Charlotte Hornets NBA Draft Big Board: Top Targets and Dream Trade Scenarios

The Charlotte Hornets have been primarily built through the draft. They drafted LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel (as well as Miles Bridges eons ago), and that's where most of their success has come from. So as they look to continue rising, the draft should be where the focus is.

Dream Hornets Lottery Scenarios

North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) dunks against the Miami Hurricanes | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Hornets own a lottery pick, their own, which is 14th. There is a 0.5% chance for that to end up being the number one pick. If you're keeping score, the Mavericks had a 1.8% chance, so if that was a genuinely stunning miracle, what would this be?

The Hornets have a 2.4% chance of moving into the top four, which is at least more feasible. It's basically impossible to expect anything but the 14th pick, but in one of the very many lottery simulations we ran, the Hornets did jump to fourth.

This, other than moving up to the first pick, would be the best outcome. Darryn Peterson has major injury and effort concerns. Cameron Boozer has little to no athleticism, which some scouts are concerned about. Caleb Wilson is ridiculously athletic, and he actually would fit in as the four in Charlotte's lineup extremely well.

Top Targets

Since we know that isn't going to happen, we can look at some more realistic targets. Since Charlotte is picking 14th and 18th, the prospect pool for both picks is going to be largely the same. Here's who the Hornets should have their eye on:

Tennessee F Nate Ament
Michigan F Yaxel Lendeborg
Washington F Hannes Steinbach
New Zealand F Karim Lopez
Kentucky F Jayden Quaintance
Houston C Chris Cenac Jr.
Michigan C Aday Mara
Arizona F Koa Peat
Santa Clara F Allen Graves
Arizona C Motiejus Krivas

There's a clear focus on size at two positions: power forward and center. The Hornets are undersized in the frontcourt, and they need physicality down low. That should be the focus, whether they package the picks and move up (more on that below) or not.

Dream Trade Scenario

With so much of the roster intact heading into next season and a Coby White reunion likely, not to mention growth by Tidjane Salaün and Liam McNeeley, there just aren't a lot of spots on the roster to go around.

And unfortunately, picking 14th or 18th isn't exactly ideal when it comes to a team that has suddenly moved into win-now (or at least very soon) mode. There aren't going to be developmental prospects like Salaün in that range.

There are two options, and one is definitely better than the other. First, they could trade one or both of their picks for an established NBA superstar. There are rumors just slowly forming about Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but that's not ideal.

The type of move that Charlotte could make to really move into that next stratosphere is going to be way too expensive and risky, especially with Antetokounmpo. The better idea for the young and ascending Hornets is to package those picks and move up.

Maybe they can sneak into the top 10 and grab Nate Ament or Yaxel Lendeborg, both of whom might be off the board before Charlotte comes up. They could also look at other positions, like Brayden Burries or Mikel Brown Jr. if Coby White doesn't re-sign.

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