The Only Thing Charlotte Could Do Wrong in This Draft is...

This is the first time in my memory – maybe in recorded memory – that I have hardly ANY qualms with a potential prospect who could be drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA Draft… which begins in less than 24 hours once the Washington Wizards go on the clock with the No. 1 pick.

Charlotte is slated to pick 14th and 18th, and even within my most recently ranked top-ten fits for the Hornets at these two picks?

Including my three honorable mentions to boot: None of those 13 players will make any Hornets fan angry if they’re picked tonight, except for one minor caveat. The talent in this draft is real, and the hype is 100% warranted. The depth in this draft goes to the end of the first round, you could argue.

Given this reality of the draft, the only thing I think the Hornets could do wrong tonight?

Draft a guard at No. 14

Now, let’s not get it twisted. I love this guard class. Hornets General Manager Jeff Peterson is quoted as feeling the same way about the depth of the guards in this class, too.

That doesn’t mean Charlotte needs to go against the grain and reach for one of them at 14; Bennett Stirtz included, despite the Hornets’ reported interest in the Iowa point guard.

Simply put, there’s too much need in the frontcourt right now.

Charlotte looks to have at least one of the following big men available to them tonight at No. 14, depending on how the draft board falls:

Morez Johnson Jr., Hannes Steinbach, Yaxel Lendebourg, Jayden Quaintance, Aday Mara, Dailyn Swain, Allen Graves, Koa Peat…

Yes – a few of those names would be a bit of a reach at No. 14; i.e., Swain, Peat, Quaintance, Graves.

But Charlotte will have to find themselves VERY unlucky at pick 14 if one of Johnson Jr., Steinbach, Lendebourg, or Mara isn't there. That’s the crux of why I think taking guard would be a mistake. The risk/reward of passing on any of the three Michigan prospects or Steinbach at 14, to me, provides very few worlds in which picking a guard ahead of those four is a net positive for Charlotte.

Jeff Peterson and I are quoted as having strong beliefs in this 2026 guard class – if Jeff believes that at his core, I don’t see Peterson and Charlotte reaching for a position like point guard, a position where it’s actively been reported they see heavy depth throughout the class.

You start to truly fall out of a tier of big men once Charlotte gets to 18, and then begin to look at project-bigs, upside swings, or older players like Quaintance, Swain, or Zuby Ejiofor, respectively.

I like all three of those guys a lot; all three of them made my Hornets top-ten draft fits list, if you happened to miss that piece.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t still a gap between the two pick ranges, despite being a mere four picks apart. While PG Coby White’s return to Charlotte is still up in the air, the only world where I expect Charlotte to pass on one of the four best bigs I listed is if they are FULLY expecting White to go elsewhere in free agency.

Then, a guard at 14 makes more sense.

But I’d still argue…

That even in this scenario, where I think picking a guard makes the MOST sense due to Coby White’s hypothetical departure?

I still think that scenario falls under the umbrella of “biggest mistakes Charlotte can make.”

Yes, a guard makes more sense in that scenario, but at that point, it’s not a mistake because of taking a point guard. At that point, if you take one because you expect White to leave…

The malpractice falls on the team’s inability to resign White, in my opinion.

No matter which way I swing this thought process, I can’t find one multiverse where a point guard with your first draft selection isn’t a mistake.

This is a big night for Charlotte, one I hope ENDS with a big, too. The big night ends, and the endless questions of “Why?” start to boil over the moment they take a small guard at 14.

The NBA Draft begins tonight, June 23rd, at 7:30 PM.

Show me what ‘ya got, Jeff.

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