Charlotte Hornets are expected to draft a “special player”

With the NBA Draft getting even closer, the Charlotte Hornets plan on targeting a special player with their lottery pick.

The NBA Draft is set to occur in a month, and the Charlotte Hornets are looking to be ready to select a new franchise player. The Hornets recently lucked out in the draft lottery, and the team received the 3rd pick in the draft.

For the Hornets, selecting at a top spot in the draft has been rare. The Hornets have not snuck into the top-five in the lottery since they drafted Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at #2 in 2012, and Cody Zeller at #4 in 2013.

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When the Hornets received the pick, Hornets’ GM Mitch Kupchak told the media that he expects the team to go after a special player. Kupchak went on to say that it would be “Somebody that I think you would say is going to be a starter in the league, even on a good team. So that would be our hope that we get one of those players.”

At this point, Kupchak is expecting to get a player that can be a starter on the team. This player should be so good that he could even start on a good team. For a team like the Hornets, many believe the top-3 players should be good.

In August, Kupchak also told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that the team scouted in Europe and Australia, prior to the full restrictions coming down from the COVID-19 pandemic. One player that plays in Australia is LaMelo Ball, who is expected to be drafted soon in the draft.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have the #1 pick, and the Golden State Warriors have the #2 pick in this year’s draft. With the current draft pool, many are already labeling who those two teams will pick.

Based on Mitch Kupchak’s comments, fans can expect the Charlotte Hornets to likely get a star in this year’s draft. The Hornets will be drafting in October, and the team is expected to start the 2020-21 season in December.