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Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ potential guards to draft, Ntilikina or Dennis Smith?

By Jerry Stephens

Mar 29, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Charlotte Hornets center Frank Kaminsky (44) drives to the basket past Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (42) in the first half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Charlotte Hornets center Frank Kaminsky (44) drives to the basket past Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (42) in the first half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Welcome to Buzz City Beat, a daily roundup of the latest and greatest news and stories from around the web about the Charlotte Hornets.

After defeating the Boston Celtics in Game Five, the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to their third straight NBA Finals where they will take on the Golden State Warriors for the third season in a row. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at potential guards for the Charlotte Hornets to draft in the first round, Frank Ntilikina or Dennis Smith Jr. and Johnny O’Bryant is looking to get healthy and work on his game this summer.

Potential Guards for Charlotte to Draft (NBA.com)

"Barring an unexpected player dropping or the always-possible trade, the Hornets could be looking at a great pool of guards if they choose to go down that path with their first-round pick."

Sam Perley lists Dennis Smith, Frank Ntilikina, Donovan Mitchell, Justin Jackson, Luke Kennard and Terrance Ferguson as possible guards the Hornets could take with the 11th overall pick. There are serious cases to be made for Smith, Ntilikina and Mitchell but I think Charlotte would be reaching if they took Kennard or Ferguson that high. As for Jackson, I consider him a solid player but the other three guards have far more upside.

Although, Justin is one of only a few wing players who will be worth taking with the 11th selection along with OG Anunoby. I expect the team to bring in all of these players for pre-draft workouts so that they can get a better look at each of them. This draft is pretty loaded though and that is shown with this list of guards.

Frank Ntilikina or Dennis Smith Jr.? (QueenCityHoops.com)

"Both prospects bring plenty of positives to the table. Managing Editor of QCH, Spencer Percy, makes the case for Ntilikina and Brian Giesinger (Sports Channel 8 / ACC Sports) is back, this time defending Dennis Smith Jr."

This could very well be the internal conversation that the Hornets’ front office has when they pick on June 22nd. If they choose to go with a guard in the draft, Rich Cho and Michael Jordan will have plenty of prospects to pick from but they will need to come to an agreement on one of them. If Ntilikina and Smith are both on the board (projected to go in the top-11) when Charlotte selects, it will be a difficult decision.

If it were me, I would go with Ntilikina. He may be more unproven but he has the better size at 6’5 and a rumored 7’0 wingspan compared to only 6’3 and 6’3 wingspan for Smith. While Dennis had the better stats this past year, Frank has already played professionally for two seasons in Europe. Make of that what you will but getting either of them should be a win for the team.

Johnny O’Bryant looking to prove himself this summer (NBA.com)

"“I’m going to try and stay off the ankle and make sure it’s completely healed. Before I come back, I always want to make sure I’m in the best shape possible. Continue to work on my range, my offensive game and just be ready to bring that toughness.”"

Next: Are the Hornets wasting Kemba Walker?

Even though he only played in four games for the Hornets this past season, O’Bryant made a positive impact. Those limited appearances may hurt his chances of making the team next year but Johnny will have plenty of chances to prove that he belongs this offseason during the summer league, training camp and preseason. If he can stay healthy, I’m sure he’ll fill the role that Christian Wood manned last year.

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