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 Charlotte Hornets‘ offseason begins now as they fell to the Atlanta Hawks in their season finale. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at the team needing to make a gamble move, what will they do with their lottery pick this year and Briante Weber named Most Improved Player.
Hornets Need to Gamble (CharlotteObserver.com)
"The Hornets also will have to draft well. We don’t know where the Hornets will pick. The NBA draft lottery is May 16 and the draft June 22. There is an intriguing prospect – Harry Giles. Giles played for Duke this season, kind of. He twice ripped his knee in high school and missed two seasons."
There is absolutely no way the Hornets should take a chance on Harry Giles with their lottery pick. They will likely be selecting around the 11th pick and DraftExpress.com has the Duke player being drafted late in the first round. While Charlotte does need to take a chance on a player with upside, they should not reach this far.
If they move down in the draft or if he falls to them in the second round then the team should take him. Other than that, Rich Cho and company can’t take the 6’11 big man in the lottery. With that being said, Charlotte needs to risk something. They can’t go with a safe pick like Frank Kaminsky was. They need to take a chance on a young (somewhat) unproven player with potential.
What Will Charlotte Do With Their Lottery Pick? (BleacherReport.com)
"Charlotte could sit tight and hope that continued development from its top 20-somethings (i.e. Zeller, Kaminsky, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist) will be sufficient for improvement, with more upside to come from a lottery pick in this year’s draft. Or, Cho could cash in some of his younger and more promising chips for veteran help, be it in the form of a wing scorer or a sturdy two-way center."
The Hornets made the right move by trading their first round pick (22nd overall) last season for a veteran scorer in Marco Belinelli. With a lottery pick this year, they should not be looking to move that pick for a veteran. If anything, they should be looking to move up in the draft to select a better prospect.
This team needs to get younger and they need players with upside that could produce for 10+ years. While they do also need a wing scorer and a two-way center, they should not move their lottery pick in order to get one of those. Although, I do believe they should at least shop and listen to offers for Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminsky and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Briante Weber Named MIP (RidiculousUpside.com)
"After spending his entire career as a solid defensive-minded role player, Weber was able to use this season to showcase that he can be a leader and versatile offensive threat. The fact that he was able to develop both of those traits in a singular season is the biggest reason why Briante Weber has been named as RidiculousUpside’s Most Improved Player for the 2016-17 season."
Next: Kemba Reveals Who He Wants Charlotte to Draft
Even though Briante’s chances were limited with Charlotte, there is no doubting his upside. After an impressive season in the D-League and somewhat with the Hornets, Weber will now get his best shot at making an NBA team this summer. He will battle for not only a roster spot with the team this offseason but maybe even the backup point guard role. This award for MIP just speaks to his talent and how much better he has grown.