The Charlotte Hornets have a prime opportunity to ascend into contention. With the 76ers taking out the Celtics, and the Pistons narrowly escaping the 8 seed Magic, it’s clear that the Eastern Conference is open for new competition. The Hornets bowed out in disappointing fashion against the Magic in the play-in, but prior to that, they put together a second half of the season that rivaled some of the best teams in the league. Now they have to decide what to do heading into next season. They could just run it back with that same group and see if internal development and increasing confidence can sustain that level of play for a full 82 games. Or they could see last season’s success as a signal to take a swing for a star player to elevate the squad to the next level. The timing couldn’t be better. The team has some good contracts for salary matching and a deep bag of draft assets. It might be time, and there are some players that fit and that are gettable.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

I only put Giannis’s name first because he’s going to be the one that gets the most people talking, but I don’t think he’s the kind of player the Hornets would be targeting. He’s inarguably the best player that’s a reasonable bet to hit the market, but he carries some risk. He’ll turn 32 in the upcoming season, and hasn’t exactly been an ironman in recent years. While he’s played the majority of the Bucks’ games, he’s only topped 70 games once in the last seven years, and last year was his most injury plagued yet. On top of that, he could opt out of his contract at the end of next season, leaving the Hornets to figure out how to re-sign him with potential questions about age and longevity.

Even with those concerns, Giannis is going to cost a haul. The Hornets would have to unload most if not all of the draft assets they’ve acquired, and it’d probably be hard to land Giannis without floating one of the young big three in trade offers. With all that in mind, the cost and risk of Giannis outweigh the definite benefits he would bring.

Domantas Sabonis

Sabonis is my personal favorite target on the trade market between his fit and my assumption that he won’t come at a terribly high price. Even with the expected lottery reforms, there’s still value in rebuilding through the draft and collecting first round picks. The Kings are likely to go that route, and Sabonis is probably their best chance to gather some assets. The Hornets could hand them a couple of first round picks and a young player like Liam McNeeley, Ryan Kalkbrenner, or Tidjane Salaun. I look at the Pascal Siakam trade to the Pacers as a precedent for this. The Pacers were a similar, ascending team. They gave up three first round picks and filler to get Siakam, who was older than some of their core pieces but a great fit. One season later, they were in the NBA Finals.

A Sabonis trade could have a similar payoff for the Hornets. He’s a perfect fit for what the Hornets want to do. He’s an elite facilitator from the five spot, and he’s at least a threat to hit an open three, so he’d create a lot of good looks for the offense out of the handoffs they like to run. Plus he gives the Hornets an interior presence on offense that would be backup plan when threes aren’t falling. He’s also an elite rebounder. A center rotation of Sabonis and Moussa Diabate would put opponents under relentless attack on the offensive glass. Plus Moussa’s defensive versatility and Sabonis’s ability to hit the occasional three means both could potentially share the floor with one another.

Sabonis just turned 30 a couple of days ago and is under contract for the next two seasons. While he’s a little older, the on floor fit could hardly be better.

Bam Adebayo

This one is unlikely because the Heat absolutely refuse to do anything that will make their team worse. They seem content to hover in mediocrity until a superstar falls into their lap because of the Miami market and Heat Culture or whatever. But if they do make the surprising decision to retool the group, Adebayo would be a good place for them to start with asset collection.

Adebayo is younger than Sabonis, so he fits the timeline better if that’s a thing that matters. While he’s not the facilitator that Sabonis is, he’s still a plus in that regard and is a much better defender. He’d provide a boost to the Hornets’ interior defense while adding more muscle on the glass and a little bit of a post presence on offense.

Since he is younger and a current cornerstone piece of the Heat, I don’t even know what a trade package would look like. It would fall somewhere in between what it would take to land Giannis and what it’d take to land Sabonis, but I’d guess it’d be closer to the Giannis price given Adebayo’s age and the Heat’s probably resistance to get rid of him.

Jarrett Allen

The Cavaliers are still alive in the postseason, and with how wide open the East looks, they could end up having enough success that they elect to stand pat with their roster. If they do get impatient and start retooling, Allen would be a good get for the Hornets to poach. He’d be an elite pick and roll partner with LaMelo Ball, and he’s a pretty good passer for a big. The extra juice he’d bring on the interior could push the Hornets to the next level, especially in situations where they’re getting run off the 3-point line.

Lauri Markkanen

Markkanen was on my wishlist at the trade deadline, because I thought the Jazz needed to move off him to fully embrace the rebuild. Instead, the Jazz went and acquired Jaren Jackson Jr., so I don’t really know what the plan is for them.

If Markkanen is available, he’d slide in at the four as a significantly better version of Miles Bridges. He’s a better shooter and has the ability to go inside and get to the free throw line, which would add some offensive diversity to the group. He’d also add another very good offensive rebounder to the lineup. While not an elite defender, he’s good enough to hold his own within a team concept and can rebound his position. And anything he lacks on that end he more than makes up for on offense. He’d give the Hornets a starting lineup with four players capable of scoring 30+ on any given night.