Grading The Jazz-Hornets Collin Sexton Trade

Here are the trade grades for each team.

Hornets – A

The Hornets adding a 26-year-old combo guard that started in 335 of the 407 games he’s played isn’t nothing.

Ball has played fewer than 52 games all but one season. The reality of his lack of durability, along with his questions about his shot-selection, defense, and leadership lend themselves to the possibility that Charlotte could move on from him one day. Not to be forgotten is the emergence of 2023 No. 2 pick Brandon Miller, who was averaging 21.0 points per game prior to sustaining a season-ending wrist injury.

With that in mind,  Sexton has scored over 20 points per game in multiple seasons. In fact, he averages 20.0 points per game as a starter. With his slow but steady evolution as a facilitator, he’s not just a shot-maker but playmaker. Thus, Sexton can make a big impact in Charlotte. Even when he comes off the bench, he’s averaged 13.1 points in 22.1 minutes per game.

On top of that, Hornets executive vice president Jeff Peterson was also able to acquire draft capital when he was arguably receiving the more effective player. Only time will tell how valuable that second-round pick really is. Still, at least he was able to pry it away.

With Nurkic gone, Charlotte may turn to either Moussa Diabate or 2024 No. 34 pick Ryan Kalkbrenner as the starter. The lithe Diabate, who’ll represent France during the 2025 EuroBasket Tournament, averaged 5.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game for the Hornets last season. Kalkbrenner was a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year at Creighton. In 2024-25, the lanky big man averaged 19.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. He also shot 34.4 percent from 3.

Jazz – C+

Nurkic —a skilled 3o-year-old center who Charlotte acquired last season –averaged 8.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in 2024-25. On the flip side, the 7-footer shot 47.7 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from 3. Nonetheless, he’s a rotation-level center with a skillset that Jazz head coach Will Hardy had proven himself capable of maximizing.

Whether or not Nurkic ever gets to make a big mark comes down to whether Utah makes any other moves though. At the present, trade candidate Walker Kessler is penciled in as the starter. Last season, 2024 No. 32 pick Kyle Filipowski broke out as his backup. Then there’s veteran John Collins, who has played plenty of minutes power forward and center, but who the Jazz have seemingly had trouble trading.

If Nurkic can’t carve out a consistent role, that would mean Utah gave up a player who started for them for a player who’ll ride the pine. Even worse, they’ll have given up a draft pick to do it. The best that they could say then is that they were able to clear a logjam. To that point, it’s been clear for many moons that Hardy and Co. wanted to start George over Sexton. The problem was that George simply wasn’t better than Sexton, making such a move hard to justify.

Now, George and 2024 No. 29 pick Isaiah Collier can start together without there being a power struggle. 2025 No. 18 pick Walter Clayton Jr. can play behind Collier without having to look over his shoulder.