Realistic - Current Jonathan Kuminga
This may sound a bit weird, because Jonathan Kuminga is a better basketball player than John Collins right now, but the logic absolutely makes sense once it’s fleshed out.
At his best, Collins was a guy who could give the Hawks a double-double on any given night, and when you add top-tier defense to that guy, he becomes a legitimate All-Star-caliber player.
Meanwhile, the current version of Kuminga currently playing for the Golden State Warriors is a quality player, but he’s nowhere close to making an All-Star team.
Kuminga may get there in the future, but right now, he’s simply a high-level starter, and that should be a realistic expectation for Hornets fans to want for Tidjane Salaun.
If Salaun can turn himself into the pesky defender and elite athlete that Kuminga is for the Warriors right now, the Hornets would have a nice piece to play alongside Mark Williams in their frontcourt.
The point of taking a risk with Salaun at the top of the draft is the potential upside, so the good people of Charlotte should obviously be hoping for an All-Star, but sometimes, things don’t work out.
This seems like a fair middle ground to expect for a guy who the Hornets took sixth overall.