Hornets Land Next Franz Wagner, Miles Bridges Replacement in NBA Mock Draft

If there's a position on the floor that the Charlotte Hornets could stand to upgrade, it's power forward. Miles Bridges is not a bad player, but he is the weakest link in this Hornets' starting five.

Bridges has a 1.5 net rating, lowest among starters and 12th-lowest among all Hornets. Grant Williams, his backup, has a 15.1 net rating. The Hornets are also 6.4 points worse when Bridges is on the floor.

The chemistry he has with the starters is good, and he's sort of morphed into the adult on the floor because he's a few years older than most Hornets players. That said, he's clearly the worst one out there.

Plus, with Williams having an ailing knee and Tidjane Salaün being an unknown, the depth there is not ideal, either. Whatever the Hornets do this offseason, they should be in the market for a power forward, perhaps one with legitimate PF size.

Charlotte Hornets forward Tidjane Salaun (31) takes a shot before a game | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Enter Karim Lopez. Per Bleacher Report analyst Jonathan Wasserman, that's who the Hornets will take with the 12th pick (based on record currently, not a potential lottery simulation) in the first round.

Lopez is a power forward from New Zealand. He stands 6'8" and weighs 225 pounds, so he's a bit bigger than Bridges at 6'7". It's not an ideal jump in size, but Lopez's pro comparison is Franz Wagner, a player who the Hornets would benefit greatly from having.

"NBA people are including Karim Lopez in the lottery discussion, as he's now averaging 14.3 points over his last 10 games. Even at 18 years old in a physical pro league, he's outmuscled bigs and wings inside the arc," Wasserman wrote.

He continued, "Though not overly explosive, he's strong with the ball, while the flashes of ball-handling, shotmaking, and passing create theoretical versatility NBA teams crave from the power forward slot."

The Hornets love to put a lineup on the floor with shotmaking, creation, and ballhandling at four of the five spots. It's why the starters have done so well. They have four shooters, multiple playmakers/creators, and one big to hold it down (Moussa Diabaté).

Inserting Lopez into the mix would allow them to move on from Bridges when his contract ends or bring him back in a reserve role on a much cheaper deal, neither of which would be a terrible idea. It would also potentially help the interior defense.

After that pick, the Hornets also have the 20th pick from the Suns based on some complex pick protections and swap conditions. With that pick, Wasserman predicts they land Aday Mara, a 7'3" center whose pro comparison is Roy Hibbert.

"Aday Mara had some eye-opening moments during Michigan's heavily-scouted game against Duke, when he was able to showcase his passing, post touch, and defensive paint presence," Wasserman wrote of the Michigan center.

Diabaté is good, and Ryan Kalkbrenner is developing, but the Hornets lack size down low, and Mara would instantly be their tallest player, allowing them to have a three-man center rotation that has a lot of versatility.