CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets have acquired center Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick from the Phoenix Suns for guards Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic and a 2026 second-round pick, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because the Hornets' latest deal has not been finalized.
The moves comes after the busy Hornets traded center Mark Williams to the Lakers for rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and draft considerations on Wednesday night.
Last month, the Suns and Hornets pulled off another trade. Charlotte sent center Nick Richards and a second-round pick in 2025 to Phoenix in exchange for guard Josh Okogie and three future second-round draft picks.
The 30-year-old Nurkic is averaging 8.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in 25 games for the Suns in what has been a down season. His best year came in 2019-20 when he was with the Portland Trail Blazers and averaged 17.6 points and 10.2 rebounds.
Micic averaged 7.5 points and 3.5 assists for the Hornets and has seen more action recently since LaMelo Ball injured his ankle.
Martin has played in 39 games this season, averaging 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds. He has struggled with injuries throughout his career, missing 138 games over the past three seasons. When healthy, Martin is considered one of the better on-ball defenders in the league.
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Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin (11) handles the ball while defended by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jim Dedmon)
Charlotte Hornets guard Vasilije Micic (22) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards forward Justin Champagnie (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he agrees in principle with a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but he emphasized that the terms are yet to be worked out and noted that any truce should pave the way to lasting peace.
“The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it," Putin told a news conference in Moscow. “But there are issues that we need to discuss, and I think that we need to talk about it with our American colleagues and partners and, perhaps, have a call with President Trump and discuss it with him."
President Donald Trump said there have been “good signals” coming out of Russia and offered guarded optimism about Putin’s statement. He reiterated that he's ready to speak with Putin and underscored that it was time to end the war.
Putin "put out a very promising statement, but it wasn’t complete,” Trump said Thursday at a start of a meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “Now we’re going to see whether or not Russia’s there. And if they’re not, it’ll be a very disappointing moment for the world.”
Putin, who launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, noted the need to control possible breaches of the truce and signaled that Russia would seek guarantees that Ukraine would not use the break in hostilities to rearm and continue mobilization.
“We agree with the proposals to halt the fighting, but we proceed from the assumption that the ceasefire should lead to lasting peace and remove the root causes of the crisis,” Putin said.
The Russian leader made the remarks just hours after the arrival of Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow for talks on the ceasefire, which Ukraine has accepted. A Kremlin adviser said Putin planned to meet with Witkoff later Thursday.
The diplomatic effort coincided with a Russian claim that its troops have driven the Ukrainian army out of a key town in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Moscow has been trying for seven months to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their foothold.
Putin said it appeared that the U.S. persuaded Ukraine to accept a ceasefire and that Ukraine is interested because of the battlefield situation, particularly in Kursk.
Referring to the Ukrainian troops in Kursk, he questioned what will happen to them if the ceasefire takes hold: “Will all those who are there come out without a fight? Or will the Ukrainian leadership order them to lay down arms and surrender?"
Putin thanked Trump “for paying so much attention to the settlement in Ukraine.”
He also thanked the leaders of China, India, Brazil and South Africa for their “noble mission to end the fighting,” a statement that suggested those countries could be involved in a ceasefire deal. Russia has said it will not accept peacekeepers from any NATO members to monitor a prospective truce.
Putin's seemingly friendly tone toward the White House reflected the astonishing shift in U.S. relations with Russia and Ukraine since Trump returned to office in January.
Under the administration of former President Joe Biden, the United States was Ukraine's staunchest and most powerful ally and a force for isolating the Kremlin. But Trump's election threw that policy into reverse.
Trump briefly cut off critical military aid and intelligence sharing in an apparent effort to push Kyiv to enter talks to end the war, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a testy meeting at the White House on Feb. 28 in which Trump questioned whether Ukraine wanted to halt the war.
The Trump administration has also repeatedly embraced Kremlin positions on the conflict, including indicating that Ukraine's hopes of joining NATO are unlikely to be realized and that it probably will not get back the land that Russia’s army occupies, which amounts to nearly 20% of the country.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s claim that it recaptured the town of Sudzha, a Ukrainian operations hub in Kursk, came hours after Putin visited his commanders in the Kursk region. The claim could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.
The renewed Russian military push and Putin's high-profile visit to his troops unfolded as Trump seeks a diplomatic end to the war.
Trump said Wednesday that “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire. The U.S. president has made veiled threats to hit Russia with new sanctions if it does not engage with peace efforts.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Thursday that Trump is “willing to apply maximum pressure on both sides,” including sanctions that reach the highest scale on Russia.
Ukraine has expressed its own concerns that Russia would use a truce to regroup and rearm.
Zelenskyy chided Russia on the Telegram messaging app Thursday for what he said was its slow response to the ceasefire proposal, accusing Moscow of trying to delay any peace deal. He said that Ukraine is “determined to move quickly toward peace” and hoped U.S. pressure would compel Russia to stop fighting.
The U.S. still has about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding for future arms shipments to Ukraine, but the Trump administration has shown no interest so far in using that authority to send additional weapons as it awaits the outcome of peace overtures.
By signaling its openness to a ceasefire at a time when the Russian military has the upper hand in the war, Ukraine has presented the Kremlin with a dilemma — whether to accept a truce and abandon hopes of making new gains, or reject the offer and risk derailing a cautious rapprochement with Washington.
The Ukrainian army’s foothold inside Russia has been under intense pressure for months from the renewed effort by Russian forces, backed by North Korean troops. Ukraine's daring incursion last August led to the first occupation of Russian soil by foreign troops since World War II and embarrassed the Kremlin.
Speaking to commanders Wednesday, Putin said that he expected the military “to completely free the Kursk region from the enemy in the nearest future.”
Wearing military fatigues, Putin added that “it’s necessary to think about creating a security zone alongside the state border,” in a signal that Moscow could try to expand its territorial gains by capturing parts of Ukraine’s neighboring Sumy region. That idea could complicate a ceasefire deal.
Ukraine launched the raid in a bid to counter the unceasingly grim news from the front line, as well as to draw Russian troops away from the battlefield inside Ukraine and to gain a bargaining chip in any peace talks. But the incursion did not significantly change the dynamic of the war.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, assessed late Wednesday that Russian forces were in control of Sudzha, a town close to the border that previously was home to about 5,000 people.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russian aircraft conducted so many strikes on Kursk that Sudzha had been almost completely destroyed. He did not comment on whether Ukraine still controlled the settlement but said his country was “maneuvering (troops) to more advantageous lines.”
Associated Press Writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukrainian Head of Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, right, and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov speak to journalists in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Ukrainian servicemen of Khartia brigade known by call signs "Stalker" (Left) and "Granata" (Right) are waiting for the order to fire towards Russian positions in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)
Ukrainian serviceman of Khartia brigade known by call sign "Krystal" fires M101 Howitzer towards Russian positions in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, accompanied by Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, second left, visits military headquarters in the Kursk region of Russia. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, accompanied by Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, second left, visits military headquarters in the Kursk region of Russia. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a visit to military headquarters in the Kursk region of Russia. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a visit to military headquarters in the Kursk region of Russia. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin accompanied by Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, behind Putin, visits military headquarters in the Kursk region of Russia. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
FILE - A Ukrainian soldier walks past at a city hall in Sudzha, Kursk region, Russia, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. This image was approved by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry before publication. (AP Photo, File)
In this image made from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov as he visits military headquarters in the Kursk region of Russia. (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
