With the Hornets needing to give Miles Bridges a massive contract extension this offseason, there is less incentive to keep Washington long enough to pay him if he’s not a long-term solution at any particular position going forward.

The Hornets would acquire a backup point guard to complement the dynamic options they have in the starting lineup. Indiana would be able to extend Washington and keep him around long-term to rebuild.

With their trade deadline acquisition of Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers got plenty of young talent. Adding Hunter to the collection could aid their bid to win this season or several seasons down the road.

He also fills a positional need. This team has several quality young big men. They’ve got their lead guard of the future in Haliburton. They don’t have quality 3-and-D wings on the same timeline.

Hunter solves that problem. Again, his game is portable enough to play with anybody. The same can be said of Haliburton. If the Pacers landed Hunter, they’d be one star away from having their core already set up. With lottery luck, that star could come this summer as well.