Lakers have reason to pursue Josh Green; should Hornets care?

By swapping out Vincent’s expiring $11.5 million for Green’s $13.7 million cap hit in 2025-26, the Lakers would immediately become better. Green is a reliable bench guy who defends both guards and wings with extreme effort, and he doesn’t need the ball on offense.

Sure, Green has another year on his deal ($14.7 million in 2026-27), but the Lakers would be more than okay paying that if Green ended up being an important part of their rotation.

But what would Charlotte think of all this?

A Josh Green trade makes sense for the Hornets, too

Green is a player ready to contribute to winning in the present, but the Hornets are still rebuilding. And while Green’s $28.3 million over two years isn’t a wild expense, Charlotte would be wise to maintain as much cap flexibility as possible while they plan for the future.

Furthermore, removing Green from the depth chart equation would make Charlotte’s surplus of bench guards less of an issue, and it would, on the whole, create more minutes for a guy like Liam McNeeley to audition on the wing right away.

When you’re contending, role players like Green are invaluable. When you’re rebuilding, those same players are expendable.

That’s the difference between the Lakers and Hornets in 2025, and it’s why Green makes way more sense in Los Angeles.

However, this trade isn’t as simple as it appears.

The Adou Thiero dilemma

A straight-up, Vincent-for-Green swap doesn’t work financially. The Lakers would need to send more salary out, and the only contract on their books that works for such a scenario is that of rookie wing Adou Thiero, who, by the way, isn’t trade-eligible until December 15.

The other thing about Thiero is that he’s far from a throwaway asset. This is a guy who was just selected at No. 36 overall in the 2025 NBA draft and has real potential. The Lakers are well aware of that potential and would probably demand at least two second-rounders on top of Green if they were giving up Thiero and Vincent.

There are also problems on Charlotte’s end, mainly a roster that is already at 18 players. With the Hornets needing to subtract players, doing a 2-for-1 trade like this wouldn’t make sense.

Charlotte would need to move on from a couple of assets (Pat Connaughton being one) before doing a deal like this. The good news is, since this trade couldn’t happen until December 15 anyway, there is ample time for the Hornets to trim their roster between now and then.

Ultimately, would Charlotte’s president of basketball operations, Jeff Peterson, feel comfortable forking over two-second rounders just to get off Green’s contract? That seems like an overpay, but everything would come down to how Peterson feels about Thiero as a prospect.

If Peterson is high on Thiero, a trade sending Green and two second-round picks (2027, 2028) to the Lakers for Vincent and Thiero might just be a deal that benefits everyone.

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