Charlotte Hornets: Plugging Holes, A What If
The Charlotte Hornets’ draft strategy might rely on whether or not they have given up hope of bringing back some of their free agents.
The Charlotte Hornets have a little over a month for the NBA Draft and there are still many ways they could go. We have speculated that the Hornets could look at big men (A.J. Hammons, Stephen Zimmerman) and focused most of our attention on the wing position because of the interviews that the Hornets conducted at the Draft Combine.
Today we will take a different view of the question. Who would the Hornets draft if they knew they were not bringing back one of their key free agents? Would there be a player who could fit that kind of mold?
Scenario 1: Hornets Don’t Bring Back Nicolas Batum
This is the hardest scenario because the Hornets are forced to look at swingmen and big shooting guards. None of them are likely to have the distribution skills of the Frenchman. The easy answer would be one of Malik Beasley, Malcolm Brogdon, or Daniel Hamilton. Those are the three remaining players in the draft that the Hornets interviewed at the combine.
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But Beasley is likely to be gone, and not everyone believes Brogdon and Hamilton would be worth first round grades. Therefore the Hornets might get creative and draft the other Frenchman, Timothe Luwawu. He is not a Batum clone, but he is an athletic defender.
Realistically if the Hornets don’t get Batum, their free agency money opens up quite a bit and they would most likely address the gap there with a veteran of some sort.
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Scenario 2: Hornets Don’t Bring Back Jeremy Lin
If the Hornets lose Lin then they need a quality backup point guard who can share minutes at the two from time to time. That seems to fit Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin. The only knock on Baldwin is that he also is a borderline first rounder. The Hornets should not reach for a guy unless it is someone they really like.
Scenario 3: Hornets Don’t Bring Back Marvin Williams
Losing Marvin’s shooting and hustle would not be good. His skill set is also hard to find so far down in this draft. One player who might fit that stretch four role would be Providence’s Ben Bentil. Bentil was perhaps too comfortable launching from three for the Friars last season. Like Baldwin and Brogdon, he is not a clear first rounder and made noises about returning to school if he isn’t. He has three days to decide.
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Perhaps the best thing the Hornets could do is trade down to save cap number and perhaps gain an asset to use down the road. A lot of the players that they could look at seem to be in the early part of the second round anyway.