Analysis: A look at the Charlotte Hornets’ recent trade history

The Charlotte Hornets make a lot of trades, and many of those have turned out quite well. By the NBA trade deadline every February, you can pretty much count on at least one transaction from this team.

The Hornets made a move Thursday, acquiring center Miles Plumlee from the Milwaukee Bucks in return for Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes. The deal means the Hornets are taking on Plumlee’s four-season, $50 million contract.

A review of Hornets trades since 2014 with a letter grade:

Acquire Marco Belinelli

Grade: B+

They gave up the draft rights to the 22^nd pick, selecting Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson for the Sacramento Kings. Belinelli has played well this season, filling in for some of the scoring the Hornets lost when Jeremy Lin, Courtney Lee and Al Jefferson signed elsewhere last summer.

Acquire Courtney Lee

Grade: A-minus

Hornets gave up little – P.J. Hairston, Brian Roberts and a protected second-round pick last season – for a guard-forward who filled in admirably for injured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. It wasn’t viable for the Hornets to re-sign Lee.

Acquire Jeremy Lamb

Grade: C-plus

The Hornets sent Luke Ridnour (who was contemplating retirement) and a second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in June 2015. It was a low-risk opportunity to check out Lamb, who quickly received a $21 million contract extension from the Hornets.

Acquire Nic Batum

Grade: A

Also in June 2015, the Hornets sent Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh to the Portland Trail Blazers . Henderson is now in Philadelphia. Vonleh was extraneous with the Hornets drafting Frank Kaminsky. Batum instantly became a core Hornets player, running the offense.

Acquire Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes

Grade: C-minus

This was an addition-by-subtraction deal in 2015, with the Hornets sending quirky Lance Stephenson to the Los Angeles Clippers. They accepted Hawes’ multi-year contract as the expense of moving Stephenson.

Acquire Mo Williams and Troy Daniels

Grade: B

Hornets sent Gary Neal and a second-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in February 2015. Williams was a terrific quick fix at point guard when Kemba Walker was injured.

Acquire Scotty Hopson

Grade: C

A minor deal in July 2014 that sent Brendan Haywood’s unguaranteed contract to Cleveland for potential cap-management purposes. The Hornets sent Hopson to New Orleans in return for cash.

Acquire Neal and Ridnour

Grade: C

They moved Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien to Milwaukee in February 2014. Neither Neal nor Ridnour did much as Hornets.

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Analysis: A look at the Charlotte Hornets’ recent trade history."