What should the Hornets do if James Wiseman isn’t available in the 2020 NBA draft?
The NBA is on indefinite timeout due to the coronavirus threat. That doesn’t mean your Charlotte Hornets questions are on hold.
Deep in a rebuild, playing first- and second-season players predominately, coach James Borrego was making significant progress, including last Wednesday’s victory against the Miami Heat, before the league suspended the schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hornets figure to have a top-10 pick whenever the draft happens. Are they advanced enough in this rebuild for general manager Mitch Kupchak to prioritize filling holes in his draft approach?
That topic tops your questions:
HOW MUCH WILL NEED FACTOR IN KUPCHAK’S DRAFT PICKS?
Little to none, based on what Kupchak said as recently as last month. He brought this up in an interview after the trade deadline, saying his philosophy is you select the best player and let the roster-balance questions hash themselves out over time.
Don’t confuse that with stridency; if two draft prospects were equivalent in Kupchak’s assessment, and one filled a hole while another was redundant, need would factor in the discussion and might carry a decision.
Also, keep in mind that trades and free-agency are more reliable ways to fill needs than the draft. Selecting a 19-year-old primarily because he plays a position where a team is lacking is a risky way to run a franchise.
DO YOU THINK THE HORNETS’ RECENT SUCCESS WITH SECOND-ROUND PICKS IS MORE KUPCHAK FINDING GEMS OR THE COACHES’ AND GREENSBORO SWARM’S DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES?
I wouldn’t try to put a percentage on that. Kupchak and coach James Borrego both came from organizations (Lakers and Spurs, respectively) that were used to having to mine the second round for talent because of their success, and were franchises that invested early in development via the G-League.
Kupchak drafted plenty of second-round guys (Marc Gasol, Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton) who had long NBA careers, so it’s not a surprise he’d improve the Hornets’ productivity outside the first round. Investing in development, such as hiring a specialist in Nick Friedman to oversee individual players, is part of that. It’s one coordinated process.
DO YOU THINK MALIK MONK’S SUSPENSION IS DAMAGING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS FRONT OFFICE, WITH ONE SEASON LEFT BEFORE HE’D BECOME A FREE AGENT?
How the Hornets perceive Monk, after he was indefinitely suspended under the NBA’s anti-drug policy, would be his more immediate concern. However, I’d argue this is ultimately more about how all NBA front offices will view him in the future.
Monk, by his own admission, wasn’t mature enough for the NBA when he entered the 2017 draft as a 19-year-old. Being suspended under the drug policy will renew questions wherever he plays about his maturity and accountability. The Hornets have already guaranteed his $5.3 million salary for next season. The team’s statement following the suspension said the Hornets don’t condone Monk’s behavior but intend to support him.
The Hornets have invested three seasons in his development. Kupchak has said repeatedly he considers Monk the Hornets’ best athlete. So they have nearly as much at stake as Monk in making this work.
Where this gets difficult is when Monk becomes a free agent (presumably restricted) in the summer of 2021. An NBA player’s best earning years are in their second contracts beyond the rookie scale. Will teams, not just the Hornets, view Monk as reliable enough to make a multi-year, big-money guaranteed commitment to him then?
COULD THE HORNETS BRING BACK BISMACK BIYOMBO NEXT SEASON ON A VETERAN-MINIMUM CONTRACT?
Biyombo will never again make close to the $17 million guaranteed that he does this season. But I’d be shocked if the market for him this summer is a vet-minimum salary.
Centers might not be as important in the NBA as they once were, but a big man with experience who offers some rim-protection strikes me as more valuable than a minimum salary. I won’t be surprised if the Hornets express interest in re-signing Biyombo, but I can’t see how they’d get him that cheap.
IS JALEN MCDANIELS MORE A POWER FORWARD OR CENTER?
These days, there is not a huge difference in center and power forward. The key here is McDaniel’s biggest flaw is a lack of bulk. He needs to weigh more than his current 205 pounds, and he must get dramatically stronger. As Borrego joked recently, he could post up McDaniels
McDaniels’ ultimate NBA position might be more defined by his skill set than his 6-foot-10 height. If he establishes himself as a 3-point shooter (he’s made 38 percent as a rookie, but that’s in only 24 attempts), I could see him as a power forward-small forward more than a power forward-center.
IF JAMES WISEMAN IS GONE BEFORE THE HORNETS PICK, WOULD IT BE SMART FOR THE HORNETS TO TRADE DOWN, OR STILL TAKE THE BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE?
It’s conjecture that Wiseman, the big man who left Memphis early in the college basketball season, would automatically be the Hornets’ pick if he’s available. He’d make a lot of sense, but I don’t see him as such a no-brainer that Kupchak wouldn’t consider other options.
Trading down — essentially exchanging quality for quantity — often makes sense in the NFL draft, where there are so many positions to fill. It’s the opposite in the NBA, particularly in this situation, when the Hornets already have an abundance of complementary players and no All-Star.
DO YOU THINK NIC BATUM WILL BE HERE UNTIL THE END OF HIS CONTRACT? MIGHT THEY STRAIGHT-UP WAIVE HIM OR STRETCH HIS CONTRACT THIS SEASON?
I doubt they’d just waive him. What purpose does that serve, particularly since Batum has not been detrimental to this team’s chemistry while not playing? The Hornets could stretch the cap implications of his $27 million salary next season, but since they already have abundant cap space this summer, and aren’t looking to immediately be major players in free agency, why not just put that obligation behind them before the summer of 2021?
THE HORNETS ARE 10TH IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE, BUT HAVE THE FOURTH-WORST POINT DIFFERENTIAL. WHICH OF THOSE NUMBERS IS A MORE ACCURATE REFLECTION OF THEIR SEASON?
It’s close, but I’d say the point-differential. Yes, they are 10th in the East, but they are seven games worse in record than the eighth-place Orlando Magic.
They have been good in clutch time, winning a bunch of one-possession games. However, that should never mask the fact that this team is a long way, talent-wise, from being able to challenge one of the top four teams in the East in a seven-game series.
