Josh Okogie was part of the return from the Nick Richards trade. The Charlotte Hornets were expected to look into flipping him to net even more assets. Whether

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Charlotte, which has now won five of its past eight games, dominated against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans.

The Hornets ran their fourth quarter lead to a whopping 33 points, a season high, in a game that was never in doubt. When Nick Smith Jr. cashed a three-pointer to extend Charlotte's lead to 33, he became the ninth Hornet player to hit a three on the evening, tying a team record.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Phoenix Suns acquired center Nick Richards and a second-round pick in 2025 from the Charlotte Hornets for guard Josh Okogie ... by the New Orleans Pelicans in the ...

He was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2020 NBA Draft out of the University of Kentucky, and Charlotte acquired him in a draft-night trade.

Charlotte receives second-round draft picks from the Denver Nuggets in 2026 and 2031, in addition to a second-round draft pick from Phoenix in 2031. The Hornets send a 2025 second-round draft pick, the least favorable between Denver and the Philadelphia 76ers, to the Suns.

Boston Celtics guard Jaden Springer also received several mentions as a clear way for the extremely expensive defending champions to save money ahead of the stretch run. In a similar vein, several scouts and execs mentioned the Cleveland Cavaliers,

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Paul George scored 30 points, Tyrese Maxey had 29 and the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-129 on Friday night to end a seven-game losing streak. Cleveland lost its second straight to drop into a tie for the NBA lead with Oklahoma City at 36-8. Philadelphia is 16-27.

All 11 of the Charlotte Hornets that played scored and nine of them made 3-pointers as they defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 123-92. The Summary It took about a minute-and-a-half for either team to score to start the game.