It wasn’t a slam dunk, but Charlotte Hornets succeeded in the second round

The Charlotte Hornets used their two second round selections during the 2019 NBA Draft on Cody Martin and Jalen McDaniels, who are two definite pro’s moving forward.

While the chances of finding the NBA’s next star lay typically in the first round, many teams, including the Charlotte Hornets, are taking the second round of the NBA Draft more seriously thanks to some major steals in recent years.

Draymond Green, Nikola Jokic, Khris Middleton and Josh Richardson are four examples of second round picks that have developed into stars in the NBA. You can find a ton of talent at any point in the draft.

The Hornets had the 36th and 52nd pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, and used those picks wisely. Mitch Kupchak opted to go with a more NBA-ready wing in Cody Martin at 36, and went with more of a project in Jalen McDaniels at 52.

During the 2018-19 season, Martin averaged 12.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists for Nevada, whereas McDaniels averaged 15.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists for San Diego State.

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Martin has a chance to develop into a quality NBA player. During his time in college, he earned a reputation of being a tough, pesky defender. He’s got good size and length that help him out on that end of the floor as well.

Offensively, he picks his spots and makes good decisions with the ball. He can play three different positions (I personally prefer him at the SG spot) and has improved his range after shooting 35 percent from deep this past season. I think he’ll get some playing time next season because he’s smart, he plays hard and he defends. Those are all great characteristics that you want in a young player.

McDaniels, meanwhile, is intriguing. He, like Charlotte’s first round choice PJ Washington, entered the draft after the 2017-18 season, but decided to return to San Diego State for his sophomore season. He was viewed as a first round talent by many, but some legal issues may have scared some teams away.

I don’t want to get into all of that regarding McDaniels. He just accomplished a goal that many dream about of making it into the NBA, so for me to go ahead and bash the selection over a mistake that he made isn’t right. He has his representation and it will all be resolved at a later date.

So, anyways, I like McDaniels quite a lot. I think he still has a lot of upside, but he also has a lot of developing to do. He probably won’t play very much as a rookie, but he will surely benefit from some G-League action, as well as battling against NBA players every day in practice.

McDaniels is very long and lanky, so he’s going to have to add some muscle to his frame. He’s a freak athlete and finishes well around the basket. He will need to work on his perimeter shooting at the next level, but his shot isn’t broken by any means, so I think he is capable of doing that.

The 2019 NBA Draft was pretty hectic. We saw one big surprise pick in Cameron Johnson going 11th overall to the Suns, and it was kind of a domino effect after that. There were a lot of good players dropping, and while the Hornets didn’t add a major steal in the second round, they were able to get two prospects that have a future in the NBA.

I really like what the Charlotte Hornets were able to accomplish during the draft. PJ Washington and Cody Martin have a chance to be really good role players, while Jalen McDaniels can be an energy big man while coming off of the bench.