The NBA Draft is July 29th and the Charlotte Hornets are picking 11th overall.
It’s a decent spot this year. There’s a talented group of prospects who have entered the draft and a good player will be available by the time Charlotte picks. Of course, deciding who the good player will be is always the tricky part.
They could also go a different route and trade the 11th pick for a proven player. There are plenty of players who could be had for the right price, and the Charlotte Hornets have been brought up in a lot of those scenarios.
Bobby Marks of ESPN joined the Afternoon Rush to explain why….
Let’s start with Ben Simmons. Zach Lowe of the Lowe Post Podcast floated the idea of trading Gordon Hayward and a pick or young player in exchange for Philly’s former number 1 selection.
The trade makes a lot of sense in theory, but at the end of the day, I don’t want Charlotte paying over 30 million a year for a guy that can never be the number 1 option. Even with Gordon making similar money, it’s still not quite as much, the deal is shorter, and I think he’s a better fit offensively with Charlotte than Simmons.
Think of it this way, would you sign Simmons to a 34 million dollar a year contract in free agency right now? Would you give up a future first and young player in addition to signing that contract? The negotiations are going the wrong way in that predicament.
Charlotte has also been mentioned as a potential destination for Kristaps Porzinigis, who struggled in Dallas’ lone first round series against the Clippers.
He’s a center, which would fill a need for Charlotte who’s needed a 5 for a while. The problem is, Porzingis spends most of his time outside the 3 point line and his defense has declined as the years have gone on. With a monstrous contract, it doesn’t make much sense to bring him aboard either.
Myles Turner has made the most sense for a while. I would be hesitant to trade a PJ Washington or Miles Bridges with their long term outlook and rookie contract control, but something like Terry Rozier and future protected first, 11th overall pick, or a Jalen McDaniels would be a fair offer.
We can run the fake trade machine all day long if we wanted to. It’s a fun exercise, and the Hornets are a good franchise to plug-in. But trading is hard, and picks are valuable. At the end of the day, keeping the pick and continuing the process is not only the likely outcome, but one to brings hope along with it.
