
The Jazz are making an early splash ahead of free agency.
Utah is trading guard Collin Sexton and a 2031 second-round pick to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for veteran center Jusuf Nurkic, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Sexton, 26, averaged 18.4 points and 4.2 assists last season, but had been mentioned in trade chatter for weeks. Nurkic gives the Jazz a physical presence in the middle after spending last season with Charlotte and Phoenix.
The Stein Line’s Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported before the trade that the Hornets had been seeking a second ball-handler to take some of the pressure off LaMelo Ball. Charlotte has also been linked to free agent point guard Ty Jerome (Cleveland).
While Sexton is more of a combo guard than a true point, he can run the offense and shot the ball efficiently last season, posting a .480/.406/.865 line.
The deal also leaves Charlotte thin up front after previously agreeing to send Mark Williams to Phoenix. For now, Moussa Diabate and rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner sit atop the depth chart at center, so the Hornets are expected to target frontcourt help in free agency.
As for the Jazz, they’re bringing in a rugged veteran in Nurkic, who appeared in 51 games last season between Phoenix and Charlotte. He averaged 8.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 20.8 minutes per game. Charania reports Utah had interest in Nurkic even before the latest round of talks.
RELATED | Notable NBA free agents by position
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!