A busy offseason for the NBA continued Sunday, with the Utah Jazz trading Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round pick to the Hornets in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Both Sexton and Nurkic will be unrestricted free agents after this coming season, so this was a swap of expiring deals, with the Hornets also getting a second-round pick as a bonus. Below, I give grades for both teams involved in this trade.
Utah Jazz Trade Grade
Utah Jazz Grade: C+
Trading away Sexton makes a ton of sense for the Jazz, after the club just drafted Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. last week. Both of these players are outstanding prospects, especially Bailey, who Utah will want to give large roles to right out of the gate next season. Removing Sexton from the equation gives both Bailey and Clayton Jr. clearer paths to sizable workloads and it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see the Jazz trade away another veteran like Jordan Clarkson to further solidify the organization’s plans of developing Bailey and Clayton Jr.
However, acquiring Nurkic has less logic for Utah, unless the club plans on moving a front-court player, which wouldn’t be a surprise either, as Walker Kessler has been a hot name in trade rumors all offseason. With Nurkic joining the roster, the Jazz currently have Kessler, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins and Kyle Fililpowski up front. Nurkic absolutely falls behind all these players on the depth chart and if the Jazz don’t deal another big or flip Nurkic himself, this trade will be a questionable move for Utah.
Charlotte Hornets Trade Grade
Charlotte Hornets: B-
With LaMelo Ball coming off wrist and ankle surgery this past spring, and the guard being possibly limited or not ready to start the 2025-26 season, trading for Sexton is smart for the Hornets. The veteran can handle a large role as one of the team’s main guards until Ball is fully healthy, as Sexton is an established scoring guard, who is averaging over 18.6 PPG over the last two seasons.
However, on the other side of the coin, the Hornets are now very thin when it comes to centers. Not only did Charlotte just lose Nurkic in this trade, but the club just traded away Mark Williams on draft night. With Grant Williams (knee) possibly not ready for the start of the season, this leaves Moussa Diabate as the Hornets’ starting center, with rookie second-round pick Ryan Kalkbrenner as his backup. In result, signing or trading for another big men feels inevitable for Charlotte. While there are question marks surrounding this trade for both the Jazz and Hornets, Charlotte receiving a second-pick in the deal and a player in Sexton who fills a void for the team gives the Hornets the slight edge in this trade.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Jazz and Hornets are tied for the worst odds to win the 2025-26 NBA Championship at +10000.
