Nikola Vucevic starred for the hapless Orlando Magic for years before they traded him in the middle of the 2020/21 Season to the Chicago Bulls, and though he has not seen much playoff success there either, it is a much better situation.

Vucevic played in the 2021 All-Star Game two weeks before he was dealt to Orlando, and with the Bulls, he had Zach LaVine and later DeMar DeRozan, so he didn't have to carry the load.  He finished his run that year in Chicago with 21.5 Points per Game.

Over the last four seasons, Vucevic has continued to average a double-double, with similar statistical years of approximately 17 Points and 11 Rebounds per Game. He is in his mid-30s going into this year, but still has a lot left to offer and should rise significant rungs on this ladder.

Gordon Hayward was an All-Star in Utah and was signed by the Boston Celtics in 2017, though he got off to a rocky start when he was injured six minutes into the season and missed the year.  Heyward never matched his production in Boston, but Charlotte hoped for better when they acquired the Forward in a sign-and-trade in 2020.

Hayward averaged 19.4 Points per Game with a 17.5 PER in his first year in Buzz City, but he his stats have declined since, posting still-respectable metrics of 15.9 and 14.7 Points per Game, though his PER dropped under 14 in 2023-24.   He played one more season, though that was split between Charlotte anf OKC, as he was traded midway through the campaign.

He retired afterward.

Taken with the 12^th Overall Pick in 2019, P.J. Washington ventured east from the University of Kentucky to the Charlotte Hornets, the team where he began his NBA career.

Washington was a Second Team All-Rookie at Power Forward, averaging 12.2 Points per Game, but he did not show much improvement in his sophomore year, with only moderate statistical gains.  Washington lost his permanent starting job in 2021-22, but reclaimed the starter’s role and had a career-high 15.7 PPG.

In 2023-24, Washington was traded during the season to Dallas (is that farther away from Brittany Renner?), and P.J. averaged 13.0 PPG over 304 Games.

Mason Plumlee can be a punchline in some circles, but that should not be the case, as his play at Center has always been solid, though not star-making.

You don’t have to be a star to make it in the NBA, and Plumlee was already an eight-year veteran before he was traded to Charlotte, his fifth NBA team.  A Hornet for 129 Games, Plumlee started them all, averaging 9 Points and 8.6 Rebounds per Game.

Charlotte traded Plumlee to the Los Angeles Clippers for their playoff run in 2023.