The Charlotte Hornets are trading center Jusuf Nurkic to Utah Jazz for guard Collin Sexton and a second-round draft pick in 2031, ESPN's Shams Charania reports.
With Sexton, the Hornets add another perimeter scorer to a roster that already features LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and newly drafted forward Kon Knueppel, whom they selected out of Duke with the No. 4 pick in last week's draft. Sexton projects to come off the bench behind Ball and Miller and provide the Hornets with a secondary playmaker to the oft-injured Ball.
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The trade will leave Charlotte thin in the post after the Hornets traded center Mark Williams to the Phoenix Suns on draft night. The deal could open a path to minutes for second-round rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who was drafted last week with the No. 34 pick.
Nurkic joins a Jazz team that features rising fourth-year pro Walker Kessler as its starting center. Nurkic played just 26 games in Charlotte after arriving to the Hornets prior to the in-season trade deadline from the Suns.
Sexton, 26, averaged 18.4 points and 4.2 assists last season while shooting 48% from the floor and 40.6% from 3-point distance in 63 games, including 61 starts. Nurkic averaged 8.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 47.7% from the floor and 30.5% from 3 in 51 games with the Hornets and Suns, 32 of which were starts.
Both players are playing on expiring contracts. Sexton is due $19 million in 2025-26 and will become a free agent the following offseason without a new deal. Nurkic is due $19.4 million on the final season of his contract.
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