Hornets Mock Draft Roundtable 1.0: With the Sixth Pick...

It's officially draft month, so over the course of the next few weeks we will release several projections for what we believe the Charlotte Hornets will do with sixth overall pick. This week, we have three submissions from our staff.

Desmond Johnson: C Donovan Clingan, UConn

"Watching the NBA Finals this year has shown me similarities among the successful teams. They all have two-way wings and depth in the front court with most having a three-man rotation of pure post players. In the weakest draft I can remember, Charlotte can pair Clingan with Mark Williams and build their own twin towers for LaMelo to play alley-oop with. Don't think too hard Hornets. If Clingan is there...take him."

James Plowright: G Stephon Castle, UConn

"Castle presents the perfect intersection of talent and fit at No. 6. He projects as a versatile perimeter defender, and excelled playing as an off-ball cutter next to higher usage players at UConn, something he could replicate in Charlotte. The comments about Castle wanting more playmaking reps in the NBA is music to my ears, as he could provide depth behind an injury prone LaMelo Ball or challenge Micic for the back-up point guard role. The shooting is a concern, but the intel checks out that he is an elite worker with a high character, nothing looks broken so with more repetition, I'm confident he can make strides to be a low 30s% shooter."

Pat Fitzsimmons: G Dalton Knecht, Tennessee

"No. 6 overall may seem high for Knecht who is already 23 years old, but he is coming off a career year in the SEC where he averaged 21.7 ppg shooting 39.7% from deep after transferring from Northern Colorado, proving he is a scorer and can compete at the top level. His size at 6'5" 204 lbs, combined with his shooting ability, intrigues me to pair him in the backcourt with LaMelo. I think his year at Tennessee gave him the confidence he needed to know he belongs as a lottery pick, and his game will translate to the NBA. While some may not like him because of his age as an older prospect, I think the Hornets are in a position where they have enough of a youth movement, they can take the 23-year-old rookie in the lottery, who should be ready to contribute quicker than say an 18/19-year-old."

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