As NBA trade rumors concerning the Los Angeles Lakers and Russell Westbrook reached a fever pitch this summer, one of the early, odds-on favorites to acquire him were the Charlotte Hornets (likely in a deal headlined by Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, or both).
The Hornets were one of the first teams linked to Westbrook as the rumor mill churned into full force, and it wasn’t necessarily because of Hayward, whose two-year contract the Lakers reportedly viewed as an impediment to a deal due to his health history even before his latest lengthy injury absence.