A year after striking gold by moving up five spots to land LaMelo Ball with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets didn’t move up in this year’s draft lottery and will remain pat with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 draft.
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The Hornets finished last season with a 33-39 record and despite losing their final six games of the year, including a blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers in the play-in game, Charlotte showed a lot of promise and potential that can be built upon entering next season.
That starts with the draft and the 2021 class has a good amount of depth, allowing the Hornets to get a pretty good player if they play their cards correctly.
One of the biggest needs for Charlotte is a center but it’ll be interesting to see whether general manager Mitch Kupchak decides to use the best player available strategy or draft based on need.
The class at the center position isn’t too deep. After USC’s Evan Mobley, who will likely be a top-three pick, the pool is slim. But there still might be some options at pick 11.
Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham is likely to be the No. 1 pick by the Detroit Pistons, followed by either Evan Mobley or Jalen Suggs. After that, Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green are the likeliest to round out the top five.
From there, the draft can play out in a matter of ways.
Here is a look at the best five prospects projected to be in the 11th pick range that the Hornets should consider drafting if available.