'Nico Harrison special': Green a gift to rising Hornets

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Who would've seen the rapid and unexpected rise of the Charlotte Hornets coming?

Well, Sam Vecenie did.

And the senior NBA writer for The Athletic and the co-host of the popular Game Theory Podcast believes bringing in Aussie wing Josh Green in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks has been a major catalyst for the Hornets climbing into the play-in picture after being victorious in seven of their past 10 games and recently winning six in a row.

On the latest episode of the basketball.com.au podcast, Cut to the Jase with Jason Cadee, Vecenie said Green's departure from the Mavericks was one of many puzzling decisions from a now-fired Mavericks general manager.

"I loved that trade for (Charlotte) when Dallas did it. That was like a Nico Harrison special. I have no idea why that deal happened," Vecenie said.

"I do think they wanted to get off some money, but I think Josh Green's a valuable rotation player in the NBA, and they gave him away, it felt like to me.

"(The Hornets) needed somebody to provide energy, athleticism, all the things he's just intensely capable of providing, so it's a perfect fit (at Charlotte)."

Green's skills and experience have been a perfect fit for the Hornets after the Boomers' Olympic bronze medalist returned from off-season shoulder surgery.

In a team that already featured the likes of LaMelo Ball as well as Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller and former Los Angeles Clipper Moussa Diabate, Charlotte added rookie of the year candidate Kon Knueppel and has gone through a mid-season resurgence that has shocked the NBA and has them five games clear of 11th and just four games away from sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Most doubted whether the Hornets had any clear direction going forward, and most doubted head coach and former Boston Celtics championship assistant Charles Lee, but Vecenie said the signs were there last season.

"Charlotte, I think, is an amazing case of these five guys, their starters - LaMelo Ball, Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate - these five guys together have such incredible synergy on the court that they elevate each other through their own games, through their own styles of play, through how Charles Lee weaponises them on the court within their own styles," Vecenie said.

"I think the world of what Charles Lee has done. I even said last year that I thought he was doing a really good job with them, and people would yell at me like, 'What are you talking about, his rotations are really bad'.

"But it's like no, his scheme is really strong, he's bringing a lot of the concepts that the Celtics bring, picking up low-hanging fruit and everything to what Charlotte is doing. I think we're seeing the fruits of that right now.

"I loved what they did in the draft this past year. They just focused on getting in four guys in Knueppel, Sion James, Ryan Kalbrenner, and Liam McNeeley, who are just grown-ass adults.

"I know that a lot of them are 19, 20-year-old - Sion and Kalkbrenner are 23 years old, but like those guys, like all really give a shit, they care, and they are professionals, and they are like really driven to be the best that they can be on a basketball court.

"I think that bringing those guys in, in addition to some of the other moves they made, really helped them continue to go down that road.

"I think Jeff Peterson's done an outstanding job as the general manager. I think that again like it's just such a it's such an example of how synergy between players on the court can elevate everybody on the court in a real way."