Could the Hornets trade the No. 4 pick? Three teams who might be ready to pounce

The 2025 NBA Draft is just over a week away and the Charlotte Hornets, like many other teams, are getting ready to put their plans into action.

Practically every year, the draft creates drama and trade activity with teams looking to trade up or back in the draft, and this year should be no different.

The Hornets may just be one of the teams that might be listening to trade offers for their fourth pick. There could be several teams eying the Hornets' high lottery pick, so let's take a look at three of them that could be looking to strike a deal with the Hornets.

No.1 - New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are a team under new management that could be looking to start fresh, which means they may be willing to make a trade to acquire a better prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The Pelicans are among the teams that had one of the worst records in the NBA, but fell in the draft lottery. They currently hold the seventh pick in the draft, but it wouldn't be much of a surprise if they looked to trade with the Hornets to acquire potential prospects like VJ Edgecombe or Ace Bailey.

If the Pelicans were to trade up, they'd likely have to move on from one of their younger players, but the question for them will be, is it worth the price to move up in the draft?

No. 2 - Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz could make perfect sense as a trade partner with the Hornets since they'll be picking just one spot after Charlotte. It's not uncommon for teams to trade with each other when they're a spot apart.

In fact, the Hornets did just that in the 2018 draft when they traded back one spot with the Clippers to select Miles Bridges.

For Charlotte, they may be looking to acquire some added draft capital while selecting someone they still like. Meanwhile, Utah could be thinking bigger picture and be willing to give up some of their future draft assets to select someone they'd prefer to draft.

No. 3 - Chicago Bulls

This team could be the sneakiest candidate of them all. The Bulls are a team that've been in one of the worst situations in recent memory. A team that should be rebuilding, but refuses to do so.

Well, that approach landed Chicago the 12th pick in the upcoming draft, which isn't ideal for a team stuck in the middle.

The Bulls may be a team with potential interest in Ace Bailey, and if the 76ers select VJ Edgecombe, then the Bulls may be become more likely to attempt to strike a deal with the Hornets.

However, for the Bulls to trade up to fourth in the draft, they'd have to send the Hornets quite the package, since moving up eight spots in the draft is quite the challenge. Will they be willing to do that?

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