The NBA trade deadline is this Thursday at 3:00 Eastern time. We’ve already seen a few deals shake up the landscape of the league, and there are definitely more to come. The Charlotte Hornets have always been on the prowl this time of year as they’ve tried to accumulate assets and build the team for the future. This year feels different though. The success of the last few weeks and the current standings make the Hornets look more like buyers than sellers, and we haven’t seen that in quite a while. Jeff Peterson has shown that he has a knack for getting in on deals and shuffling pieces around to acquire draft capital. Now he faces a new challenge. How does he push this roster up a tier in the Eastern Conference without disturbing the chemistry or overspending that draft capital.

There are a few paths Peterson can choose to go down. The first is easy–stand pat. We saw the Hornets do that a lot with Peterson’s predecessor, but this time there’s a case to be made that it’s the right move. The current starting lineup is 13-1, and the Hornets are coming off a month in which they were just about fully healthy and had the best net rating in the league. It’s hard to improve on that, so it wouldn’t be some sort of failing to finish out the season with this sae group that’s starting to find some success. But that doesn’t seem like Peterson’s MO.

There’s also the chance to take a big swing. We’ve already seen Trae Young. Jaren Jackson Jr., James Hardem, and Darius Garland moved. Giannis Antetokounmpo looks like the next major domino to fall. The Hornets have emerged on the peripheries of the Giannis sweepstakes, but it’s hard to tell what that trade would look like. You’d ideally want to keep the core of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel, but I don’t know how you sway the Bucks into taking your offer without any of those players involved. The Hornets have a treasure chest of draft picks, but only the Mavericks pick in 2027 looks like a really high potential one right now.

I’ve also kicked around the idea of a Lauri Markkanen pursuit that would include Miles Bridges to Golden State, Jonathan Kuminga going to Utah, and some other salary going out to make all the money work. Markkanen felt like an attainable upgrade at the 4 that should fit pretty seamlessly with the rest of the roster, and Kuminga would take care of the young talent part of the return for Utah. However, the surprising trade for Jaren Jackson Jr. makes it seem like the Jazz are pushing forward with adding talent and not future assets, so Markkanen is probably off the table now.

The most likely path I see the Hornets taking is the one right down the middle of those two. The roster could use an upgrade behind the core pieces to stabilize the bench and add a little bit more juice. With it looking increasingly likely that the Bucks trade Giannis and pivot towards a rebuild, there is going to be a lot of carrion for vultures to feast on. That’s where the Hornets can pounce. Assuming Giannis is moved, the Hornets can move some salary and some of their less valuable draft assets for someone like Bobby Portis, who has been one of the best 3-point shooters in the league this season and is on a very manageable contract for the next season or two. Santi Aldama is younger so probably harder to get, but the Grizzlies clearly have no intention of being good anytime soon and may welcome an asset for him.

I’m sure there are others out there, but I don’t know who’s doing what. We’re still 24 hours from the trade deadline, and we’ve already had all sorts of activity going in directions we didn’t think were on the table. The Hornets will almost surely get involved at some point. Their best course of action would be to add some depth while keeping this group as intact as possible to ride the wave they’re currently on.