The Charlotte Hornets have LaMelo Ball under contract and just drafted Kon Knueppel. Now they are adding another ball handler to the backcourt.
The Utah Jazz are trading Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Jusuf Nurkic, a deal first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN and subsequently confirmed by other reports.
Sexton will make $19.2 million next season and is eligible for a veteran extension off his own contract, if Charlotte wants to lock him up long-term.
Charlotte has been looking for backup guard depth. They likely will start with Ball and Knueppel as the guards and Brandon Miller at the three (Miles Bridges is the four). Sexton comes in off the bench as a rock-solid combo guard who can play the one or the two behind the starters and fill in should injuries strike. It’s a quality pickup, and it’s not exactly clear why the Jazz needed to throw in a second-round pick to make this trade happen.
The Jazz are a rebuilding team that had a glut in the backcourt and just drafted Ace Bailey (a wing who can play the two guard) and Walter Clayton Jr. This trade clears out some minutes for those guys.
The Jazz are now deep at center (and in the frontcourt in general). Walker Kessler is the center of the future and the player who should start and get a lot of run at the five next season as the Jazz look for him to develop his game. He has Nurkic and Kyle Filipowski behind him, plus Collins can play some small-ball five if needed. Nurkic is on an expiring $19.4 million contract and could well be traded again before February’s deadline (if not much sooner).
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