The NBA's Charlotte Hornets franchise hasn't been around for a very long time. Its first season as a franchise was back in the 1988-89 season, less than 40 years ago.

The Hornets have yet to win a championship as a franchise or even make it to the NBA Finals. They have 10 playoff appearances as a franchise, with their most recent playoff appearance being in 2016 when they lost to Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in seven games in the first round of the postseason.

The Hornets certainly aren't the most successful franchise in the NBA, but they've still enjoyed their fair share of success over the years, particularly during the 1990s and early 2000s. And the Hornets have also made plenty of great trades over their three-plus-decade existence, as some of the best players in franchise history were acquired via trade, such as Glen Rice and Eddie Jones, just to name a few.

With all of that said, let's rank the five best trades in the history of the Charlotte Hornets franchise:

5. Hornets trade for Jeremy Lamb

In June of 2015, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Jeremy Lamb to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Luke Ridnour and a 2016 second-round pick.

Lamb put together a very productive four-season stint in Charlotte, as he averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game across 287 total regular-season appearances with the franchise.

Lamb's best season as a Hornet came during his last season with the franchise, the 2018-19 season. He averaged a career-high 15.3 points and shot 44.0 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from behind the three-point arc in 79 games played during the regular season (55 starts).

After Lamb's stint with the Hornets came to an end following the 2018-19 season, he spent the next three seasons playing for the Indiana Pacers. He was a solid bench player in Indiana, as he averaged 10.0 points per game in 121 regular-season games as a Pacer. But his field-goal percentage dipped drastically in the 2021-22 season, so the Pacers dealt him, along with star big man Domantas Sabonis, to the Sacramento Kings in the Tyrese Haliburton trade. Lamb continued to struggle to shoot the ball accurately from the field in his short stint with the Kings in the latter half of the 2021-22 regular season, and he hasn't played for an NBA team since then.

4. Hornets trade for Eddie Jones

In 1999, the Charlotte Hornets traded Glen Rice, J.R. Reid, and B.J. Armstrong to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell.

Jones' stint in Charlotte was short-lived, as he spent just two seasons with the Hornets franchise. But while his stint with the team was brief, it was still very productive.

Jones averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.8 steals per game across 102 total regular-season games played with the Hornets (all starts).

His best season as a Hornet came during his second and final season with the franchise, the 1999-00 season. Jones averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and a league-high 2.7 steals per game in 72 games during the regular season.

Jones played in one playoff series as a Hornet, and it was against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2000 postseason. And Jones was the second-best player on the team behind only Derrick Coleman during that series, as he averaged 17.0 points and 2.5 steals per game, but the Hornets lost the series 3-1.

Once Jones' stint as a Hornet came to an end following the 1999-00 season, he went on to play for three more teams — the Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks — across the next eight seasons before retiring after the 2007-08 season at the age of 36.

3. Hornets trade for Nicolas Batum

In 2015, the Charlotte Hornets traded Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Nicolas Batum.

Batum spent five seasons as a member of the Hornets and averaged 12.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in 308 total regular-season games with the franchise (286 starts).

His best season as a Hornet came during his first season with the team, the 2015-16 season, as he averaged 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game during the regular season.

Batum's excellent play during the regular season didn't carry over into the 2016 postseason, however. He averaged just 11.4 points and 2.0 assists per game during Charlotte's first-round series against the Miami Heat and shot 37.8 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from behind the three-point arc.

Batum's stint with the Hornets came to an end following the 2019-20 season. He then joined the Los Angeles Clippers and has spent the last three seasons of his pro career with the franchise. Batum isn't the same All-Star caliber player he was during the early part of his Hornets tenure, but he's served as an effective 3-and-d role player with the Clippers. He has averaged 7.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game across 204 regular-season games with the Clippers (111 starts).

2. Hornets trade for Emeka Okafor

In 2004, the Charlotte Hornets traded a first-round pick and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the second-overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Emeka Okafor.

Okafor is one of the best big men to ever play for the franchise. He won the 2004-05 Rookie of the Year award and averaged 14.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game across 330 regular-season games with the Hornets (326 starts).

His best season as a Hornet came during his third season with the franchise, the 2006-07 season, as he averaged 14.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game during the regular season.

Unfortunately, Okafor didn't play in a single playoff game during his five-season stint with the Hornets. But that wasn't his fault, as there wasn't enough talent around Okafor for the Hornets to be a playoff team, as evidenced by the fact that they never won more than 35 games in a single season with Okafor on the squad.

Once Okafor's stint with the Hornets came to an end following the 2008-09 season, he played five seasons for two more teams, the New Orleans Hornets and the Washington Wizards, before retiring from the NBA at the age of 35.

1. Hornets trade for Glen Rice

In 1995, the Charlotte Hornets made the best trade in the history of the franchise. They traded Alonzo Mourning to the Miami Heat in exchange for Glen Rice, Khalid Reeves, and Matt Geiger.

Glen Rice is certainly the best player that the Hornets received in this trade, as he's widely recognized as one of the best players in franchise history.

Rice spent just three seasons as a member of the Hornets, but during this time, he accomplished so much, both from an individual and collective standpoint. He made the All-Star team in each of his three seasons in Charlotte and averaged 23.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.0 steals per game in 240 total regular-season games as a member of the Hornets (239 starts).

But, most importantly, the Hornets experienced success as a team when they had Rice. They made the postseason in two out of the three seasons they had Rice. Their deepest playoff run came during the 1998 postseason.

The Hornets made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where they lost to Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the Chicago Bulls in five games. But Rice was Charlotte's best player during the Eastern Conference Semifinals series, as he averaged a team-high 22.6 points per game for the series and shot 44.1 percent from the field.

After Rice's stint with the Hornets came to an end following the 1997-98 season, he played for four teams — the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Clippers — over the next six seasons before retiring after the 2003-04 season at the age of 36.