The Bleacher Report staff recently conducted a five-year NBA re-draft, and the Charlotte Hornets weren’t able to keep their core together, as Brandon Miller was picked 18th overall by the Golden State Warriors.
The order of the draft was based on every team’s regular-season record over the course of the last five seasons, and despite the fact that they won a championship in 2022, the Warriors landed 18th.
Golden State passed on guys like Darius Garland, Immanuel Quickley, and Jalen Green, who went in the three picks right after Miller.
Warriors pick Hornets star Brandon Miller in 5-Year NBA Re-Draft
Every team in the league got one pick in the re-draft, so it would have been impossible for the Hornets to keep their team together in this hypothetical world.
However, that’s a good thing because it’s a testament to how talented their young core is—two of their players were picked in the re-draft (LaMelo Ball and Miller), meaning they have two of the best 30 young players in the past five seasons.
Charlotte selected Miller with the second-overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, meanwhile Ball was picked with the third-overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
In the re-draft, Ball went earlier than Miller. The star point guard was picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the No. 12 pick, just six slots before his teammate.
As for the Hornets’ pick, they could have selected either of their two current young stars, as they were handed the fifth pick in the re-draft due to their poor record in the past few seasons.
But rather than taking Ball or Miller at pick No. 5, they went with current Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant. Since he’s entered the league, he’s been the most accomplished player from his draft class (2019).
In the case of the Warriors, if this hypothetical world were to have come true, they would have made out like bandits. None of their current-day players are picked in the draft. Guys like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski were left out.
If they were able to add Miller to their roster, it would be incredible for their future, though the Hornets probably wouldn’t be too pleased about that idea.