Thompson: Why NBA Draft being pushed back is good for Hornets

With the NBA moving the draft back from Oct. 16 to reportedly Nov. 18, the Charlotte Hornets might have caught another much-needed break in their rebuilding process. 

Given the league's economic situation after the season was suspended due to COVID-19 and having to finish without fans at Disney, the league needed some kind of time to reassess what to do for next season.  

The salary cap for 2020-21 has not been set, so no team has any idea on how much cap space it will have. That can affect some teams potentially trading away draft picks because of uncertainty about available cap space.  

Hornets fans are excited to see what the team can do with the third overall pick, but with the team having no access at the current moment to having individual workouts or even a scouting combine for prospects, the task is going to be more difficult. On top of that, the college season ended before conference tournaments and NCAA Tournament were even played.  

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The Hornets have three draft picks (third , 32nd and potentially 53rd) and need to be able to find three players who can help to continue the tread of creating a winning organization. The extra month will hopefully allow the NBA to figure out a way for potential draft picks to either have workouts with teams or at least interviews.

Right now, it looks as if the league will handle the majority of the pre-draft process, then distribute information to the teams.  

The extra time also gives the Hornets the ability look at opponents with potential trades on draft night. Under the original timeline, there could be as few as two days from the end of the season to draft to evaluate the trade market. Because the Hornets have cap space, they could be one of those teams that could take adding additional players salaries in order to add additional picks.  

Whatever the Hornets decide to do, the extra month benefit them before free agency starts right after the draft.