Jeff Peterson deserves praise for how well the draft turned out for the Charlotte Hornets. The president of basketball operations even managed to quickly find a replacement for Mark Williams after sending him to the Phoenix Suns, using the No. 34 pick on Creighton University center Ryan Kalkbrenner. What some may not know is that the reason the Hornets even had that early second-round selection is Peterson's underrated move in the 2024 offseason.
Last July, Charlotte acquired Devonte' Graham from the San Antonio Spurs, who needed to shed the point guard's salary off their books. As compensation, Buzz City received a future second-round pick that it used on Thursday to select Kalkbrenner.
It was a full-circle moment for the franchise and the 2018 second-round selection because Graham began his NBA career with the Hornets. Some folks thought that the North Carolina native was on his way to becoming a legitimate scoring threat, but after averaging 18.2 points per game during the 2019-20 campaign, Graham quickly regressed.
Charlotte shipped him to the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2021 offseason before he found his way to the Spurs in the middle of the 2022-23 campaign. Graham failed to live up to the promise he had once shown, eventually falling out of San Antonio's rotation and becoming a negative-value asset that a second-round pick had to be attached so that he could be gotten rid of. Well, it presented an opportunity for the Hornets, then still months into Peterson's tenure, who immediately waived him.
Hornets made good use of that second-round pick
The 2025 draft turned out to be an interesting affair for Charlotte, as it initially had three total picks, namely the fourth overall selection and a pair of early second-rounders. Sending Mark Williams to the Phoenix Suns gave it a late entry in the first round.
However, some fans were probably worried that the Hornets didn't address their suddenly glaring need at the center position with their first three picks, going for wing players Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, and Sion James.
Thankfully, the front office took care of those concerns by choosing Kalkbrenner with its final 2025 draft pick.
The big man projects to be at least a solid two-way center, showing the ability to play in the post, extend his range to the 3-point line, and protect the paint like his life depended on it. He even secured four consecutive defensive player of the year awards in college, so the Hornets' previously massive problem with Williams may have already been solved.
One aspect of Kalkbrenner's profile that has flown under the radar is that he is actually months older than Williams, having spent five years in college. Consequently, in some ways, he might be more ready to contribute to Charlotte than expected.