Hornets pre-draft mailbag: Trade-back discussion, best + worst case draft scenarios + more

The NBA Draft is less than a week away for the Hornets and they're going to have some difficult decisions to make. The draft could be an opportunity for the Hornets to make a huge jump next season or it could be another halt in the rebuild if they make the wrong decision.

With that being said, let's take a look at the questions I received from my followers over at CharlotteHornetsOnly (Instagram page) regarding the NBA Draft and the key decisions the Hornets will have to make on draft night.

Who do you think is the best player for the Hornets in this draft?

The best potential prospect for the Hornets is VJ Edgecombe, but unfortunately the Hornets might not have an opportunity to select him because the 76ers have begun to show interest in the Baylor guard with the third pick.

If the 76ers decide to pass up on Edgecombe, then the Hornets should absolutely take their chances with him. Edgecombe is the most athletic player in the draft and can defend at a high level. He would be a player who'd fit right into the "Hornets DNA."

One of the factors most identified as a weakness in Edgecombe's game is his shooting, but the mechanics are there, and I truly see him being a reliable shooter in his career, so I'm not worried about that or his fit with the team.

If VJ is off the board at three, how realistic is it for the Hornets to trade down and select Kon Knueppel?

If you asked me this question a couple of weeks ago, I would've 100% had a different answer, but I feel as each day goes by the likelihood of Kon Knueppel getting selected in the top five increases.

That means the chances of grabbing him in a trade down scenario may not be as easy as fans think or are realistic. With the Ace Bailey situation causing him to potentially slide on draft night, Knueppel's stock has grown more and more, which wasn't the case a few weeks ago.

What's your nightmare draft scenario for the Hornets?

A nightmare draft scenario for the Hornets would be the 76ers selecting Edgecombe and potentially selecting a prospect that isn't projected to go top five at the fourth selection. Not trading back for a player that they could land at a later pick would be a mistake.

Another potential aspect to a nightmare scenario would be the Hornets keeping both of their second-round picks and drafting by fit instead of the best on the board.

What's your best-case scenario for the Hornets?

The best-case scenario for the Hornets would be the 76ers selecting anyone other than VJ Edgecombe and the Hornets selecting him with the fourth pick. Then, to make it better, the Hornets use their two second-round picks to trade into the first round and select a player who was sliding.

Each year, there's a player that is projected to go in the lottery that falls to the end of the first round, and this year, the Hornets should be the team that trades back into that round and selects that potential player.

Who do you think provides the best fit for the team and is that smarter than drafting for talent?

I will always believe in the Hornets case that drafting for talent is way smarter than drafting for fit, but the Hornets are in a difficult spot with this upcoming draft. Edgecombe is expected to be taken before the Hornets are on the board, which leaves four potential other options.

Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson, Kon Knueppel, and maybe Khaman Maluach are the Hornets' best available options. Bailey is arguably the most talented of those, but with everything that's going on with his agent and pre-draft workouts, it may not be in the Hornets' interest to select him.

Johnson is a very talented scorer and shooter, but Knueppel may be a better fit, which is something the Hornets management will have to decide on. There will be questions that will need to be answered. Is taking the risk on Bailey worth it? Who's better Johnson or Knueppel? Is Mark Williams the future center? Those are the questions the Hornets will have to face next Wednesday.

What team is most likely to trade up for the Hornets pick?

In my opinion, it has to be the New Orleans Pelicans as the most likely team to try to trade up for the Hornets pick. They recently made a trade with the Indiana Pacers to acquire another first-round pick in this draft, which indicates to me that they're looking to move up in this draft.

I'd look for New Orleans to be very active, looking to trade up in the draft with other teams like Washington and Brooklyn as other potential trade suitors. Brooklyn and New Orleans are teams that have been talked about as potential suitors for Ace Bailey.

Say Ace is on the board at four, what should the Hornets do?

This will be the toughest decision the Hornets will have to make for quite some time. Bailey's name is on the board and the clock is ticking, what do the Hornets do?

You know he's very talented, you know he's confident, and you see the potential in him as a player. However, you also see the news, his agent, and all of the pre-draft drama, which could turn the Hornets away from him.

What the Hornets should do is ask themselves, is this a player we can see on our roster, who can go along with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller? If they believe he is, then sign me up, but if they don't, then that leaves them with one other potential option.

That option is to get the media to believe you're going to take him at four, which could get other teams to bite and offer their best packages for the Hornets' fourth pick, which very easily could be what the Hornets decide if they pass on the Rutgers guard.

Why isn't Tre Johnson being mentioned more for the Hornets pick at four?

I'm glad someone brought this up because there's been little to no mention of Tre Johnson being linked to Charlotte with the fourth pick, which is interesting since he's projected to go top five.

Johnson is an incredible player and is notably one of the best scorers in this draft class. Not only that, but simply the kid can flat out shoot the lights out of the ball.

He should undoubtedly be getting more consideration for the Hornets' fourth pick, but I feel there's some concern from fans about selecting guards in the lottery from past failures. Malik Monk and James Bouknight simply didn't work out in the Queen City, and it's left a sour taste in Hornets fans' mouths ever since.

I can tell you that Tre Johnson isn't the same player as Bouknight or Monk, and he may just be the definition of the third time's the charm. If you remember last year, nobody expected the Hornets to take Tidjane Salaün, so you never really know what's going on behind closed doors.

Could the Hornets realistically trade down outside the lottery for the right price?

The Hornets trading out of the lottery would be an absolute shock for me, I just wouldn't see that happening. If the Hornets did decide to trade down, I wouldn't expect them to trade past Brooklyn at the eighth spot.

Chicago at 12 is likely the farthest the Hornets would trade down, but I don't feel like that's something the new management will be interested in unless the Bulls offer Coby White + extra assets.

What should the Hornets do with their second-round picks + who should the Hornets target in the second round?

Well, what the Hornets should do is package those picks to acquire a mid-to-late first round pick, but will they do that? Who knows. However, it's certainly nice to have some options with those picks if you're the Hornets.

Having the 33rd and 34th picks in the draft is certainly great, but the Hornets need to take those picks just as seriously as they do their fourth pick because everyone has seen how important those second-round picks have become, as they have been key difference makers on contending teams.

Below is a list of a couple of players the Hornets should be targeting in the second round:

Adou Thiero - PF - Arkansas

Ryan Kalkbrenner - C - Creighton

Hansen Yang - C - China

Hugo Gonzalez - SF - Real Madrid

The first round of the NBA Draft will be held next Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET, while the second round of the 2025 draft will be held the following day at 8:00 p.m. ET.

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