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 Golden State Warriors took Game Two and are now up 2-0 in the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this edition of Buzz City Beat, we look at who the Charlotte Hornets should take with their second round pick, the importance of Cody Zeller and the Justin Jackson vs Og Anunoby debate.
Who the Hornets should take in the second round (Heavy.com)
"The second round is where things get interesting as teams look for players who have a chance to make their roster or are worth stashing in the D-League. Here are a few sleepers to keep an eye on."
This mock draft has Charlotte taking James Blackmon Jr. from the University of Indiana with the 41st overall pick. Despite averaging 17.0 points per game and shooting over 40% from three this past season, the junior shooting guard isn’t necessarily getting a lot of love leading up to the draft. DraftExpress.com projects him to go undrafted and they have him as the 91st overall prospect in the top 100.
At only 6’3, he is a bit undersized for an NBA two-guard but Blackmon would add shooting to a team that needs it in the Hornets. Looking at the players still available in the mock draft from Heavy, I would rather Charlotte go with Tony Bradley, P.J. Dozier or Kyle Kuzma. If they want a guard, Kobi Simmons would be hard to pass up in the second because of his upside.
The importance of Cody Zeller (iSportsWeb.com)
"Like most players, he needs to work on his defense and his assisting but general manager Rich Cho can’t ask much more of the center than just to replicate his numbers from this past season. 2016 was a good year for Cody Zeller and with continued work, he could turn into one of the most efficient big men in the league."
We’ve discussed the quiet yet powerful impact that Cody had on the team this past season. They were much better with him in the starting lineup and Zeller has earned the starting center role heading into next season. With the injuries problems that he had last year, staying healthy should be at the top of the list of things to do for the seven footer.
The real question will be if the impact that he had in 2016-17 was just a fluke or does he really make that big of an impact by doing the small things? The team’s poor record without him is the main reason that I think Charlotte won’t go after a center this summer and they will commit to Zeller for at least one more year. Depending on the season he has, the Hornets will either make him the starter for years to come or move on and look in a different direction because I believe that the 2017-18 season will be a make or break year for the former Indiana product.
Justin Jackson vs OG Anunoby (QueenCityHoops.com)
"Every team not picking in the top-five should at least include Anunoby into their conversation. Justin Jackson is currently projected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming draft…should the Hornets take a look at him? Absolutely."
Next: Charlotte should seriously consider drafting Luke Kennard
While Anunoby has more potential than Jackson, I would go with the North Carolina product if I was Charlotte. Justin shot 36.8% from three on 7.2 attempts per game compared to only 31.1% 2,8 attempts for OG. I also believe that Jackson is the prototypical small forward with his size, length and height while Anunoby looks to be more or a tweener/undersized power forward.