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Buzz City Beat: Charlotte Hornets’ poor draft history, Who the team shouldn’t pick

By Jerry Stephens

Feb 26, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) guards Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) guards Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-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.

The latest NBA rumor has linked Paul George with a move away from the Indiana Pacers after the 2017-18 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers as possible destinations. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the Charlotte Hornets‘ poor draft history, who the team shouldn’t pick and Kemba Walker is set to co-captain Team World for NBA Africa Game 2017.

Charlotte’s unfortunate draft history (iSportsWeb.com)

"Since basketball returned to Charlotte in 2004, the Hornets/Bobcats have failed to build a championship team, with their draft strategy being a significant reason for their failure. A trend has been developing since the birth of the Bobcats that has been a major factor in this equation for underachievement."

The Hornets’ draft history is a sad tale. During the team’s first stint in Charlotte, they made multiple good picks in the draft from Kendall Gill to Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Baron Davis and Jamaal Magloire. Since 2004, Emeka Okafor and Kemba Walker were arguably their best selections.

Aside from those two, they have had multiple busts or players who simply haven’t lived up to expectations including Adam Morrison and Sean May. Hopefully, the team can change their fortunes this year and their pick in 2017 doesn’t add to the list of poor draft choices.

Who shouldn’t the Hornets draft? (Rotoden.com)

"if they decide to keep the 11th pick in the draft and not trade the pick, there is one player the Hornets should steer clear of. With the recent history of Hornets draft picks, there are many great players that Buzz City missed on. For this reason, the Hornets shouldn’t draft Gonzaga center Zach Collins."

Laieke Abebe makes a case for Charlotte to steer clear of Zach Collins. Like Abebe, I respect the Gonzaga big man’s game but he isn’t what the Hornets need. The team needs guard help and scoring. They don’t need another stretch big man who isn’t a defensive anchor and is limited athletically.

Since the team didn’t bring in Collins for a pre-draft workout, it is almost a guarantee that they won’t take him with their lottery pick this year. Ultimately, this is probably the right call by Charlotte’s front office. While Zach will probably have a solid NBA career, he just isn’t the right fit for the Hornets.

Kemba Walker to co-captain Team World (NBA.com)

"“I can’t wait to make my first trip to Africa and join Dirk in leading Team World,” said Walker. “Playing in an NBA game in Africa will be a special moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”"

Next: Potential second round sleepers

The Hornets’ all-star will serve as one of four captains for the game alongside Dirk Nowitzki (World), Luol Deng (Team Africa) and Thabo Sefolosha (Africa). The exhibition will take place on August 5th in Johannesburg, South Africa. Kemba’s teammate, Nicolas Batum, represented Team Africa during the NBA’s first trip to the continent in 2015.

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