Cody Zeller Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz, Speculation Surrounding Hornets PF

The Charlotte Hornets are in desperate need of upgrades on the wing, and they may be willing to part with former lottery pick Cody Zeller in order to nab one. 

Continue for updates. 

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Charlotte Shopping Zeller, Eyeing Kaminsky

Wednesday, June 24

The Hornets began overhauling their roster in advance of the NBA draft by dealing Lance Stephenson to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes, and it appears as though they're not done testing the trade waters. 

According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Charlotte is interested in moving Zeller if it can snag a shooter for the former No. 4 overall pick and acquire a more versatile big at No. 9 overall: 

As Wojnarowski mentions, parting with Zeller would open up a frontcourt slot next to Al Jefferson, who recently opted in to the final year of his deal with the Hornets. Considering Zeller is a career 35.3 percent shooter from mid-range, according to Basketball-Reference.com, replacing him with the rangier Frank Kaminsky makes loads of sense. 

The question, then, revolves around Charlotte finding a trade partner for Zeller.

Soon to be 23 years old, Zeller doesn't offer much upside as a scorer. While he was steady on the boards, grabbing 5.8 per game last season, he averaged just 7.6 points while shooting 46.1 percent from the field. Given that more than half of his total shots came within three feet of the basket, that's not a conversion rate or distribution teams tend to look for in modern bigs. 

However, Hornets head coach Steve Clifford did reiterate that the seven-footer was trying to add a corner three-point stroke to his arsenal shortly after the season ended during an appearance on SiriusXM's NBA Radio, according to At the Hive. 

The good news for Charlotte is Zeller's due just $4.2 million in base salary this season, per Spotrac.com, meaning it wouldn't be hard to find a trade partner to match salaries in theory. Additionally, Zeller's due a team option worth $5.3 million next season that can be declined by an acquiring party as a way to clear cap space entering the summer of 2016.