The Charlotte Hornets didn’t wait until the NBA trade deadline to start making moves purging their roster. As one of the few teams that are locked in as selling ahead of the deadline, they made their first move on Tuesday morning.
The Hornets traded starting guard Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat in exchange for a 2027 first-round pick and Kyle Lowry, per Adria Wojnarowski of ESPN. The first-round pick is lottery-protected, but if it doesn’t convey, will be unprotected in 2028 according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Clearing salary cap space could have been the main motivation for moving Rozier. If that was the case, the Hornets certainly accomplished that. Lowry is on an expiring contract while Rozier will be under contract through 2026, with the 2025-26 season being partially guaranteed.
Rozier gets his wish, landing with the Heat, his preferred team should he have gotten traded. Now, the Hornets will have to figure out what to do with Lowry, as they are far from contention and have little use for the veteran point guard.
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Charlotte has no plans of working on a buyout with Lowry right now. They are hoping that he has enough value to be flipped in another trade ahead of the deadline. He and veteran Gordon Hayward should have value around the NBA given both are on expiring contracts. If no trade is found, however, buyout talks could ensure between the Hornets and Lowry.
However, reports out of Charlotte are that the team isn’t done making deals either. Rozier was just the first, as everyone outside of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams are reportedly available.
The Hornets are looking to acquire as many assets as possible according to Wojnarowski. Players such as Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington and Hayward are going to be shopped around the NBA and see if there are any takers.
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