A comprehensive breakdown of the Hornets 2022 NBA Draft

The Charlotte Hornets had what we’ll call an interesting night for the 2022 NBA Draft. They landed Jalen Duren at 13, a surprise to many, then immediately traded him away in a deal that had everyone’s wires crossed.

It turns out both of them were right. The Hornets sent Duren to the Knicks, who in turn sent him to the Pistons. The Hornets received a handful of draft picks in return, and even those were unclear based on early reports. Ultimately, this is what they got back:

While we were trying to sort through all that mess, the Hornets went on the clock again. This time, they would select Duke big man Mark Williams (they would keep this pick). He was the big prize of the night.

Later, the Hornets used one of the newly acquired 2nd round picks—the 2023 Knicks pick—to move up from 45 to 40. With pick number 40, they selected wing Bryce McGowens out of Nebraska.

So to recap, here’s what the Hornets are leaving the 2022 NBA Draft with:

• Mark Williams, Big, Duke
• Bryce McGowens, Wing, Nebraska
• 2023 1st round pick from the Nuggets
• 2023 2nd round pick from the Jazz
• 2023 2nd round pick from either the Mavericks or Heat (the better of the two)
• 2024 2nd round pick from the Knicks

Hope that makes sense of everything. We’ll analyze more later. There will be plenty of time for that.