Hornets should entertain trading No. 3 NBA draft pick. As for LaMelo Ball in Charlotte ...
Would Charlotte Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak trade the No. 3 pick in this fall’s NBA draft?
He will absolutely listen if teams propose deals. When I asked Kupchak about trades after the draft lottery Thursday night, he replied, “Getting that pick will present us with possibilities beyond just drafting a player.”
A trade tops fans’ questions for this week’s Hornets mailbag:
Do the Hornets use the No. 3 pick or package it with players to obtain a proven go-to star?
— Philip
Short answer: I project an 80% chance the Hornets select a player with the third pick and retain him.
Long answer: The Hornets are still early in this rebuild. The NBA’s rookie pay scale allows teams to develop first-round picks cost-effectively; a team gets at least the first four seasons of a first-round pick’s career relatively on the cheap. That’s often different from the cap implications of trading for a veteran.
Kupchak has said repeatedly since September that he doesn’t see now as the time for the Hornets to be big players in free-agency, even with them having salary-cap space. Wouldn’t trading the third pick for a veteran be a similar quick-fix route?
Having said that, Kupchak should and will explore all options. If some team offered a deal that blew Kupchak away — I find that unlikely with this third pick — he should do whatever would make this team a sustainable winner.
Is LaMelo Ball a fit with the Hornets?
— Malachi
As much as any of the other top prospects are.
Both before and after the Hornets moved up to the third pick, Kupchak said the current roster won’t factor in who the Hornets draft in the first round. As he told The Observer about the need for talent everywhere: “I don’t feel we have the luxury of being able to, at this point, pick-and-choose the position.”
The presence of Devonte Graham and Terry Rozier wouldn’t preclude the Hornets from drafting point guard Ball.
At 6-foot-7, Ball is a big play-maker. Right now, Hornets starters are mostly undersized for their positions, so Ball’s size would be welcome. The downside with Ball is his poor shooting: Playing professionally in Australia, he made just 25% of his 3-point attempts.
Drafting Ball also wouldn’t out-mode Graham. Since Ball is big enough to defend shooting guards, I could see coach James Borrego playing those two together.
Do you think they bring back Bismack Biyombo at the right price?
— Kell
Key term in that question: “right price.”
Biz was valuable as a mentor/leader last season, particularly with Kemba Walker gone to Boston and Marvin Williams doing a mid-season buyout to join the Milwaukee Bucks. Having Biyombo around next season would be good for the young players, and Biz can still play at the NBA level. He has told me twice he’d enjoy staying in Charlotte to be part of the building process.
The marketplace for Biz as a free agent will decide this. If other teams bid up what he can earn, I don’t see the Hornets making Biz a priority. However, Biyombo’s presence, on an affordable deal, would be a plus.
Have (free agents) Dwayne Bacon and Willy Hernangomez played their last games as Hornets, or do you see either being re-signed?
— Thomas
Bacon has said he’d be better off starting over with another team. Whether Hernangomez is re-signed could hinge on who the Hornets draft.
I don’t expect all three centers from last season — Biyombo, Hernandez and Cody Zeller — to be on next season’s roster. Zeller is the only center under contract.
Will the Hornets be able to bring in some of these draft prospects for workouts at some point?
— Chris
Kupchak assumes the NBA will not allow teams to bring in draft prospects for in-person interviews and workouts, due to the pandemic.
The NBA is still finalizing a way to have some sort of Combine, probably virtually. At minimum, it’s important for draft prospects to get physicals and measurements (heights, lengths, body-fat content, etc.), with the results available to all teams.
Now that the draft order is set, the Hornets will start doing job interviews, via Zoom calls, with top prospects. Anything beyond that is TBD. Even the Oct. 16 rescheduled date for the draft is still iffy.
Do you think one of the Martin twins can develop into an efficient starting guard?
— Copy Cat
Cody and Caleb Martin both had promising rookie seasons that project decent NBA careers. But realistically, if either one ends up a long-term starter on a team regularly in the playoffs, it would be a surprise.
With COVID-19 a factor, do you see more call-ups from the Greensboro Swarm next season?
— Copy Cat
It’s no given there will be a G-League season. But your question highlights some interesting roster-management issues.
We’ve already seen how the pandemic is influencing NFL teams’ view of practice squads: Who makes those squads is now as much about having ready options, in case a player is suddenly unavailable, as development.
I won’t be surprised if some NBA teams use their two-way contracts more to control emergency fill-in players than to develop long-term projects, in response to how COVID-19 could affect player availability.
