just got to produce it to wins. So we never really think about that too much. I don't think anything more than any other team is time of year gets stressful for sure. You never know what goes on, but yeah, I don't think about that too much."

“We've got to take it one game at a time,” Mosley added following the loss. “There's no easy games in this league. It's hard to win in this league, so we have to understand that and the work that we need to put in in order to take care of the home court is going to be very important one game at a time."

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