Analysis: As clock ticks closer to NBA trade deadline, it’s time for Hornets to make a move

There’s a portion of Steve Clifford that’s just like everyone else, ready for the NBA’s clock to speed up a bit and strike midnight.

OK, so technically that translates into 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, when the deadline for final trades of the 2022-23 season passes. Still, because it marks the last opportunity for teams to make any major roster shakeups, nerves can become, well, slightly frazzled because of the uncertainty surrounding more than a few individuals.

Despite the Charlotte Hornets’ never-ending season-long freefall, they aren’t excluded from the churning rumor mill, either. Quite the opposite, in fact, which makes their coach eager to put it all past them so they can look toward the remainder of the 26 games on their schedule.

“Yeah, it’s one of the unfortunate parts of our league,” Clifford said Wednesday night after the Hornets’ 118-104 loss to the Washington Wizards. “I don’t know if that was the issue tonight, but for sure (it’s hard).”

Whether the Hornets (15-41) finish their mini two-game road trip with the same roster that took the floor at Capital One Arena against the Wizards remains to be seen. But make no mistake about it: When Charlotte dons its game jerseys for its lone nationally televised outing, which comes against Boston at TD Garden on Friday, there must be a change or two.

For the sake of everyone’s sanity. The Hornets can’t go on like this, not with the black-cat-path-crossing, walking-under-a-ladder kind of luck they’ve endured since last spring.

They escaped another brief scare when Mason Plumlee, one of their most tradeable assets, got whacked on the right hand hard by Wizards star Bradley Beal in the third quarter, forcing Plumlee to exit and head immediately into the locker room. But Plumlee had Joe Sharpe, the Hornets’ director of healthcare and sports performance, tape two fingers together before eventually shedding the bandage later. He wound up logging 18 minutes in the second half.

That, of course, was a good thing for the Hornets. Having Plumlee get injured in their final outing leading into the deadline would have been yet another cruel twist of fate in a frustrating season. But they have to find a way to salvage something out of these past few months, and the trade market should be just the place to make it happen.

Let’s begin by profoundly proclaiming this is not to suggest the Hornets should be hasty and make a move for the sake of doing something. That’s dumb. But if they don’t intend on re-signing any of their potential free agents like Mason Plumlee or Kelly Oubre, the only smart thing to do is acquire an asset for them instead of watching them leave in the offseason without any compensation in return.

Standing pat doesn’t really feel like an option at this point for the Hornets, not if they have an eye toward the offseason as they should. Even so, it’s hard to say a noteworthy transaction by the Hornets before the deadline is a given, especially when examining the approach utilized by president of basketball operations/GM Mitch Kupchak’s during his tenure with the Hornets.

While it doesn’t necessarily mean history will repeat itself, looking at Kupchak’s track record at the trade deadline suggests the Hornets won’t be overly active. He’s not the type to wheel and deal during the regular season, fishing for major deals to dramatically alter their roster.

Typically, Kupchak’s in-season moves involve the end-of-the-bench guys. Such as in 2018-19 when he brought in Shelvin Mack in a trade from Memphis, which didn’t exactly shift the balance of power in the Hornets’ favor. But even then, it’s not like Kupchak sat by his iPhone and twiddled his thumbs, waiting for the right package to come his way. The Hornets were in on Marc Gasol, who at the time played for the Memphis Grizzlies, before the big man got traded to Toronto prior to the deadline.

Gasol had a player option for 2019-20 and, from all indications, wouldn’t commit to Charlotte beyond the 2018-19 campaign. And the Hornets weren’t about to part with precious assets for a two-plus month rental. They can’t afford that price tag considering how valuable their draft picks are. Gasol ended up exercising his option to stay in Toronto after helping the Raptors win the franchise’s first NBA championship in 2019.

In Kupchak’s second season in charge, the Hornets were in full-blown rebuild mode following the sign-and-trade of Kemba Walker and there was need for any upgrades — or downgrades — leading into the rest of the pandemic-shortened season.

During the 2020-21 campaign, which was LaMelo Ball’s rookie season, a Brad Wanamaker pickup was Kupchak’s lone roster tweak at the deadline.

Last year, as the Hornets tried to hold onto a favorable spot in the play-in tournament, Kupchak lured in Montrezl Harrell from Washington for Vernon Carey Jr. and Ish Smith with hopes of bolstering their weak play inside. Harrell aided on occasion, but he’s undersized at center and didn’t do much to help the Hornets out defensively.

To sum it up: the evidence points to an unlikelihood of anything significant happening on the Hornets’ front. As the minutes tick down, Clifford will savor being out of the loop as much as possible.

“Mitch is great because he always says, ‘I won’t come to you with anything unless there’s something pending or close or anything like that,” Clifford said. “So, it’s great because he always says, ‘I want you to concentrate on the team.’

“And I think most of that stuff, as it gets down to Wednesday night late and Thursday. I think it’s definitely a tough time. It’s tough for the players. And as great as this league is to work in, these are two or three of the tougher days.”