December 15th is a key day in the NBA calendar
December 15th is a key day in the NBA calendar for the trade landscape within the NBA. As of today, the 74 free agents who signed with teams this pas off-season become eligible to be traded. For Charlotte that doesn’t mean too much as only Cody Martin, Dennis Smith Jr and Theo Maledon become trade eligible. However, for other teams around the league it lifts trade restrictions on players helping grease the trade landscape.
With the Hornets currently in sole possession of the worst record in the NBA (7-21) and multiple expiring, tradable contracts they project to be one of the more active teams on this years’ trade market.
Current Hornets Roster
Roster Information from Spotrac
Kelly Oubre, Mason Plumlee and PJ Washington are all on expiring contracts making them the easiest to move. All three players could project to have rotation roles on a contender and PJ Washington could even be of some interest to rebuilding teams with CAP space.
Due to Charlotte not being in the tax, they can take in an additional $5 million more than the salary they are sending out. This could benefit tax paying teams like the Golden State Warriors who could shed some salary while adding a rotation player, for example PJ Washington ($4.8) for James Wiseman ($9.6) would fit that criteria.
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