Pre-Draft Outlook
This team was built organically; the Hornets’ top four players — Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges — were obtained through the draft (Bridges in a draft-day trade with the Clippers). And lo and behold, the Hornets have a pair of picks in the top 20. Given that this is a deep draft and that they’ve been rather smart with their draft selections in the past, the Hornets are in a great position to nab another rotational player or two and let the youngsters keep growing together.
The Way to Go
The Hornets are marginal at one position — big man. There’s an urgency to spend one of the picks on size, and there should be solid candidates around, notably Hannes Steinbach (6-11) from Washington if Aday Mara (7-3) of Michigan is off the board. Also, with the other pick, 19-year-old wing Karim Lopez comes from the same Australian grooming ground as LaMelo.
— Shaun Powell
Under Contract
G: LaMelo Ball
G: Josh Green
G: Sion James
G Tre Mann
G: Liam McNeeley
G/F: Kon Knueppel
F: Miles Bridges
F: Moussa Diabaté
F: Tosan Evbuomwan
F: Brandon Miller
F: Tidjane Salaun
F: Grant Williams
C: PJ Hall
C: Ryan Kalkbrenner
Free Agents
G: Pat Connaughton
G: Antonio Reeves
G: Coby White
F: Xavier Tillman