Grading Potential Draft Night Outcomes for the Charlotte Hornets

Parsing through all of the possibilities of draft night for the Charlotte Hornets has me feeling like Zach Galifianakis in the Hangover. Lets dive into a couple of potential NBA Draft scenarios that may pop up for Jeff Peterson and his crew and break down how they could affect Charlotte going forward.

Charlotte Uses #14 and #18 to Trade Up for Yaxel Lendeborg

Lendeborg is a fascinating prospect due to the large disparity between his upside as a player and the risk that his profile carries.

The upside case is simple: Lendeborg has an NBA-ready frame with a high-level connective skill set that should thrive in the league on day one. He is a seasoned veteran who was successful at every stop in his college career, and because he is an older prospect, whichever team drafts him will still be paying him rookie contract money as he enters his prime years.

Not to mention, he projects as the answer to some of the Hornets' long-term questions shrouding their front court.

The downside is just as simple: Lendeborg is ancient in comparison to other NBA Draft prospects. Dylan Jackson of SportCLT recently wrote a post dispelling the notion that older prospects are 'safer,' and his point is well taken. Yaxel's late breakout has been explained and hand-waved away by many, and those people may be proven right in hindsight. However, there is still enough risk in drafting him inside the top ten to be wary of a potential trade up.

As a whole, I'm lukewarm on this idea. Lendeborg may very well wind up as an awesome professional, but I believe Charlotte would be better off keeping their powder dry in this scenario and making both picks or using them to trade for a more proven upgrade.

Grade: C+

Charlotte Trades #14, #18, Matching Salaries, and Future Picks for a Proven Star

Now we're cooking.

If the Hornets are going to move their two first round picks this year, I believe they should be targeting a proven player who has either made or flirted with an All-Star appearance in their career.

Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Alperen Sengun, Bam Adebayo, and Jalen Williams are names to watch in this space, and if Charlotte is looking to make the leap from Play-In participant to conference championship contender, each of those players represent the type of front court upgrade necessary to compete with the big dogs.

Jeff Peterson hasn't been shy about 'not skipping steps,' but the Hornets' late-season success and the synergy between their core of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel moved the franchise far enough up the proverbial staircase to see glimmers of light at the top of it to make this type of move that kicks their contention window wide open.

This type of trade doesn't come without risk, though.

The Hornets' roster is going to get expensive fast with a Coby White's free agency and a rookie extension for Brandon Miller looming. Adding another high-dollar player while gutting your path to acquiring cost-controlled talent (i.e. draft picks) in order to win now puts a ton of pressure on the next two seasons which is a tall ask for a core that hasn't even played a playoff game together yet.

Grade: B+ because this is the most fun outcome of the Hornets' offseason

Charlotte Uses Pick #14 on Morez Johnson Jr. or Hannes Steinbach and Trades #18 for Future Draft Capital

This pragmatic approach could be the most prudent one.

In this current iteration of the NBA there is nothing more valuable than employing role players who outperform the value of their rookie contracts. If the Hornets believe there is a drop off in talent around the 18th pick and can snag a more voaltile future first round pick and some change, it would be hard to fault them. As I stated before, Charlotte's roster is going to get expensive sooner rather than later, and a way to avoid that on some level is by delaying when you have to pay a rookie their second contract.

If Charlotte selects two players in this draft and they both become NBA-level contributors, they will be due a rookie extension at the same time. That math problem becomes difficult if Ball, Miller, and Knueppel are all on near-max level contracts when those rookie extensions come due in 2031.

Grade: B

Charlotte Selects Some Combination of Morez Johnson Jr., Hannes Steinbach, Koa Peat, Ebuka Okorie, or Dailyn Swain With Picks #14 and #18

This is my preferred outcome.

I've gone long on each of those players profiles over the past few weeks, and I believe each of those players: meets a need for Charlotte, matches what they're looking for in terms of 'Hornets DNA,' and represents solid value in terms of the talent level at this point in the draft.

There are other players the Hornets may target with these picks. Jayden Quaintance, Nate Ament, and Karim Lopez among them, but those players would be in a tier below the group headlining this section.

This class is as deep as any in recent memory, and Charlotte is lucky to have two swings at drafting a difference-maker in this range of the draft that houses a ton of talent. I'm a believer in both the floor and ceiling of Morez, Steinbach, Peat, Okorie, and Swain, and Charlotte adding two of that group to their core could be enough to help the Hornets break their playoff drought as soon as 2027 while giving them a pair of talents to develop long-term.

It's a win-win.

Grade: A

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