Hours before things shifted, Collin Sexton insisted his approach wasn’t changing.
“I always just be where my feet are at,” Sexton said Tuesday following practice. “I always put my trust in God, I always allow Him to direct my path. So, whenever I come in, each and every day, I’m coming in to work, I’m coming in to be present to do whatever is needed for the scene.
“I try not to think about any distractions or anything that’s going on outside. Always trying to (figure out) how can I get better? How can I be a better person than I was yesterday? And how can I impact winning and impact this team? So, whatever is going on outside, I’m always just trying to continue to be grateful that I am here.”
Turns out, Sexton is going to need to fill out a change of address form, though.
Among a series of transactions on Wednesday, the Charlotte Hornets traded Sexton, Ousmane Dieng — acquired earlier in the day from Oklahoma City for veteran center Mason Plumlee — and three second-round picks to the Chicago Bulls for North Carolina native Coby White and Mike Conley Jr.
But Jeff Peterson, the Hornets’ president of basketball operations, was far from done.
Later Wednesday, the Hornets made another move, acquiring Tyus Jones and two second-round picks from Orlando for cash considerations, league sources confirmed. Charlotte also waived veteran guard Pat Connaughton to cap off the flurry of activity.
Winners of seven straight games heading into Thursday’s date with the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center, the moves are sign the Hornets (23-28) are making a push for a play-in berth at minimum. Charlotte holds the NBA’s longest current playoff drought, which is nearing a decade, and is in prime position to go on a run following next week’s All-Star break.
Chicago and Atlanta are ahead of the Hornets in the standings, with the Bulls only a game in front. But Chicago is a seller during the deadline, sending the likes of White away along with trading Nikola Vucevic to the Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simons.
That’s one less team the Hornets will have to worry about down the stretch.
The other?
That would be Southeast Division rival Atlanta, the very team the Hornets meet on Saturday at State Farm Arena before closing out their pre All-Star break schedule against the Hawks four days later in uptown at Spectrum Center.
Which is why the Hornets likely aren’t done wheeling and dealing.
The Tre Mann watch is still on.
With the arrival of White, who’s earning $12.8 million in the final season of a three-year, $36-million contract, and the emergence of rookie Sion James, there won’t be any quality minutes for Mann. Even with the expectation that Conley will be bought out similar to what the Hornets did with Kyle Lowry when they acquired him from Miami in the Terry Rozier deal that landed Charlotte a future first-round pick.
Mann has fallen out of the Hornets’ main rotation, appearing in just 30 of the Hornets’ 51 games. A report surfaced suggesting Mann could be sent to Orlando — he’s a Central Florida native — for center Goga Bitadze. Although nothing was imminent leading into late Wednesday night, it still seems like a good possibility Mann gets moved to another locale.
As for White, he’s going to give the Hornets another option in the backcourt behind star guard LaMelo Ball. And at least one league executive likes the fit. The biggest question revolves around whether White will be around beyond this season since he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“Charlotte got a bigger guard off the bench,” a high-ranking official with one Eastern Conference team told The Charlotte Observer. “He will help with consistent scoring. Will be interested to see if they can re-sign him and at what cost.”
Either way, one thing’s certain: the Hornets finally appear to be on the right track. Now, it’s all about ensuring they don’t get derailed while riding their youthful core.