Charlotte Hornets: 3 Prospects that fit LaMelo Ball’s timeline

James Bouknight, Shooting Guard, UConn, 20

With the futures of one of Graham and Malik Malik uncertain, as well as Terry Rozier being in the final year of his contract, Charlotte will be in need of scoring. The Hornets can get a jump start on that with the selection of UConn’s James Bouknight. Bouknight might just be the best pure scorer in this entire class which alone makes him worthy of a lottery pick.

At 20 years old, Bouknight is a year older than Ball and actually fits the rumored two-year draft strategy that Kupchak supposedly has. He struggled from three-point range, shooting 29.3%, so he’ll have to improve mightily as a spot-up shooter if he’s to play next to Ball. Bouknight was okay from the free-throw line, 77.8%, so there’s promise in terms of his shooting projection in the NBA.

If he becomes more consistent with his shooting motion I’m sure he’ll be a more than capable threat when spacing the floor. His elite athletic ability, helped him to be an extremely effective finisher at the college level, allowing him to play above the rim.

Bouknight has a nice bag of tricks in his offensive game. He’s got that quick-twitch ability that allows players to create space and get to their spots for shots. He’s got a smooth stepback and pull-up game that make him one of the best shot creators in this class. His percentage wasn’t good, but you’re buying into his creative ability and hoping that the shot starts to fall.

There would be no surprise if Bouknight was the pick at 11. A player with scoring potential like him doesn’t come around that often and pairing that next to an elite playmaker like Ball makes all the sense in the world. Being just a year apart in age, and already having refined parts of their game immediately places them on the same timeline.