Charlotte Hornets NBA Draft Profile: Neemias Queta

The Charlotte Hornets own their own first-round pick (11) and are owed second-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets (57) and the Los Angeles Clippers (56). Over the next couple of months, leading up to the 2021 NBA Draft, Swarm & Sting will take a look at prospects hoping to hear their name called on draft night.

Continuing to dive into NBA Draft prospects, Utah State’s Neemias Queta is a solid and experienced prospect who has the skill set that could make for an interesting player at the center position. The Portuguese center dominated the Mountain West Conference in his three-year stint in Utah while changing his body shape and playstyle. Due to his age and offensive limitations he would probably slip into the end of the second round, where the Hornets have two picks to use.

Age: 22

Height: 7’1”

Weight: 248

College Stats/Awards

After being nominated MWC Rookie of the year back in 2019, Queta has been a stable presence for the Aggies and featured on the MWC 1st team All-Defense in all 3 years. He is a two-time MWC defensive player of the year.

Queta averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks last season. His pedigree is impressive as he dominated his conference with consistency, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

Primary Strengths

Queta is known for his defensive prowess. He was one of the more impressive players measured during the combine with a 7’1” x 7’4” frame. This physique allowed him to be disruptive on the defensive end, resulting in an impressive number of steals (1.1) and blocks (3.3). It’s easy to picture a player like him as slow-footed, but that was not the case with Queta who is quick on his feet while defending his man in open spaces. Nowadays, NBA teams ask their big to be ready to play defense in space and not just play drop coverage near the rim.

On the offensive side Queta showed good versatility, he is not just a rim runner. Utah State runs a lot of post-action for him to use his physical dominance even on this end of the court. His post-game is not the prettiest, but he was very effective and hard to contain. His frame allows him to be very effective in the screen and roll game as it was very hard for defenders to navigate behind him near the ball handler.

Primary Weaknesses

One of the most important traits that scouts look for in a big prospect is second jump quickness. This is probably the only weakness that Queta has on the defensive side as he is not the quickest guy with his second leap. Especially in traffic, he needs some time to load and jump as high as he could. This could affect his ability to challenge shots at the NBA level.

Offensively Queta’s game needs to be shaped to an NBA offense with fewer touches in the post and more dynamic use of his screens. During his first years in the league, his role is going to be re-shaped completely and he will need to be ready for this adjustment.

Draft Projection

Queta is projected by most experts to go in the back half of the second round, just right where the Hornets hold two selections. With his defensive impact, he could be one of the hidden gems of this draft as his production could easily make his pick a valuable one. Keep in mind that Charlotte already used two second-rounders on two centers in the 2020 draft, Vernon Carey Jr. and Nick Richards. So it will be interesting to see if they still want to invest draft capital into that position.

The 2021 NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, July 29 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft will be televised on ABC (first-round only) and ESPN.