Answering your Hornets questions: Is Cody Zeller or Terry Rozier better trade bait?
Some Hornets fans are extremely interested in whether Charlotte trades Terry Rozier and/or Cody Zeller this season.
I get it. Rozier is second ($18.9 million) and Zeller is third ($15.4 million) on the Hornets’ payroll. Neither is sure to start this season. It makes sense there’d be curiosity about dealing one or the other.
Keep in mind that trades will be harder this NBA season. The pandemic gutted league-wide revenues, and there was no rise in the salary cap. Only a handful of teams, the Hornets among them, had any cap room when the league’s new fiscal year started.
You don’t have to have cap room to make a trade, but it’s more complicated with nearly all 30 teams above the cap and some in luxury-tax jeopardy.
That trade question tops a training camp Hornets mailbag. (Questions might include minor editing for clarity/brevity):
LESS LIKELY TO BE ON THE HORNETS ROSTER AFTER THE TRADE DEADLINE, ROZIER OR ZELLER? — Russell
If I had to guess one or the other gets traded, I’d say Zeller. But it’s close and the odds of either one getting dealt in the next few months aren’t high.
This is the last season on Zeller’s contract, and I think he’s a good fit as a “rental” for a contender: He’s not caught up in whether he starts or comes off the bench, and he’s low-maintenance. If a good team lost a big man to an injury, I can sure see that call being made to Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak.
Rozier is more complicated because there is another season beyond this one on his contract, with a guaranteed $17.9 million salary. Seemingly, it would be easier to trade him next off-season than now.
WHERE DO YOU RANK GORDON HAYWARD AMONG ALL-TIME FRANCHISE FREE AGENTS? — Eyquem
Technically, Hayward wasn’t a free agent signing, but that’s because the Boston Celtics wanted to preserve a traded player exception (TPE) by doing a sign-and-trade. But since the Hornets successfully recruited him, I count him as a free agent.
Off the top of my head, the best free agents (off other teams) in Hornets history: Al Jefferson, Marvin Williams, David Wesley, Bobby Phills and Johnny Newman. The other coup of sorts was signing Brad Miller (who ended up a two-time All-Star) as an undrafted free agent.
Hayward is a former All-Star (2017). He probably doesn’t have the athleticism he did back then, after that severe leg injury, but he should be the Hornets’ best offensive player, improve ball-movement and play both forward spots. I think he was the best free agent (at least based on resume) to switch teams in the 2020 class.
I’d say the bar for best Charlotte free-agent signing was Jefferson. Big Al was All-NBA third team his first season here. He might have tailed off in impact after that, but All-NBA is a bigger deal than All-Star appearance.
WHAT ARE EXPECTATIONS THIS SEASON? AFTER THE OFF-SEASON MOVES, I’M STARTING TO EXPECT A PLAYOFF SPOT. — Nick
I think the Hornets have a shot at breaking a four-season streak without playoffs. But “expect” is overly optimistic.
As I detailed in this column, the Hornets finishing top-eight in the East is dicey, considering the changes the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards also made. I could see them finishing ninth or 10th in the East, which would at least give them a shot via the new play-in tournament.
WILL MALIK MONK HAVING COVID-19 LEAD TO HIM BEING OUT OF THE ROTATION? — Eric
Monk will likely miss all of training camp and probably some preseason games, after testing positive for coronavirus. He is asymptomatic, which hopefully means the illness won’t affect his health once he’s cleared to practice and play.
There is obviously a crowd of perimeter players with LaMelo Ball and Hayward joining guards Devonte Graham and Rozier. Monk losing much, maybe all, of the preseason will hold him back. But remember that Kupchak has called Monk as talented as any player on last season’s roster.
It is a huge season for Monk, the final one on his rookie-scale contract before he would become a free agent (presumably restricted). As well as he played in the weeks before the drug suspension last winter, I’d be surprised if he fell out of the rotation entirely.
DOES HAYWARD AND BALL COMING IN MEAN FEWER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MARTIN TWINS AND JALEN MCDANIELS? — Larry
Definitely. While all three of those rookies showed some promise, their presence in the rotation late last season was largely circumstantial: a team in experiment mode and heavily in a youth movement. Those guys are now at the fringe of the rotation.
I specifically asked coach James Borrego on Saturday if last season’s policy — lean to young guys in close playing-time decisions — still applies. Borrego replied that he is no longer “driven” by that agenda. So performance will guide playing time, regardless of whether someone is a veteran or a young guy.
WHAT’S YOUR BEST GUESS WHAT THE CLOSING LINEUP WILL BE? — WhichCarolina
Who closes games is far more important than who starts, so this is a great question. I think Hayward, P.J. Washington and Graham would be in games at the end. The closer calls are the other guard and the other big man, and those will be game-to-game decisions.
Rozier or Ball: If Rozier is shooting well — and he was one of the NBA’s better catch-and-shoot guys last season — it’s hard to lose his experience to play a rookie. However, Ball is much taller at 6-foot-7 (Rozier is 6-2) and the superior passer. Also, if Monk is playing well on a given night, he would be in there for the fourth quarter because he’s the best mix of scorer and playmaker.
Zeller or Miles Bridges: Borrego has said he will use power forward Washington “a lot” as a small-ball center. That moves Bridges to power forward, where I think he is most effective. But there will also be nights when the Hornets need size to match up with an opposing 7-footer. That means Zeller (or sometimes Bismack Biyombo) must play down the stretch.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Answering your Hornets questions: Is Cody Zeller or Terry Rozier better trade bait?."
