Charlotte Hornets Receive: C Nerlens Noel, G Derrick Rose, F Cam Reddish

New York Knicks Receive: F Gordon Hayward, 2024 First-Round Pick (Lottery Protected – CHA)

Some New York Knicks fans will hate this deal. Others will deem it too optimistic. So it goes with hypothetical trade proposals.

On the one hand, the Knicks receive the best player in the trade and a draft pick on top of it. That feels like a tremendous win. One could argue that there’s an exception in play here.

The Knicks are taking on an arguably burdensome contract with Hayward. His $30.1 million annual salary doesn’t quite match his production at this stage of his career. They’re also giving up a high-potential player in Cam Reddish. They’ll need compensation in order to do so.

As for the Charlotte Hornets, they probably like this trade for Nerlens Noel as much as anyone else involved. They’re in desperate need of a center. Noel would be a great pick-and-roll partner for LaMelo Ball, and he’s fast enough to be a factor in the Hornets’ transition-heavy attack. Meanwhile, he provides them with the rim protection they badly need.

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They’ll be targeting him in any deal with the Knicks. With that said, if they’re apprehensive about sending out draft capital, there may be another way to make a deal work.