Each NBA team’s best trade in franchise history

Charlotte Hornets

Anthony Mason and Brad Lohaus for Larry Johnson to NY (1996)

Thanks to the respective selections of Larry Johnson (first overall in 1991) and Alonzo Mourning (second overall in 1992), the Charlotte Hornets believed they were on the fast track to becoming a perennial Eastern Conference contender.

Those hopes, however, were derailed only a few years later, as Mourning and Johnson’s inability to co-exist forced the team to trade both of them. Mourning was the first to go: he was traded to the Miami Heat alongside Pete Myers and LeRon Ellis for a package highlighted by bucket-getting wing Glen Rice.

The Johnson/Rice-led Hornets regressed substantially in 1995-96; with “Zo” no longer around to anchor the defense, the cavalcade of weak Charlotte defenders, including Rice, sunk the team to 27th in defensive rating and despite their top-five offense, they fell to 41-41 and missed the postseason.

For the Hornets to return to the postseason, they needed to remedy their matador defense. This revelation resulted in the organization doing what would’ve been unthinkable a few years prior: they traded Johnson away.

The team sent their declining star to the New York Knicks for journeyman Brad Lohaus and, most importantly, former Sixth Man of the Year Anthony Mason. While he didn’t possess the athleticism that Johnson did at the peak of his powers, Mason’s nimble feet and girth made him a versatile, invaluable cog in the Hornets’ revitalized D and even though he didn’t have the most refined offensive game, his ball-handling and passing in transition and in the post made him a boon on that end, too.

With Mason’s team-leading 11.4 win shares (WS), the Hornets maintained their elite offensive status and improved enough on defense to win 54 games in 1996-97 and return to the playoffs, though their season ended at the hands of Johnson and the Knicks in the first round.