The Charlotte Hornets have now completed their pre-draft workouts and will have a good idea about their draft big board heading into June 22. Nevertheless, making a decision on who to select with the second overall pick isn’t going to be easy, as both Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller are reported to have impressed.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Hornets’ have invited both Henderson and Miller to make a second visit to Charlotte on Monday, June 19 – this time to meet Michael Jordan.
Trade chatter is abuzz around the NBA. Bradley Beal's potential exit from Washington has taken center stage, and the Bulls are gauging trade interest in Zach LaVine, league sources told @YahooSports. More from around the league ahead of next week's draft: https://t.co/jbeeeii7vK
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 15, 2023
"“The Hornets are attempting to bring both Henderson and Brandon Miller back to Charlotte on Monday to visit with team owner Michael Jordan, league sources told Yahoo Sports,” Fischer wrote. “All signs appear to indicate the Hornets choosing between Henderson and the Alabama swingman, despite bringing in Amen and Ausar Thompson last week.”"
Why would the Hornets be holding meetings?
With no further details available, we are left to make an educated guess as to why the Hornets’ would want a meeting with the two draft hopefuls. The likelihood is that Jordan wants to meet both of the players to gauge their competitive spirit, personality, and commitment to improving their game.
It is likely that Jordan will also want to discuss Brandon Miller’s off-court issues with him to make a decision on how that could affect the team throughout the regular season. After all, the Hornets’ will already be dealing with the pushback from potentially reintegrating Miles Bridges back into the rotation, and that alone will be more than enough pressure from both the media and segments of the fanbase.
The Hornets could also decide that trading away their 2nd overall selection to the New Orleans Pelicans is the best course of action, but these scheduled meetings will certainly be the breaking point for that decision. After all, Kupchak and Jordan could value landing Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram more than selecting Henderson or Miller, even though that could be a franchise-altering mistake.
Fortunately, we won’t have long to wait to find out how these meetings went and where the Hornets stand on using their draft pick or making it available in trades.