The Hornets were busy and hard at work on Thursday afternoon. In the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, guard KJ Simpson from the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 42nd overall pick.
Simpson was one of the best players remaining on the board after the first round of the draft on Wednesday at Barclays Center and heard his name called by the NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum early in the second round by a team looking to make drastic improvements.
According to a CBS Sports draft coverage report, an analyst said that although Simpson is a smaller guard, he is one of the players who are considered to be sleepers and under the radar this year.
Simpson was highly regarded and was a four-star prospect in the high school ranks, who initially committed to the Arizona Wildcats and flipped to Colorado after coach Sean Miller was relieved of his duties.
“Teams that passed on him could be making a big mistake,” said James Herbert, writer at CBS Sports.
Simpson has also made a giant leap improving his efficiency throughout his college career, has extreme confidence and competitiveness in the game, and has the ability to make his presence felt with the Hornets while making his name as a rookie around the league.
He is an absolute bucket and can score the ball at will, also an explosive point guard, who has raw, untapped potential as a playmaker along with great athletic upside despite less-than-ideal size.
Colorado University Buffaloe players Cody Williams (Utah Jazz) and Tristan da Silva (Orlando Magic) were selected in the first round, No. 10 and No. 18, respectively of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday. Williams only played for CU as a freshman and missed 13 games during the season due to injuries. His brother is Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams.
Embed from Getty ImagesCBS Sports breaks down da Silva game as a “plug and play” option, “because he’s capable of playing minutes off the bench right now as someone who can space the floor, be a reliable decision-maker, and trustworthy on both ends of the floor.”
Da Silva was one of the stars for the Buffaloes last season during their NCAA March Madness run.
In other Hornets news, the Denver Nuggets are trading veteran guard Reggie Jackson to the Charlotte Hornets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Nuggets are trading three unprotected second-round picks to Charlotte to take on Jackson’s contract.
This news come moments after it was reported that another critical role player for the Nuggets, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, was declining his $15.4 million player option to enter free agency, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
With this trade, the Nuggets get Jackson’s $5.25 million salary off the books. That gives them more cap relief and flexibility to try to bring back Caldwell-Pope as they are up against the second apron.
