The Hornets Sent Boštjan Nachbar for Two Veterans and Cash
On February 23, 2006, the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets traded forward Boštjan Nachbar to New Jersey. The Hornets received center Marc Jackson, forward Linton Johnson III and cash from the Nets. League trade-deadline records verify all three pieces, and the Nets’ contemporaneous reporting describes the payroll flexibility that motivated the exchange. New Jersey had previously acquired Jackson without conveying the conditional second-round pick in that earlier trade, so this new agreement let the franchise obtain an athletic shooting forward while moving two expendable reserves. The deal did not include an additional first-round choice or involve the Charlotte Bobcats, which were reportedly another possible trade partner in discussions that never became this completed transaction.
Nachbar Became a Much Larger Nets Contributor One Year Later
Nachbar played only 11 Nets games during the remainder of 2005-06 and averaged 2.8 points in 8.8 minutes. His more valuable contribution came in the next two seasons. He appeared in 76 games during 2006-07, scoring 9.2 points with 42.3 percent three-point shooting, and played 75 more in 2007-08 at 9.8 points per game. New Jersey benefited from a credible bench scorer who could stretch the floor around Jason Kidd and Vince Carter. Those 151 games across two later seasons demonstrate a stronger return than a fleeting deadline rental. The canonical C- Nets grade is conspicuously low relative to Nachbar’s documented subsequent production, so a reader should distinguish the preserved inherited label from the actual playing record.
New Orleans Obtained Frontcourt Depth but Not a Replacement Scorer
Jackson was a veteran big man who could absorb interior minutes during the Hornets rebuilding period, and Johnson offered another defensive forward profile. The cash added an economic benefit, but the historical asset description does not attach a major new draft selection to the trade. Neither player became a high-volume long-term New Orleans scorer comparable to the healthy Nachbar seasons New Jersey later received. The Pelicans franchise’s B+ inherited grade and winner designation are therefore stronger than the team-specific basketball evidence alone seems to support. That possible grading mismatch deserves a separate documented reassessment instead of silently rewriting the canonical trade verdict in an editorial entry. The narrow factual conclusion is that the teams exchanged different kinds of depth with a meaningful New Jersey follow-on return.
Final Verdict
Pelicans Win in the inherited B+ to C- verdict, but the underlying results complicate it. New Orleans received Marc Jackson, Linton Johnson III and cash; New Jersey acquired Boštjan Nachbar, who subsequently played 76 and 75 Nets games in consecutive seasons while averaging 9.2 and 9.8 points. A source-led grade review is warranted.