As NBA draft nears, Charlotte Hornets players shouldn’t assume they’re safe from trades
General manager Mitch Kupchak is no diplomat: He knows the Charlotte Hornets are a long way from good and says so.
“We’re not good enough right now to win a bunch of games, to get into the playoffs and to advance,” Kupchak said Friday, during his pre-draft media availability.
Kupchak said that in response to a question on talent vs. position. He was blunt in saying the Hornets are in no position to pass on superior talent, in making the third overall draft pick Wednesday night. This is the highest pick the Hornets have had since selecting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist second overall in 2012.
After eight months of relative inactivity due to the pandemic, the Hornets face an intense three weeks. The draft is Wednesday, free agency begins Friday and training camps will start on or about Dec. 1. The Hornets will have $20 million-plus in space under the $109 million salary cap.
At such a big juncture in the Hornets’ rebuild, what is Kupchak thinking? Five observations from his 25 minutes with the media.
No one is too good to be traded
Kupchak said, “We need to upgrade every position,” when asked about three draft picks they hold (Nos. 3, 32 and 56).
Sure, that applies to the draft, but also keep that in mind regarding trades. There is no player currently on the roster who Kupchak wouldn’t consider dealing. Moving a Cody Zeller, Malik Monk or Miles Bridges would be no shock. It would be harder to part with point guard Devonte Graham or power forward P.J. Washington, but none of these guys yet has proven he’d be a starter on a team equipped to advance in the playoffs.
Kupchak doesn’t plan to be a big player in this free-agent market. I expect him to sign a player or two, but probably more complementary parts, like a rebounder or 3-point shooter.
That means if Kupchak uses the cap space, it will likely be via trades: Picking up a veteran or maybe accepting a bad contract in return for a future draft pick.
It was the right decision last season to devote so much playing time to six young guys. But nothing about last season makes anyone untouchable.
Could get hot right before the draft
I believe former Memphis center James Wiseman is at the top of the Hornets’ draft board. There’s a good chance he’s taken before the third pick. So trading up to No. 1 (Minnesota Timberwolves) or No. 2 (Golden State Warriors) might be necessary to get Wiseman.
“Lots of conversations, about moving up, moving back. Not only with the third pick, but also with the 32nd pick,” Kupchak said of trades. “Like any negotiation, most of the time it goes down to the wire. So you’re seeing, and you’ll hear a lot more, in terms of speculation probably between now and Monday or Tuesday, and then things will get pretty serious.”
My guess: The Timberwolves expect too much to move from No. 1 to No. 3 for now, but that price could fall right before the pick is made.
Third pick a kid, and maybe in G-League
Kupchak said it’s a given with this draft pool that whoever is chosen third is going to be 19 or 20 years old. He said it wouldn’t surprise if the player at No. 32 is a four-year college player (like Graham and Cody Martin, second-rounders in the past two Hornets drafts).
While it’s not likely the third pick would spend time with the G-League Greensboro Swarm, Kupchak said circumstances — player inactivity the past six months, no summer league, little acclimation between the draft and training camp — could raise the possibility.
“(They’re) probably not in great shape. So, yeah, there is some concern,” of muted impact from rookies, Kupchak said. “We may err on the side of caution if somebody is not in great shape.”
Kupchak said he has prepared candidates for the third pick for the possibility of spending some time in Greensboro. Take it for granted the players chosen 32nd and 56th would spend time with the Swarm.
The danger of quicker decisions
The pandemic postponed the draft from late June to mid-November. Free agency will be packed into less than two weeks before training camps.
The NBA allowed teams to visit up to 10 draft prospects for workouts and/or interviews. Kupchak said the Hornets used all 10 visits. While he didn’t specify who was visited, the Hornets were at workouts for Wiseman, Anthony Edwards and most recently LaMelo Ball.
This contracted free-agency period is similar to what happened following NBA lockouts in 1998 and 2011, when a typical three-month span from the start of free agency to camp was squeezed into a couple of weeks. Compacting free agency can make for hasty mistakes.
“There’s not going to be as much time as there (usually is) in-between to negotiate — to, so to speak, flush out what might be true, what might not be true,” said Kupchak, a lockout veteran from his time in the Los Angeles Lakers’ front office. “That can be a little dangerous, right? You have to make quicker decisions.”
Global view of draft
The pandemic canceled the NCAA tournament, a normal in-person Combine and group workouts of players. But Kupchak sounds confident the Hornets are fully prepped to make these three picks.
He says it’s a plus that the Hornets’ three selections are dispersed all through the 60-player draft.
“Having three picks really kind of pushes you to know the whole draft. If you just have the No. 3 pick, you just concentrate on the top 10 or 12” players, Kupchak said. “We’ve got 85 players (scouted). ... We’re going to understand and know this draft 1-85.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 3:09 PM.
