Jan 5, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) shoots beside Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images David Richard-Imagn Images

NBA insider thinks Hornets could make blockbuster deal for possible Mark Williams replacement

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated May 22, 2025 8:54 AM ET

With the fourth pick in the NBA draft, the Charlotte Hornets can make a trade. While the prevailing thought process is that they can and should take someone like Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecombe and continue rounding out a young core, the pick is high enough that it could easily be packaged for an existing star.

Bailey, Edgecombe, or whatever prospect they take could be a star, but someone in the NBA now is a sure thing. Prospects virtually never are. NBA insider Eddie Bitar believes the fourth pick can go a long way towards getting Charlotte some established stars, including Jarrett Allen.

The full trade would be the 2025 fourth overall pick, a 2031 second-round pick, Jusuf Nurkic, and Josh Okogie for Allen. Bitar said, "Allen offers a strong interior presence, averaging 13.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game in the 2024-25 season, with a league-leading 70.6% field goal percentage. His efficiency and rebounding would be valuable assets for the Hornets, who are seemingly still undecided on what to do with Mark Williams."

The Mark Williams question would need to be answered. Both Williams and Allen are starter-level players, though using one as a sixth man would not be the end of the world. This could potentially allow them to trade Williams, though, and add more assets to recoup a little bit of what they lost for Allen, who probably ends up being cheaper in the long run than Williams because of his lack of offensive firepower in comparison.

"[Allen is] a perfect modern center who can anchor the defense and contribute offensively. Allen's consistency and experience would benefit the team's development as well, as he is coming off multiple playoff runs with the Cavaliers," Bitar argued. The Hornets have not had a true rim protector in a very long time, so making this move would be something that would improve their defense instantly.

It's also one of the cheaper deals in terms of getting an established star for the fourth pick. Some of the other deals posited by Bitar involve multiple first-round picks. Charlotte would prefer to hold on to Okogie to keep at least one solid perimeter defender, but he's not exactly a non-negotiable.