Rumor has it that the Denver Nuggets will likely buyout Hickson’s contract if he is not traded. Should the Charlotte Hornets Target JJ?

A recent report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports has said that the Denver Nuggets are likely to buyout big man, J.J. Hickson’s, contract if they are not able to trade him by the NBA’s trade deadline. The trade deadline is on Thursday, February 18th at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Here is the quote from Woj: “Several players almost assuredly who’ll get bought out and become free agents if they are not traded this week, leagues sources said, include Boston’s David Lee, Denver’s JJ Hickson and Brooklyn’s Andrea Bargnani.”

The twenty-seven year old Hickson has spent the three season in Denver with the Nuggets franchise and is in the final year of his contract. J.J. is power forward/center that can play both position and is a quality rebounder and interior defender.

Hickson is having a down year with the Nuggets as they have cut his minutes so that they could give their younger big men more minutes for the season. He is only averaging 6.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game this season in only 15.3 minutes per game.

Injuries over the last few season have diminished Hickson’s value to his team and to others around the league. He has only appeared in 20 games this season but in recent history, he has been a player that could average close to a double-double with points and rebounds.

If the Nuggets do in fact buyout his contract, I think that the Charlotte Hornets should definitely take a flyer on him. He likely won’t cost the team too much to sign. The Hornets are in need of quality big men after various injuries to Al Jefferson this season.

Big Al is set to return in the near future but there is no telling how he might hold up for the rest of the season as he has already missed 34 games this year. He has been limited to only 19 games with the Charlotte Hornets this season.

JJ Hickson could be a low risk-high reward signing for a team willing to take a chance with him. Cody Zeller and Spencer Hawes have played great for the Charlotte Hornets this season but neither of them are above average interior defenders. Frank Kaminsky has had a remarkable rookie campaign but he is more of a power forward that still does not have the strength to defend the low post at the NBA level.

I don’t see the Charlotte Hornets signing JJ Hickson if he is waived but I do think it would be a good idea for them to at least take a chance on him. They currently have six big men (including Marvin Williams and Tyler Hansrbough) on their roster so it is unlikely that they will want to sign another one but I think that Hickson could offer the Charlotte Hornets exactly what they are missing.

If Al Jefferson get’s injured again, the team will definitely have to make a move for another big man because they can not continue to deal with a player that gets injured. That could be Hickson’s best chance to land with the Charlotte Hornets.