The Charlotte Hornets will get the chance to do some of their off season work in the draft.
The off season has begun for the Charlotte Hornets. While much speculation has been about what the Hornets are going to do to keep free agents home without breaking the bank, there is another way for the Hornets to improve their roster. They can try to add a nice piece with the 22ndpick in first round of the NBA Draft.
The model of the Hornets this year has been a team living on the outside with the three pointer. So there has to be certain pieces that fit that model. That would be three and defense forward types not dissimilar from theCourtney Leesof the world. Down low you only need one traditional post, and the Hornets have been in need of one with some shotblocking.
The only piece that the Hornets cannot be sure of picking up is a two guard with the skill set and athleticism of Nicolas Batum.
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Looking at the mocks atNBAdraft.netandDraftExpressboth have the Hornets taking a young seven footer at their draft spot. There is Vanderbilt’sDamian Jonesfor one and Maryland’sDiamond Stonefor the other. These picks would allowFrank Kaminskyand the other bigs to flow inside and out. However none of these options are as offensively potent as Al Jefferson.
That last statement is important because the Hornets need to have some threat inside or else teams will just drape over the three pointer as the Heat did in the playoffs. For this reason, free agency may be the better option to address this problem. The one disadvantage is the cost is much higher to do it that way.
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The other option is to solidify the forward spot knowing thatMichael Kidd-Gilchristhas a history of injury. I would love to re-sign Courtney Lee, but Lee knows that he would be coming back to a reduced role. Would he accept that?
On the other hand the Hornets could try to add some youth at the spot. Baylor’sTaurean Princemight available at twenty-two.Daniel Hamiltonfrom Connecticut andMalachi Richardsonfrom Syracuse could also be available, but they serve more as two guards rather than MKG clones.
Next: Critical Hornets Off-Season Begins
The final consideration to make is whether the Hornets want to bring backJeremy Lin. If not, the Hornets could look at NC State’sAnthony Barberat the spot. He could certainly bring a driving style off the bench, but he wouldn’t be able to replicate Lin’s three point shooting.
The NBA Playoffs are still on and the Draft is still a ways off at the end of June.
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