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NBA Draft: How Scottie Lewis will impact the Charlotte Hornets

By Filippo Barresi

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - FEBRUARY 16: Scottie Lewis #23 of the Florida Gators runs the offense during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on February 16, 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Gators 75-64. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - FEBRUARY 16: Scottie Lewis #23 of the Florida Gators runs the offense during a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on February 16, 2021 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Gators 75-64. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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With the 56th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected Scottie Lewis, a sophomore from the University of Florida. Lewis was a five-star prospect out of high school but did not meet those expectations during his college career. A year ago he decided to come back to school after testing the NBA Draft waters to get a higher call. Unfortunately, this did not happen because of a minor injury and a shorter season.

The difficulties Lewis had during these two years in Florida were real but Charlotte’s front office decided to believe what they saw during his high school time. Just like the three picks before him, the Hornets tried to swing for the fences to add raw talent that they can develop for the future. Lewis needs to be shaped in different areas of his skill set and he will be one of the many challenges the Hornets development team will face next season.

A big point in favor of Lewis’ case is that the Hornets are missing minutes at the wing position as of today. As we saw last year, Charlotte had a great backcourt and versatile players in the frontcourt but they were missing good defensive stoppers at the small forward position. It is hard to forecast if Kupchak will add some veteran presence at that position but if nothing happens Lewis’ chances to have an impact on the team will raise pretty fast.

Do not be surprised if he gets more minutes than other rookies from this draft. Lewis’ plug-and-play dimension as a 3&D will really help team consistency during the 82 games season.