Twelve years ago, the Charlotte Hornets, then still called the Charlotte Bobcats, dropped to the fourth spot in the draft order after holding the second-highest odds of securing the first overall pick in the 2013 draft. They selected Cody Zeller, a selection that had many pundits perplexed.
The big man showed exemplary leadership and his scoring and rebounding prowess while helping guide Indiana University to the Big Ten championship. However, there were concerns about how well his physique and skill set would translate to the professional ranks. Even though he stood 7-0, he didn't appear to have the strength of an NBA-level center.
Zeller didn't turn out to be a bust, for sure, although a No. 4 pick not developing into a star or at least an elite role player was certainly disappointing. To be fair to the Indiana native, the only real stars who were selected after him in the 2013 draft were relatively unknown European prospects Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert.
Hornets have the fourth overall pick for only the second time in team history
This year, the Hornets will have the fourth pick for only the second time in franchise history. Can they avoid committing the same blunder they did in 2013? Only time will tell.
Monday had a lot of fans frustrated with Charlotte's extended string of bad luck at the draft lottery. The initial reactions to the result featured more pessimism about the squad's nightmare possibly not ending anytime soon. But hours later, there have been more expressions of hope, considering that the organization has a brand new front office that seems to have a proper game plan for how to attack the draft in late June.
Presumably losing out on Cooper Flagg or even Dylan Harper will likely sting. However, the Hornets have no choice but to move on and do their due diligence from now until it's time to make the selection at Barclays Center. Fortunately, there are other prospects beyond Flagg and Harper whose potential should have the Hornets excited.
Some of the talks for now have centered on VJ Edgecombe and Ace Bailey. Edgecombe seems to be the better fit with the current core, although Bailey would give Charlotte another possible weapon on offense, which was one of its weaknesses in the 2024-25 campaign.
However, the Hornets have to be wary about drafting another Zeller, who played great in college but had experts concerned about what position he would play and whether he could find success in the NBA. Intriguingly, that sounds awfully like how some people have described Bailey.