NBA Rumors: Hornets Should Trade No. 1 Pick For Andrew Wiggins, ‘Bleacher Report’ Suggests

Since he was traded for D’Angelo Russell before the NBA trade deadline in February, rumors have continued to swirl around Andrew Wiggins and his future with the Golden State Warriors. There is speculation that the Warriors will explore moving him once again this fall. One of the teams that could express a strong interest in acquiring Wiggins in the 2020 offseason is the Charlotte Hornets.

After suffering another disappointing NBA season, the Hornets will be in a strong position to win the lottery in the 2020 NBA Draft. However, instead of using it to draft another young prospect, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report suggested that the Hornets should offer the No. 1 pick to Golden State to acquire Wiggins. In the proposed trade scenario, the Hornets would send a package that includes Nicolas Batum and the No. 1 pick to the Warriors in exchange for Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall, and a 2020 first-round pick.

Swartz believes the trade would help both teams improve on their rosters.

“By agreeing to move back, the Hornets would get two more young rotation players in Paschall and Poole, both of whom played big roles as rookies for the injury-plagued Warriors. Wiggins is the wildcard here. Flipping the expiring contract of Batum (assuming he picks up a $27.1 million player option) would help the Warriors’ long-term finances while still letting them use his deal as the baseline for future deals. Few teams are in better salary-cap shape than the Hornets, which means taking a chance on the 25-year-old Wiggins and his remaining three-year, $94.7 million contract isn’t as big a risk.”

Wiggins has gone through plenty of ups and downs in his career, but he would still be an intriguing addition to the Hornets. His arrival in Charlotte would give them another young and promising talent to complement their core of Devonte’ Graham, Miles Bridges, and P.J. Washington. Though he still has plenty of room for improvement in his game, Wiggins would be a huge help for the Hornets in terms of scoring, rebounding, playmaking, and floor-spacing.

This season, the 25-year-old small forward averaged 21.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from beyond the arc, per Basketball-Reference.com.

Being traded to the Hornets could also end up being beneficial for Wiggins. Though it wouldn’t put him closer to winning his first championship, they would give him the opportunity for more playing time and a significant role on the offensive end of the floor.