Los Angeles Clippers: The Charlotte Hornets are perfect trade partners

Although the chaos of the NBA offseason is starting to subside, the Los Angeles Clippers still have a great trade partner in the Charlotte Hornets.

It takes two to tango and it takes two teams with exact opposite needs to make a good trade in the NBA. Luckily for the Los Angeles Clippers, the team has exactly what the Charlotte Hornets need.

Cap space. While the Clippers do not have a surplus of cap space this season, Los Angeles is currently in line for $53 million in practical cap space, according to Spotrac.

This surplus of cap space has been established by the Clippers with the basic understanding that the team thinks it will be a nice free agent destination next summer. With Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard headlining free agency, it is understandably smart to prepare now.

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The only problem is that LeBron James is now in town on the other team which significantly diminishes the Clippers’ stock as a free agent destination.

Another hurdle that the team has to get over is the fact there will not be an established roster to lure any stars in. At this time, the young assets will not have had enough time to blossom into young stars, unless they progress like Donovan Mitchell.

But even then, the Clippers’ roster is going to be barren and no star is going to want to commit to a team that literally has no security.

Thus, as we have been saying since day one, it is time to rebuild towards the future and stop prolonging the inevitable. It is time to use that cap space next season in a trade with a team that is desperate for cap space.

No team may be more desperate for cap space than the Hornets, especially now since LeBron James has taken his talents to the Western Conference.

Thus, the Clippers can bring in young assets and a future pick or two just for taking in salary; think of the D’Angelo Russell package that had to be sent to the Nets for Brook Lopez.

With that in mind, a perfect trade for both sides emerges.

Nicolas Batum has a massive contract that simply is not worth to the level he is playing and is seriously restricting the Charlotte Hornets. Batum would be the first contract that the Hornets would look to shop and the Clippers may be the only team that can take that contract on.

However, the Hornets also have to pay a fine price. Charlotte would have to part ways with promising young forward, Frank Kaminsky, as well as the team’s first-round pick next season.

In return, the Hornets immediately get better by adding Tobias Harris, who would instantly come in and be the second-best scorer on the Hornets. Charlotte would also get Wesley Matthews and a lesser version of Kaminsky in Sam Dekker.

Also, the Clippers can afford to send the Hornets a second-round pick considering the team will have multiple, depending on how draft rights play out.

Haris and Johnson are both on expiring deals, which opens up a ton of space for the Hornets to make moves next offseason. This deal, in that sense, is very similar to the Lakers-Nets deal a year ago.

The Lakers got better right away with Brook Lopez and opened cap space for the next offseason. The Nets traded a guy they were going to do nothing with anyway in his final year and got a promising young talent out of it.

This deal would be better for the Clippers than it was for the Nets but was also accomplish something huge for the Hornets. Thus, the hefty asking price is justified and worth it for both sides.

I get that people like Tobias Harris but the Los Angeles Clippers are unlikely to win anything this year with or without him. I also get that people want to sign a superstar next summer but those chances are slim to none.

Next: Clippers should take a chance on Jahlil Okafor

This is a better utilization of what the Los Angeles Clippers currently have. Praying that a star makes an unwise choice next summer is a scary way to manage a basketball team.

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