CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) \u2014 The Charlotte Hornets acquired guard Collin Sexton from the Utah Jazz for center Jusuf Nurkic and a future second-round draft pick, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been made official by the NBA.<\/p>\n
Sexton, a seven-year NBA veteran, played in 63 games last season for the Jazz, averaging 18.4 points and 4.2 assists per game. His best NBA season came in 2020-21 when he averaged 24.3 points and 4.4 assists for the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n
The Jazz drafted Walter Clayton in the first round and also have Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George in the backcourt, making Sexton expendable.<\/p>\n
Nurkic was acquired in a trade with the Suns last year, so this will mark his return to Utah. He played in 26 games and averaged 9.2 points for Charlotte.<\/p>\n
The move leaves the Hornets particularly thin at center.<\/p>\n
They traded away center Mark Williams on the first night of the NBA draft and also dealt away Nick Richards last year. That potentially leaves 6-foot-9 Moussa Diabate as the team\u2019s starting center, although the team did draft 7-footer Creighton\u2019s Ryan Kalkbrenner in the second round.<\/p>\n
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