This is the fourth pick in our Composite Mock Draft; check out the rest of the picks as they are revealed over the coming days leading into the 2025 NBA Draft.
Pick No. 1: The Dallas Mavericks select Cooper Flagg
Pick No. 2: The Utah Jazz select Dylan Harper
Pick No. 3: The Washington Wizards select VJ Edgecombe
The Charlotte Hornets were the one team that exited the NBA Draft Lottery largely matching expectations. Some teams were crushed that they fell, others elated that they jumped up. The Hornets essentially stayed the course, landing the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
In our Fansided Composite Mock Draft, the Washington Wizards just traded up to No. 3 and took Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe. That's a disappointment for Charlotte, as a two-way guard who plays hard, has leadership qualities and has high defensive upside would be the perfect fit between LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. Charlotte needs wing defense and maturity in the worst possible way.
Edgecombe is gone, however, leaving the Hornets with a momentous decision. Do they take a swing on the most talented player remaining and draft Ace Bailey, overruling concerns about his maturity and approach to the game? Or do they stay away and instead take their pick of shooting wings to lean into the offensive side of the ball for their young core?
It's a difficult call, but the Hornets ultimately should be quite wary of adding Bailey to this mix. They therefore are deciding between the likes of Kon Knueppel and Tre Johnson. While Knueppel is intriguing with his shooting and basketball IQ, he doesn't have the same upside as Johnson, so he is the pick here.
With the No. 4 pick in the Fansided Composite Mock Draft, the Charlotte Hornets select Tre Johnson, freshman guard from the University of Texas.
What Tre Johnson brings to the Hornets
A fluid athlete with speed and balance, Tre Johnson looks the part of an NBA wing. He has a polished, professional shot that he can get off in any situation. He is lethal shooting in transition, dangerous off the catch and confident pulling up from distance as well. He can create his own shot or move off ball; essentially, he punches up a team's shooting at every level.
The question is what else Johnson will end up doing at an NBA level. He can handle and make passes, but he's not a point guard. His 6'10" wingspan is excellent news for his defensive upside, but a lack of strength and very few blocks and steals in college call that into question.
The biggest question mark is his shot selection. Johnson never saw a shot he didn't like, and he was so comfortable pulling up into a jumper he rarely worked to get to the rim -- and that lack of a tight handle and poor decision-making meant things didn't always go well when he did attack the paint.
Yet all of those question marks are subsumed by that glorious shot. Will that carry him to such heights that his weaknesses matter less? Will an NBA environment help him improve in other areas? His work ethic has clearly been applied to his shot; few, if any, players his age have had such a polished shot. Can he apply that to improving the rest of his game?
The potential is great enough that Charlotte takes the plunge and drafts Tre Johnson in our 2025 mock draft.