Hornets Immediately Undermine Draft Pick with Odd Trade

Charlotte selected KJ Simpson, an impressive guard out of Colorado, with its 2nd Round pick (No. 43 overall) on Thursday, and then immediately made his life more difficult.

Less than an hour after selecting Simpson, the Hornets traded for 34-year-old Denver guard Reggie Jackson and three unprotected second-round picks. 

Jackson is a decent bench player, but it begs the question: Why trade for him when you just drafted a capable guard?

Hornets Continue Rebuild with Jackson Trade

If Charlotte were a contending team, trading for Jackson would be a great move.

The Hornets are very thin at guard, with Vasilije Micic and Tre Mann behind LaMelo Ball and Cody Martin. 

But you’d think that would be a perfect opportunity for KJ Simpson, a 21-year-old with three years of collegiate experience, to blossom into an impact player.

It could be that trading for Jackson was done simply for the second-round selections.

Charlotte could get rid of Jackson, or slot him behind Simpson in the rotation. And there’s no real downside to the team construction by adding depth at guard.

But you have to feel for Simpson. 

He’s a promising player who still has an opportunity to become a meaningful player for Charlotte as soon as this season. 

He shot 43.4% from 3-point range and averaged 19.7 points per game for Colorado last season, and it’s easy to dream on his potential. 

We’ll have to wait and see how the depth chart shakes out this fall, but it’s hard not to wonder how this move might affect the development of a promising guard on a team that’s in desperate need of them.

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