Two potential candidates for the Charlotte Hornets’ 12th overall pick, Nassir Little and Sekou Doumbouya, are improving their stock 11 days out from the draft.
The 2019 NBA Draft is nearly here, and I get the sense that a lot of trades and movement around the NBA are coming. Who knows if the Charlotte Hornets end up keeping their 12th overall pick, but if they do, they could have a tough time landing either Nassir Little or Sekou Doumbouya, who are making good impressions leading up to the big night.
Little was once projected to be a top-five draft pick, but after a disappointing freshman campaign at North Carolina, his draft stock dropped significantly. However, Little is impressing many in his pre-draft workouts, and could now easily hear his name called in the lottery.
Doumbouya is a bit of a mystery man in this draft class. Despite that, teams know what he can do and the amount of upside he possesses, which makes him a really intriguing pick. He recently had a successful Pro Day in front of a ton of NBA personnel.
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The Hornets have had a pre-draft workout with Little, but have yet to work out Doumbouya, and with the draft so close, it’s currently unknown if they will be able to get him in for one. Despite that, he’d still be a good pick at 12th overall thanks to his enormous upside.
The latest mock draft from CBS Sports has Little going eighth overall to Atlanta, and Doumbouya going right after to Washington at ninth overall. It would be a bummer to see both of them off the board before Charlotte is up because they’d both be tremendous options for the Hornets.
It appears that both prospects are raising their draft stock at the right time, considering the 2019 NBA Draft will take place on June 20th.
In my opinion, I’m thinking Doumbouya will be off the board before Charlotte’s pick. I do, however, think that Little could be available. It will be up to Mitch Kupchak and the rest of the front office to decide if Little is the right guy for them, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the pick.
Both Little and Doumbouya have outstanding physical attractions, but the biggest concern for both prospects would be lack of shooting. It’s one thing to shoot it well in a pre-draft workout and another thing to shoot it well in an NBA game.
With where they are picking in the draft, the Charlotte Hornets would like to land a player that can make an impact relatively quickly, and while Little and Doumbouya would be considered more as projects, selecting either of them could pay off down the line.