Charlottes Options at 11

Here I wanna discuss some of the Hornets options with the 11th pick such as BPA, trades, fit with LaMelo Ball and of course the one thing the Hornets have desperately needing to do years drafting a big.

DRAFTING at 11
-Assuming the Hornets stay put at 11 there is tons of talent for them to choose from but they are going to really need to get a running mate going for Melo. To me that guy is Kai Jones.

Now I’ve been very hard on Kai Jones due to his lack of production and slight build but the more I look into it the more I like. Signing with KLUTCH really helps his case. From what I’ve seen from them they aren’t just hype. KLUTCH really gets their athletes to lock in and focus on their games and sort of creates a standard within their athletes and a bar which they all have to reach. He is from Bahama’s and that country has an extremely tight knit community of not just athlete like Mychal Thompson, Deandre Ayton, Buddy Hield but also its politicians and community leaders are very supportive and encouraging their people to do something special for the nation. He also played for arguably the best defense in college basketball in Texas. I feel like he is a good bet to continue to improve because he has the right people behind him, and with that athleticism and skill he has tons of value as an upside pick.

Where does that leave Sengun or Garuba? Imo Sengun’s best case scenerio is similar to a Sabonis type skillset. He is always going to be undersized and lacking the defensive mobility despite the production. Sabonis with Indiana, he can put up a monster game but when he’s on the court at C your really just trading buckets. When Turner is hurt Indiana is one of the worst defensive teams in the league. I think you have a similar draw with Sengun.

As for Garuba he is just so similar to Bismack Biyombo. As a rookie is he even as effective as Bismack? That shot is developing though which shows some signs for optimism but make no mistake his shot is broken at the moment. If he shoots them he will probably shoot 30’ish percent on wide open jumpers with a slow release in his rookie year, I maybe wrong, perhaps he is working on it every day taking 1000 shots and completely changes his form by the time the season beginning but thats not the likely scenario. I do like Garuba and seen clips of him winning games woth his defensive playmaking but I don’t think they can risk using the pick to replace Biyombo with a younger version that high in the draft.

TRADES

One trade I’ve been thinking would be cool to see is a deal with the Hawks for Onyeka Okongwu. Melo and Onyeka played together at Chino Hills. Clint Capela is just 27 and the question is two seasons from now when Capelas contract expires will Okongwu be the better option between the two? Do you slowly give Okongwu Capela’s minutes? I think the Hawks need to improve the team after reaching the Eastern Semifinals. If the Hawks traded Okongwu for the #11 pick they could save money and also have an asset for trades and or a talented player in this draft where the 11th pick is probably just as valuable as the 6th pick from last year.

Theres also the option for Charlotte to trade down with the Thunder, Knicks, Rockets etc. and acquire multiple picks or assets. This is probably my favorite option. I think if they can trade down and draft Charles Bassey, Filip Petrusev or maybe even Sengun or Garuba if they are available it could be better than drafting Kai Jones at 11.