Where the Charlotte Hornets Should Trade Lance Stephenson

The Hornets should trade Lance Stephenson to the Toronto Raptors

By Jack Maloney (@jackhaveitall)

Trade Package: Lance Stephenson for Landry Fields, Lucas Nogueira, and a 1st round pick

Pros for Hornets: Getting rid of Stephenson and his contract. Even though it has been less than two full months, it is obvious that the Lance Stephenson-Charlotte Hornets pairing is not going to work. He doesn’t even play in the fourth quarter anymore, and what’s the point of keeping your big free-agent signing around if you can’t even use him when you theoretically need him the most. Plus, they get lottery tickets in Nogueira and the Raptors first rounder.

Cons for Hornets: They’re getting by far the short end of the stick talent-wise in this trade. Fields is irrelevant, Nogueira might never be a real NBA player, and the Raptors first round pick is likely to be at the end of the round.

Pros for Raptors: A quarter of the way through the season, the Raptors are leading the way in the Eastern Conference, and should make a deep playoff run. So what better year to go all in than this year? To get to the Finals they’re going to have to beat at least one of either the Bulls or Cavs, and to do that they’re going to need all the help they can get. Plus, they don’t give up much, and if Stephenson is a bad fit, they can get rid of him after next season.

Cons for Raptors: With adding Stephenson you always have to worry about the chemistry/locker room factor. There were reported problems in Indiana, and he doesn’t seem to be fitting in well with the Hornets. There at least has to be a consideration of Stephenson derailing everything the Raptors have built. Still, there aren’t too many cons here for the Raptors.