Hornets NBA Mock Draft Roundup: May 29th

A lot has changed over the past few weeks regarding the 2018 NBA Draft. For one, multiple players including Maryland’s Bruno Fernando and West Virginia’s Sagaba Konate have decided to stay in college. Others, including Zhaire Smith and Luka Doncic have had their stock fluctuate tremendously.

Anyways, here are some of the players being slotted to the Hornets.

SB Nation (Ricky O’Donnell): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kentucky

Charlotte just needs to take the best player available. Gilgeous-Alexander is that. A 6’6 point guard with a 7-foot wingspan, “SGA” went from an overlooked recruit to Kentucky’s best player in a matter of months. He was responsible for providing so much of the Wildcats’ offense in the halfcourt, combining advanced finishing skills with solid facilitating ability. If you’re looking for a sleeper at the end of the lottery, Gilgeous-Alexander is a great choice.

My take: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was one of the most underappreciated players in college basketball last season. His fluidity is rare and has a lot of potential on both sides of the ball. His size allows him to guard anybody that plays positions one through three, and his combination of aggressiveness and vision makes him one of the most intriguing prospects in this year’s class. GIlgeous-Alexander could be a quality NBA starting point-guard, and maybe more if developed properly. SGA would definitely be worth the 11th overall pick.

CBS Sports (Gary Parrish): Miles Bridges, Michigan State

Bridges is probably a better small-ball power forward than he is a full-time wing. But stressing too much about that is probably overthinking it because the 6-6 sophomore is an explosive athlete who can pass and shoot and guard multiple positions. He averaged 17.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game while leading Michigan State to the Big Ten regular-season title. In a mostly position-less NBA, I’m comfortable trusting the Big Ten Player of the Year will figure things out.

My take: Miles Bridges is an explosive athlete who’s stock has been volatile this NBA Draft cycle. He can go as high as Cleveland at eight to as low as the Bucks at 17. Bridges has the ability to be an instant impact player for whichever team he is picked by. Good small-forwards that can explode at any time are hard to come by in the NBA. That said, time will tell if Bridges is worth the 11th overall pick.

Yahoo Sports (Jordan Shultz): Kevin Knox, Kentucky

Knox can shoot and uses his superior length to bother drivers. Like Mo Bamba from Texas, Knox must develop his body to withstand the rigors of the pro game, but he has a bevy of offensive tools.

My take: Kevin Knox is another forward with a lot of offensive potential. Knox already has an elite transition game with the ability to either hit 3’s or take the ball to the rim on the fast break. His 3-point shot isn’t falling as of right now, but the potential is definitely there. Knox wouldn’t be a bad pick by any means for the Hornets, but there will almost certainly be better players available.

My prediction as of now: Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech

Zhaire Smith is an incredible athlete that can play the two or three. Smith wasn’t too productive for the Texas Tech Raiders this season but with his athleticism and length, there is a lot more left to discover in Smith. His 3-point percentages were up in college but take that with a grain of salt as he only averaged one attempt per game.

For a team that has consistently said it wants to win now, the Hornets have to hit on a player in this draft. It’s statistically unlikely they keep missing on players at the rate that they have maintained over the past five to ten years. Right?