What's Going on With The Hornets 1st Round Pick? 4 Prospects That The Hornets Could Land In The 2023 Draft
Many fans are upset with the recent decisions made by the front office. Are the fans right to be upset? Who are the best prospects for the Hornets in the 2023 NBA Draft other than Victor Wembanyama?
Sorry for the about one month hiatus, been busy getting ready and studying for my final exams but now i’m back and ready to get back to work. Also pretty soon I am going to start my own podcast, and a Youtube channel in the future, thank you for the continued support!!
Mark WIlliams
Mark Williams was the Hornets 1st round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Many fans are upset with the recent decisions made by the front office when it comes to evaluating and using young talent especially for the players rookie year. James Bouknight, Kai Jones, and most recently Mark Williams all had a small sample size in their rookie year and spent most of their rookie campaign in the G-League.
G-League
The G-league’s talent level is just a touch under the euro-league. The G-League provides lottery picks (8-14), mid-late 1st rounders, 2nd round picks like Bryce McGowens, and even Undrafted rookies a opportunity to develop and to show their skills to NBA teams. So this is not a case of poor front office decisions by the Hornets leadership but instead a trend that fans should expect to increase over the next 5-10 years. Well over half of NBA players at one point in their career have played in the G-League, even now you have the G-League becoming a top destination for upcoming draft prospects shown by the No. 2 best 2023 NBA prospect Scotty “Scoot” Henderson who in 2021 signed a 2 year $1 million dollar contract with the G-league Ignite. So developing your young players in the G-league although fans might not love to see it, from a front office perspective and from thinking of the long-term future instead of short-term future it would benefit the Hornets especially with a season that the Hornets are have this year.
Top Prospects In 2023 For the Hornets Other Than Victor Wembanyama
Scoot Henderson - G-League Ignite: At 6’2 195lb Scoot Henderson is a top prospect in the NBA Draft in his 9 games this season with the Ignite playing 28 MPG Henderson averages 21.2 PPG on 48, 47, and 70 shooting splits, 5.8 APG, 4.5 RPG, and 1.7 SPG. Henderson is a slashing guard only taking 3 3PAG on 17 total shot attempts per game. He shows a tenacious knack of playing lockdown defense at his position, playing passing lanes, picking pockets when players drive to his side of the court on off ball defense, and also playing lockdown defense for such a young player is impressive his peak comparison in my opinion is Dwayne Wade not the most prolific three-point shooter but he can make them when he needs to. But Scoot is also a relatively undersized guard and plays great defense. The fit in my opinion could work, if scoot can develop into a good off-ball guard and share offensive possessions in the backcourt with Melo. It would be amazing either way you can’t go wrong selecting another guard here who has Ja Morant potential written all over him.
Cam Whitmore - Villanova: Cam Whitmore in my opinion is the third best player fit for the Charlotte Hornets other than Victor, and Nick Smith. He is a 6”7 232 lb small forward who reminds me of how Miles Bridges played in his breakout season, driving using his big body to get inside and score in the lane but also has shown signs of being able to shoot the three ball. A good defensive player averaging 1.5 Steals per game and about 6.5 rebounds per game. The potential is there, Whitmore is one of the best athletes in the draft. The only question for Whitmore is can he improve his consistency and can he become a consistent three point shooter which is what the Hornets need on the team. All in all just imagining a line up with Ball, Rozier, Whitmore, Bridges (If the Hornets resign him), and a solid center next year… The future would be looking bright in Buzz City.
Amen Thompson - Overtime Elite City Reapers: When I said Cam Whitmore could be one of the best athlete’s in the draft, this is the guy I have ahead of Whitmore. Thompson is a 6”7 200 lb shooting guard who can be moved to small forward if needed. Overtime Elite is a new league started two years ago and the big signings for this league were the Thompson brothers Amen and Asur two top 10 prospects in the upcoming draft. His ability to get to the rim is up there with Scoot Henderson. Also, Thompson is a very good athletic finisher although he could take a few more steps to be more consistent inside. He is an out of this world passer as well making passes that really only Lamelo can make that combination in the backcourt would be LETHAL. He also has impeccable on-ball defense, plays passing lanes very well, in crunch time he locked in on defense especially in the league’s finals. Many experts list Amen is the 3rd best prospect in the draft for good reason but he is not perfect. Overtime Elite does not have the best competition when compared to college basketball, G-League, and Euro-league. Thompson’s big knock offensively is his shooting ability only shooting 20% from deep this season, but from last season has shown improvement just not seeing a step in his 3pt%. Another issue is his ball handling he has a good first step to set him up with be able to get into the lane on drives, Thompson is excellent at using his body to make tough layups and dunks around the rim. The problem is if he is pressured to bring up the ball he can get his pocket picket and causes him to turn the ball over. But I would not see Thompson as the Ball heavy player with the Hornets, He would play the role of a PNR ball handler, and could step in and be a very good defender next season and would brighten the future of Hornets basketball for years to come.
Nick Smith Jr. - Arkansas: From a fit prospective and the fact that the Hornets are one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA. Smith is a perfect fit to combine with Lamelo Ball in this draft. Smith is a 6”5 185 lb Point guard but at his size expect the Hornets to move him to the shooting guard position. Nick Smith is the best scorer in this years draft only comparable to Keyonte George out of Baylor, Smith’s ability to catch in shoot fits perfectly with Lamelo who is a ball dominant guard. Smith is a three level scorer and it will be scary if Smith is able to add on some NBA muscle. He is already a very good finisher around the rim as well. Two issues with Smith right now, is his defense he is your traditional score first guard you see in the NBA the big question is if he can put on some weight and most importantly stay healthy, today it was reported that Nick has basically missed his entire College season and most likely career due to a knee injury. Only playing 6 games scoring over 20 in two of those contests. Hopefully injures don’t derail his career and can be a very good guard to put beside a all-star/ potential superstar in Lamelo Ball.
These are my top 4 prospect for the Hornets in the upcoming 2023 Draft. I am a deep believer in the G-League and recognize its importance. We are in a different era, no longer are rookies thrown out to sharks to be eaten alive. No, Now it is about development and putting the rookies in situations for increased success and it is a good thing for the sport of basketball. I understand the front office of why they are developing rookies this way, and I do believe Williams has taken a step forward from were he was during the summer league and even preseason. Thank you for the support and until next time keep Buzzing!