NBA Mock Trade: Clippers snag talented big man from Hornets

Nick Richards could be bound for the west coast.

Zach Roberts | 9 Hours Ago

Dec 30, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards (4) warms up before the game against the Chicago Bulls at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images / Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

In this story:

Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are probably going to look very different after the February 6 trade deadline. At 8-27, they're not trending towards a play-in spot, and they would be better served to sell off assets and keep working on the seemingly never-ending rebuild. In this mock trade, they do just that with Nick Richards, sending him to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Nick Richards lands with Clippers in NBA mock trade

Especially with Kawhi Leonard finally healthy, the Los Angeles Clippers don't have a lot of holes on their roster. They could use some depth at some of them, but their starting five is strong. Their biggest need right now is a backup center.

Ivica Zubac is playing very well, but the depth chart behind him is thin. Nicolas Batum, former Hornets legend, is listed as the backup center. Batum is far from his prime and is also just 6'8". They need a backup center.

Fortunately, Charlotte has one of the better backup centers available right now. Nick Richards has shined when starting in place of Mark Williams and has been a key contributor off the bench. In the win over the Phoenix Suns, Richards had 15 points and 12 rebounds, so he's the focal point of this mock.

This trade doesn't add an impactful player to the rotation in Charlotte, though. Packaging Richards and Taj Gibson (to make salaries match), the Hornets get back PJ Tucker and a 2029 first-round pick. Richards doesn't have the value to get a whole lot more than that, but a first-round pick is very useful.

Tucker is an expensive, expiring contract. He'd be a buy-out candidate, but either way, he'd come off the books after this season. That would free up $11.5 million in cap space for free agency, and the Hornets get a future first.

This does leave the big-man depth chart pretty slim in Charlotte. However, they can give more minutes to Moussa Diabate and Tidjane Salaun, both of whom could benefit from more playing time to develop.