2023 NBA Draft: Breaking Down Charlotte Hornets Draft Scenarios

The Charlotte Hornets are in a great position on draft night. They moved up two spots in the lottery and now have a big decision to make on draft night. What should they do?
2023 NBA Draft: Breaking Down Charlotte Hornets Draft Scenarios
2023 NBA Draft: Breaking Down Charlotte Hornets Draft Scenarios /

The Charlotte Hornets didn’t quite win the lottery but they still came away happy as they landed the number two overall pick. It’s quite clear that the San Antonio Spurs will draft Victor Wembanyama first overall so let’s dive into the options that the Charlotte Hornets have with their second overall pick.

Draft Scoot Henderson

Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite
Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports

Scoot Henderson is viewed by many as the number two overall prospect in the draft this year but with LaMelo Ball being their lead guard the past three seasons, some worries could be there with the positional fit. The Hornets need top tier talent so selecting the G League Ignite star player makes a ton of sense.

Henderson compliments Ball very well due to his ability to pressure the rim and take some of the playmaking pressure off of Ball. There are 82 games in a season so being able to have two extremely talented playmakers and lead guards could be very beneficial for both of them.

The major question is if Ball is okay with sharing the ball and backcourt with the super athletic guard. Both players absolutely love to play up-tempo and in transition so there’s really little doubt in my mind that it could work. It’s more so a question with how Ball will handle the idea of it.

Draft Brandon Miller

Brandon Miller, Alabama Crimson Tide
© Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Miller is considered the top college prospect but the consensus due to his shot-making prowess, shooting ability, and improvements made throughout the season. His fit next to Ball would be ideal as he would thrive as a second option and off-ball scorer and it also fits a positional need.

It’s a bit interesting to go this route as you wouldn’t be drafting for the highest ceiling here and it’ll kind of indicate that Ball prefers to play next to Miller but with that being said, the Alabama star has a chance to be a very good player in the NBA. Miller showed a lot of good things during his one season at Alabama despite ending the season on a bad note.

The 6-foot-9 forward has his struggles to consistently finish through contact and lacks some burst off the dribble but the shooting ability combined at that size is pretty unique. The Hornets have a little less than a month to decide what they want to do. It’s going to be a big decision that could potentially alter the way the rest of the draft goes.


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Published
Isaac Condra
ISAAC CONDRA

Isaac is the founder of Global Scouting and an analyst for Draft Digest. He has scouted and covered the NBA draft for the last five years, with experience analyzing players at all levels.