Charlotte Hornets: Ranking the last ten first-round draft picks

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Charlotte Hornets Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

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8. Malachi Richardson for Marco Belinelli (2016 Draft)

After making the playoffs during the 2015-16 season, the Hornets decided that they had no use to draft a player. Because of this, the team traded their first-round pick in exchange for the veteran sharpshooter, Marco Belinelli.

While Belinelli was not a draft pick, he still gave the Hornets some productive minutes off the bench during the 2016-17 season. In Belinelli’s one season as a Hornet, he averaged 10.5 points per game.

Belinelli only played in one season with the Hornets, due to the team trading him away to the Atlanta Hawks during the offseason. This trade is what brought Dwight Howard to Charlotte for one season.

7. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012 Draft)

After winning a National Championship and coming out of college, many had high hopes for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. With the amount of hype that Kidd-Gilchrist had, the Hornets drafted him with the 2nd pick in the 2012 draft.

Kidd-Gilchrist had his contract bought out during the 2019-20 season, and he immediately joined the Dallas Mavericks. As a Hornet for seven and a half seasons, Kidd-Gilchrist averaged 8.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Looking back, this was not a great pick by the Hornets because of the offensive game that he was lacking. However, Kidd-Gilchrist did give Charlotte some good minutes during his time with the team.