Charlotte, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets have made a significant addition to their roster by acquiring center Jusuf Nurkic along with a 2026 first-round draft pick from the Phoenix Suns. In exchange, the Hornets sent guards Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic, as well as a 2026 second-round pick, according to a source who requested to remain anonymous due to the pending nature of the transaction.

This trade follows a series of transactions by the Hornets, including a deal on Wednesday night that saw them parting ways with center Mark Williams. In that trade, they received rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and additional draft considerations from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Earlier in the previous month, the two teams had conducted another trade, in which Charlotte gave up center Nick Richards and a second-round pick for guard Josh Okogie and three future second-round picks from the Suns.

Nurkic, who is 30 years old, has recorded an average of 8.6 points and 9.2 rebounds over 25 games this season for Phoenix, which has not met expectations. His most productive season was during the 2019-20 campaign with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he averaged 17.6 points and 10.2 rebounds.

On the other hand, Micic has contributed 7.5 points and 3.5 assists for the Hornets recently, stepping up in LaMelo Ball’s absence due to an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Martin has seen action in 39 games this season with averages of 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds. However, he has faced injury challenges throughout his career, missing 138 games over the past three seasons. Despite this, when fit, Martin is recognized as one of the league’s more effective on-ball defensive players.