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The Charlotte Hornets haven’t made the playoffs since 2016, the NBA’s longest postseason drought. They haven’t advanced past the opening round of the playoffs since 2002, also the NBA’s longest drought.
How the Hornets navigate the 2023 NBA draft figures to play a significant role in how much longer the team’s long-suffering fan base has to wait to see a return to the conference semifinals.
With five draft picks on June 22 at Barclays Center (8 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App) — all of which are in the top 41 — the Hornets have a chance to inject some much-needed youth and talent on draft night.
What would an ideal draft night look like for the Hornets? We won’t know for sure until a few years down the road, but ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony put together a plausible list of potential picks who would represent a best-case scenario for Charlotte, assuming the Hornets keep all their picks.
No. 2 pick: Brandon Miller | SG/SF | Alabama
Charlotte will get an up-close look at Scoot Henderson and Miller this week, after previously getting Ausar and Amen Thompson in its building. These workouts will go a long way in determining which direction general manager Mitch Kupchak goes.
Both in terms of talent and fit, there’s a clear case to be made for Miller at No. 2, and Kupchak’s comments to the media after the lottery did little to discourage the notion that that’s the direction the Hornets are leaning.
“We’ve got a lot more talent now than we did two or three years ago, so I think we can be a little bit picky and take into consideration not only the overall talent but also the position,” Kupchak said in May.
Most NBA teams we’ve spoken with have Miller over Henderson on their draft board, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if that is the direction the Hornets go on draft night.
Six-foot-9 wings who can initiate, find teammates off a live dribble with either hand, make shots from all over the floor and defend multiple positions are impossible to find in free agency or on the trade market. Having the ability to add that player via the draft, especially for a team like Charlotte, makes perfect sense considering the team’s roster composition and the immense potential Miller shows.
Had Henderson made a better case for himself with the way he evolved this past season for G League Ignite in terms of his decision-making, perimeter shooting and defensive intensity, there would be a better argument to try to make the backcourt pairing of him and LaMelo Ball work in the long term. Many NBA executives say they were disappointed in what they saw from Henderson this season in repeated viewings, which will likely cause him to fall to No. 3 unless he blows the Hornets away in their private workout.
Watch these top plays by Brandon Miller as he’s averaging a league-best 19.6 points per game prior to the in-state matchup between No. 3 Bama and Auburn.
No. 27 pick: Brandin Podziemski | PG/SG | Santa Clara
Adding quality depth in the backcourt should be a priority for the Hornets, especially someone with a strong feel for the game who can play off the ball and make shots at a high level. Podziemski hit 45% of his 3-pointers this season, and won co-WCC Player of the Year honors after playing primarily on the ball for Santa Clara. Podziemski showed impressive vision, creativity and pace making reads off a live dribble at the NBA combine, playing an unselfish style of basketball that looked like it could complement Ball well.
Brandin Podziemski rocks the rim with powerful flush.
No. 34 pick: Jaime Jaquez Jr. | SF/PF | UCLA
Jaquez, the top senior projected to be drafted, is one of the best pure basketball players in this class. He’s blessed with the competitiveness, feel for the game, and instincts as a rebounder, defender and passer that often help players in his mold surpass expectations. The way he contributes to winning with his physical, intelligent style of play would surely endear him to Hornets coaches provided his jump shot — which went through ebbs and flows in college — continues to stabilize.
With one of the youngest rosters in the NBA — about to get younger considering the boatload of picks at their disposal — it makes sense to pick an older player such as Jaquez who doesn’t need to be taught how to play basketball and brings a lot of ingredients to the table that could help transform the culture of the team.
Trayce Jackson-Davis gets up for the beautiful flush
No. 39 pick: Trayce Jackson-Davis | PF/C | Indiana
Another of the draft’s top seniors, Jackson-Davis is an All-American coming off a stellar career at Indiana, where he finished as the third-leading scorer in program history.
One of the best passers in the draft regardless of position, Jackson-Davis’ tremendous feel for the game should allow him to contribute immediately to a Charlotte team whose offense ranked last in the NBA in efficiency last season.
Whether it’s pushing off the defensive glass, passing out of short rolls, showing terrific timing screening and rolling or operating out of dribble-handoffs, Jackson-Davis’ skill level stands out in a major way. He could be an interesting pick-and-roll option with the likes of Ball and Miller, and could really take his game to the next level by showing more of a willingness to shoot open 3-pointers, something in which he never showed much interest in college (0-for-3 in 126 career games) but he’ll almost certainly need to do in the NBA.
The Hornets continue to stack highly productive, accomplished college players with this pick, taking Missouri’s Brown, a first-team All-SEC player last season. Brown’s ability to stretch the floor — he hit 46% of his 3-pointers and 79% of his free throws — stands out here, along with his ability to make others better with his strong feel for the game. Brown alternated between playing center on defense and point guard on offense for a positionless Missouri team — he initiated a lot of offense for the Tigers and was a real mismatch with his 252-pound frame and ability to play through contact. He’s an intelligent passer and cutter who has some questions to answer defensively but has enough instincts and competitiveness to have a fighting chance of holding his own on this end of the floor. Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.
No. 41 pick: Kobe Brown | PF | Missouri
