Charlotte Hornets: Scouting the Lower Tier
The Charlotte Hornets have been spending more time looking at potential undrafted free agents than they have with potential first round picks.
The Charlotte Hornets were revving their workout schedule full throttle this past week. There were more workouts between Wednesday and today (three) then there had been running up to this point (two).
The character of the workouts varies a little bit, but there are two types of players that the Hornets are looking at in these things. One type is potential fits for the 22nd pick and the other type is players who might fall out of the draft completely and be available afterward.
While the 22nd pick should be self-explanatory, the interest the Hornets have in vetting so many guys who might not get drafted speaks to the need for the Hornets to save money.
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A rookie free agent contract is worth about $500,000 a year (similar to what Aaron Harrison made last year) while one year contracts for short minute veterans like Tyler Hansbrough have a minimum of about twice as much.
Let’s sort the workout guys so far into both groups:
Players Who Might Be Worth the 22nd Pick
Stephen Zimmerman, Jr
Thon Maker
Live Feed
Hoops Habit
Players Who May Fall Out of Draft Completely
Goodluck Okonohboh
Wayne Selden, Jr.
Ty Newman
As you can see, the Hornets have looked at a lot more of the undrafted types than they have actual people who might land at the 22nd pick. Besides the relative cost of these guys, this does allow the Hornets to sort through them to see if there is anyone that they would want. You may have noticed that position hasn’t really meant much to this sort of calculus.
Who might the Hornets be interested in among this group of guys? The big mass of potential undrafted free agents does include some familiar names.
Gonzaga’s Kyle Wiltjer is an example of the outside shooting big man. His fitness may be questioned but the Hornets know what to do with players who have Wiltjer’s skill set.
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Virginia’s Anthony Gill is a versatile player who might have a home in a Steve Clifford defense and fi t in a changing league. Think of Gill as sort of a Draymond Green player, just not as good. It is easy to imagine what the Hornets would ask Gill to do.
North Carolina’s Marcus Paige has lost some value because of injuries, but he still could provide an emergency point guard who makes smart plays. The number one defense target from his days at Chapel Hill, Paige might actually find some open shots where other players are bigger offensive threats.
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The point that despite it looking weird that the Hornets don’t bring in more big name guys, they are doing their due diligence on players who may actually be available. It is also reasonable to think the Hornets will draft one of the seven guys that they have looked at in this process. The draft is only ten days away.