NBA Mock Draft round-up: Hornets to take LaMelo Ball at No. 5?

The younger brother of Lonzo Ball is already a pro, playing in Australia.

We're about two weeks through the 2019-20 NBA season, and we're already on our second round of NBA Mock Drafts for the 2020 Draft.

Last time we checked in on the latest projections, most folks were still picking the Hornets to win the lottery and pick No. 1 overall. But after a 4-3 start, some have altered their expectations.

At the Athletic, Sam Vecenie thinks the Hornets will end up with the fifth overall pick and take a player that we've been hearing about for a few years. According to Vecenie's predictions, the Hornets will take a 6-foot-7 guard who plays for the Illawarra Hawks in Australia.

His name is LaMelo Ball. Heard of him?

The 18-year-old from Chino Hills, California is of course the younger brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball and the son of the bombastic and unpredictable LaVar Ball.

Here's a few other things to know about LaMelo...

• When he was in middle school, USA Today compared him to LeBron James.
• As a high school sophomore, he once scored 92 points in one game.
• Instead of playing high school ball as a junior, he turned pro, playing in Lithuania with the club BC Prienai .
• Before he turned pro, he was committed to UCLA, but was also recruited by Virginia and Washington State
• He returned to the U.S. for what would've been his senior year of high school and enrolled in and played for the SPIRE Institute, a prep school in Geneva, Ohio.
• In his most recent game in Australia, he tallied 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in a win. He is averaging 13.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.6 steals per-game there.

Of Ball, Vecenie writes this: "I don’t think there is a better distributor in this class. By far, that is his best skill. As a playmaker for others, he’s a genius... His creativity is remarkable in regard to the way he sees the floor, and the passes in his toolbox can’t be matched."

However, Vecenie also says: "I’m concerned about every other part of his game. As a shooter, Ball just doesn’t pass the eye test or the stats test right now."

It seems that Ball would be an above-average NBA passer right away, but every other part of his game would be a project. Considering how much the Hornets' have utilized their G-League affiliate in Greensboro -- and had success with it in developing players there, like Devonte' Graham and Dwayne Bacon -- it's safe to assume that if Ball was drafted by the Hornets he would likely spend some time in the G-League. How his outspoken father responds to that would be interesting.

Here's what the other mock drafts are saying about the Hornets...

• Sports Illustrated - Hornets take James Wiseman of Memphis at No. 3.
• Bleacher Report - Hornets take Samuell Williamson of Louisville at No. 16.
• ESPN - Hornets take James Wiseman of Memphis at No. 1.
• Sporting News - Hornets take Anthony Edwards of Georgia at No. 2.
• CBS Sports - Hornets take French guard Theo Maledon of Villeurbanne at No. 10.
• USA Today - Hornets take Cole Anthony of UNC at No. 4.