We knew the Charlotte Hornets weren’t done, but this probably isn’t what most people had in mind. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Charlotte is flipping Tyus Jones to the Mavericks for guard Malaki Branham.

According to Shams, the Mavericks have had interest in acquiring Jones. The Hornets were happy to oblige, but only after getting a pair of second round picks from the Magic for simply taking Jones off their hands. So on net, the Hornets landed two second round picks and Malaki Branham for nothing.And that trade exception could come in handy in the future as well, which might be just as if not more appealing than Branham the player.

Branham can score the ball when given the opportunity. He was a first round pick of the Spurs back in 2022 but fell out of the rotation when the Spurs kept winning the lottery and getting better players. He spent this season playing spot minutes with the Wizards before getting shuffled around at the trade deadline as part of the Anthony Davis trade. When he’s gotten minutes, he’s had a few games scoring 20+ points, and he had some standout performances as a scorer in the summer league. There probably aren’t plans to have Branham be a significant part of the rotation right away, but he’s still just 22 years old and could develop into a reliable bench scorer in time.

And with that, the trade deadline has passed. The Hornets didn’t get the big depth we were hoping for and they were likely looking for, but it is what it is. On the whole, it was another successful deadline. In total, the Hornets sent away Collin Sexton, Mason Plumlee, and some cash and got back Coby White and Malaki Branham. Second round picks went in both directions with the Hornets netting one or two along with the players they brought in.

Mike Conley Jr. was waived in the aftermath, so the Hornets still have one roster spot to do something with.