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Five players the Charlotte Hornets should avoid in the 2017 NBA Draft

By Jerry Stephens

Apr 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Justin Jackson (44) works around Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Silas Melson (0) during the second half in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Justin Jackson (44) works around Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Silas Melson (0) during the second half in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 9, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Luke Kennard (5) celebrates a three point shot against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half of an ACC Conference Tournament game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sportsat Barclays Center.
Mar 9, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Luke Kennard (5) celebrates a three point shot against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half of an ACC Conference Tournament game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sportsat Barclays Center. /

2. Luke Kennard

At all costs, Charlotte needs to avoid drafting a one-way player.

That’s exactly what Kennard is. Despite his incredible outside shooting ability, he is a below-average defender. While Steve Clifford may be able to disguise his limitations on that end of the floor with good team defense, there is no taking away that he could be a defensive liability in the NBA.

Charlotte already has a number of players on their roster who can shoot and score like Kaminsky, Jeremy Lamb and Marco Belinelli are a few that come to mind. What they need is a solid two-way player who can shoot and defend. Drafting Luke would also mean that the team would probably have to trade either Lamb or Belinelli which could help them but both players are coming off of good seasons and are on reasonable contracts.

I’m as intrigued as the next by Kennard’s shooting ability but there are far too many holes in the rest of his game for me to be convinced that he is worth a lottery pick. Him being from Duke makes his situation more complicated as local fans fall in love with his game. In my opinion, he has potential Nik Stauskas written all over him.

DraftExpress has the Hornets taking him at 11 in their latest mock. Luke averaged 19.5 points per game while shooting 43.8% from three during his sophomore year. He has been quacking moving up draft boards after impressing a number of teams with his shooting.

So while the Hornets do need to add more shooting, Kennard is not the answer to their problems.

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