The Charlotte Hornets have been on a mission to collect second-round picks the past two years. If there are doubts that such a strategy will pay off, Ajay Mitchell of the Oklahoma City Thunder is proof that it can.
Oklahoma City's title defense is off to a good, albeit shaky, start. It is currently 2-0, although its matchups against the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers went to double-overtime. In both games, its depth has been a boon, with Mitchell leading the bench platoon.
Against the Rockets, the promising swingman scored 16, the third-most points behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. He and Cason Wallace led all Thunder players with three 3-pointers each.
Mitchell one-upped his season-opening performance by recording a career-high 26 points in their gritty win against the Pacers. If it weren't for his scoring exploit, Gilgeous-Alexander's 55 points would have been all for naught.
Only time will tell if Mitchell can maintain his production, especially when Jalen Williams, who missed both contests, and Alex Caruso and Wallace, who were absent in the Indiana tiff, are back at full health. Whatever happens, it's bad news for the rest of the league that the Thunder have a lot of rotation-level guys at their disposal.
Hornets have the potential to emulate OKC
Some might deem it unfair that the defending champion has an embarrassment of riches. However, Oklahoma City only got to where it is now through shrewd roster moves that allowed it to build a massive treasure chest of draft assets.
Of course, it has needed some luck along the way, such as when it was able to capitalize on the LA Clippers' now-questionable decision to trade Gilgeous-Alexander away to acquiesce to Kawhi Leonard's demands in 2019 and when Williams fell into its lap at the No. 12 spot in the 2022 draft. But as they say, fortune favors the bold, and the Thunder are clearly reaping the rewards of their patience and willingness to endure ridicule when they were rebuilding a few years ago.
The Hornets could be on a similar trajectory, as team president Jeff Peterson has been building up their draft capital since taking office as their lead executive back in 2023. At the moment, they have a total of at least nine first-rounders and 13 second-rounders through 2032.
The ideal outcome is that Charlotte will find the next Nikola Jokic, Jalen Brunson, or Draymond Green with any of those second-round selections. The chances of that happening are quite slim. On the other hand, unearthing someone similar to Mitchell may be more realistic. And truth be told, that would already be a worthy payoff for the Hornets' asset-acquisition strategy.
Interestingly, the franchise has already proven capable of making good use of its late draft picks, landing two potential steals this year at No. 29 with Liam McNeeley and No. 34 with Ryan Kalkbrenner. It's not hard to imagine Peterson pulling off similar feats in the near future.