Knicks trade Hernangomez to Hornets for O'Bryant, picks

The New York Knicks traded center Willy Hernangomez to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for forward Johnny O'Bryant and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021, the team confirmed Wednesday.

New York, however, will waive O'Bryant, according to the New York Post's Marc Berman.

Hernangomez had reportedly requested a trade in recent days, frustrated by his lack of playing time after a promising rookie season last year.

Ironically, the 23-year-old might now have had a clearer path to playing time in New York - due to Kristaps Porzingis' season-ending knee injury - than he'll have in Charlotte, where he could be blocked by Dwight Howard and Cody Zeller.

For the capped-out Hornets, this is an upside play for an All-Rookie first-teamer on a dirt-cheap contract that runs through 2019-20. Hernangomez has played just 233 total minutes in the Knicks' crowded frontcourt, but on a per-minute basis, his production has been right in line with where it was a season ago.

The Knicks, meanwhile, get a pair of down-draft lottery tickets to try to bolster a rebuild that has been slow to bear fruit.