Swarm and Sting
Fansided

Re-picking the last five drafts for the Charlotte Hornets

By Elijah Edwards

Charlotte Hornets 2017 NBA Draft (Photo by Ashlee Espinal/NBAE via Getty Images)
Charlotte Hornets 2017 NBA Draft (Photo by Ashlee Espinal/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 11: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on March 11, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – MARCH 11: Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on March 11, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Can the revamped Hornets continue their success?

This is going to be interesting because of two things. For one, in the summer of 2015, we traded Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh to the Portland Trailblazers for Nicolas Batum. I don’t necessarily think we need him, so I’ll be skipping that. We do, however, need to think about Al Jefferson’s eventual replacement since it’s his last year in Charlotte. If you remember, though, I had already planned for that.

So, with the current roster of Jefferson, Green, Giannis, Beal, Walker, Warren, Clarkson, Nance Jr., Jokic, and role players, the Charlotte Hornets win 72 games. Something to consider would be Draymond Green and his impact (or lack thereof) on the Golden State Warriors that season. Remember that was the year they won 73 games. According to the Hollinger metric, Green accounted for 10.9 wins. That’s 10.9 wins the Warriors did not have. They probably could have made up for it in other ways, but I’m going to go with that. That would give them 62 wins, give or take. Still solid, but it would drop them to the second seed in the West. Nevertheless, the Hornets have the best record in the league. They’ll draft 30th.

First Round:

In real life, the Hornets drafted Malachi Richardson with the 22nd pick, only to trade him to the Sacramento Kings. Since we’re mainly drafting for depth here, I’ll be selecting the same player that was picked 30th. That would be Damian Jones, out of Vanderbilt. Yes, Malcolm Brogdon was available, but I think we have enough guards.

Second Round:

The Hornets did not have a second-round pick that year as they traded that away earlier in the year in the deal that would land them Jeremy Lamb.