Swarm and Sting
Fansided

Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets won’t workout Harry Giles, Five draft options

By Jerry Stephens

Dec 21, 2016; Greensboro, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Harry Giles (1) stands on the court in the second half against the Elon Phoenix at Greensboro Coliseum. Duke defeated Elon 72-61. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; Greensboro, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Harry Giles (1) stands on the court in the second half against the Elon Phoenix at Greensboro Coliseum. Duke defeated Elon 72-61. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Buzz City Beat is Swarm and Sting’s one stop for the best articles from around the internet surrounding the Charlotte Hornets.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a bit of life after defeating the Golden State Warriors in Game Four to put the NBA Finals at 3-1. (Que the jokes) In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at Harry Giles not working out for the Charlotte Hornets, five options in the draft for the team and Nicolas Batum being named to Forbes’ top-100 world’s highest-paid athletes.

Harry Giles won’t conduct a pre-draft workout for Charlotte (Twitter/ @BlazerFreeman)

"Harry Giles says he will work out for Detroit, Chicago, Miami & Indiana before draft. He’s already worked out for Sacramento and Portland."

Even though DraftExpress.com projects Giles to be selected outside of the lottery, there have been a few mocks where Harry goes to the Hornets. While there is always the outside chance that the outcome could happen, it is unlikely that Charlotte reaches that far to get the often injured Duke product. Still, the news that he won’t workout for the team almost guarantees that they won’t pick him.

While the team could still trade back in the draft and pick Giles late in the first round, that also seems unlikely. If Charlotte had any interest in selecting the big man, they would have at least brought him in for a workout. Considering Harry’s upside, there will surely be a team in the top-20 who will take a chance on him.

Five draft options for pick No. 11 (HoopsHabit.com)

"What will type of player will they select this time? In no particular order, let’s take a look at few options that might make sense."

Andrew Snyder lists Zach Collins, Donovan Mitchell, Luke Kennard, Frank Ntilikina and Justin Jackson as the five possible candidates for Charlotte to select with the 11th overall pick. While these prospects are all potential options, it is likely that Collins and Ntilikina could be off the board by the time they are on the clock. If either of them falls to the Hornets, they are the two most likely players to take as they are the highest rated in the draft this year.

Although, if Mitchell, Kennard or Jackson impresses the team during their pre-draft workout, I wouldn’t be surprised if they took any one of the three. It will come down to best available, need and fit. Which direction will Rich Cho and Michael Jordan go this year? My guess would be that they will go with the player that they fall most in love with prior to the draft even if they aren’t necessarily the best available.

Nic Batum among world’s highest-paid athletes (Forbes.com)

"The Hornets opened the vaults to retain the wing player with a five-year $120 million contract in 2016. The final year in 2020-21 worth $27.1 million is a player option."

Next: Backup point guard targets for Charlotte

The massive contract that the France international signed last summer vaulted the Hornets’ guard into the top-100 of the world’s highest-paid athletes. He came in at #98 ahead of Wladimir Klitschko and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Batum’s $21.41 million pay comes from his $20.9 million salary from his contract with Charlotte and $600K in endorsements.

Home/Hornets News