Subscribe
Follow Us
The Utah Jazz cleared up some space in their crowded backcourt on Sunday, and the Charlotte Hornets were the primary beneficiary. Just a day before free agency opens up, the Jazz sent guard Collin Sexton to the Hornets in exchange for center Jusuf Nurkic, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
The Hornets will also get a second-round pick in 2030 as a part of the deal.
On paper, this deal makes sense for a Jazz team that has a lot of young guards on the roster, all of whom will want minutes. Keyonte George has been a big part of the Utah rotation over the last two years, and Isaiah Collier showed plenty of promise as a rookie in 2024-25. The Jazz also just drafted Florida star Walter Clayton Jr. in the first round of the NBA Draft, and this deal frees up minutes for him as a rookie as well.
Article Continues Below
On the Hornets side, Charlotte gets out of a bad, expiring deal in Nurkic that the Jazz can afford to pay out this season. The Hornets also get an explosive guard in Sexton who can light up the stat sheet as a secondary scorer, potentially coming off the bench for them.
The downside for the Hornets in this trade is that they lose yet another big man after trading Mark Williams to the Phoenix Suns on draft night. They did draft Creighton star Ryan Kalkbrenner early in the second round, and he is now the only true center on the roster heading into next season.
Sexton has been in the purgatory of Utah over the last few seasons, but he has still been able to out up solid numbers for a team that hasn't been all that competitive. In 2024-25, the Alabama product scored 18.4 points per game while shooting better than 40% from 3-point range, so he will add some much-needed scoring punch to this Hornets roster.
Nurkic played in a reduced role last season after being traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Hornets, but he can still be a quality player in spot minutes on the offensive end.
