Heading into the summer, the Charlotte Hornets should be doing everything they can to improve in hopes of competing in the Play-In Tournament. They’ve spent two years at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
While the trade market and free agency will be essential chances for them to improve, perhaps the most important spot for the Hornets will be the 2024 NBA Draft.
ESPN recently compiled a list in which they ranked the top 100 prospects in the 2024 NBA Draft. They ranked Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht as the eighth-best prospect.
Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht 'drawing strong interest' from Charlotte Hornets
However, the interesting tidbit came when Jeremy Woo of ESPN listed the Hornets among the teams who have shown a strong interest in drafting Knecht.
"Knecht has positioned himself pretty firmly as a mid-lottery pick, drawing strong interest from Charlotte, Portland, San Antonio, Memphis and Utah in the Nos. 6-10 range."Jeremy Woo, ESPN
Considering the talent the Hornets have on the team, bringing in a guy who can help them win right away makes a ton of sense, even with the sixth pick in the draft.
Knecht is already 23 years old, so he’s less of a project than some of the other guys who are projected to be top-10 picks, so it seems likely that teams like the Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers go with younger guys.
However, the Hornets shouldn’t be worried about taking on a project player. In fact, they would be wise to avoid it, and drafting Knecht would certainly be a way to do that.
In his first and only season with the Volunteers (his fifth year of college basketball), Knecht averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 45.8% from the field and 39.7% from behind the arc on 6.5 three-point attempts per game.
At 6-foot-6, Knecht’s knock-down three-point shooting and top-tier shot creation would make him a great fit next to LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller in Charlotte’s starting lineup.
Giving those three, Mark Williams, and the rest of the core time to grow together could breed great things in Charlotte, and there aren’t many players who fit better than Knecht.
There’s a chance that Knecht gets selected before the sixth pick, but he’s been widely projected to go anywhere from five to 10, so unless he jumps way up, he should be available for Charlotte.