Charlotte Hornets
• Selected Kon Knueppel (No. 4)
• Traded Mark Williams to Charlotte for No. 29 and a 2031 first-round pick (worst of CLE, UTA and MIN)
• Selected Liam McNeeley (No. 29)
• Selected Sion James (No. 33) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (No. 34)
This is one of my favorite classes of the cycle. The team is clearly trying to move into a new era under new ownership, a relatively new general manager in Jeff Peterson and a second-year coach in Charles Lee. The team hasn’t always played the most competitive basketball. Its defensive engagement has generally been lacking in the LaMelo Ball era. But in Knueppel, McNeeley and James, Charlotte took three players who will compete, fight and work as hard as possible to reach their ceilings. Then, in No. 34 with Kalkbrenner, they took a player who is a tremendous drop-coverage defender, is elite with his angles and was a four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He also has potential to shoot it, as he made 35 percent of his 61 3s this year.
Knueppel is the big pick here, though. He was my No. 4 player in this class largely because he doesn’t have any holes. He’s an elite shooter, a teenager who drilled 41 percent from 3 and 91 percent from the line as a freshman. He has far more game on the ball than people think, as he’s an excellent pick-and-roll player, a tough driver who finishes well off two feet, and a sharp passer who throws lobs at a high level. He’s an underrated defender because of his strength and his engagement on that end. He is excellent at feeding his man into where he knows the help is from his teammates. Knueppel isn’t necessarily going to be a hugely positive NBA defender, but I think he’ll be a neutral one. The upside here is similar to what Desmond Bane has been for the Memphis Grizzlies, and he got dealt to Orlando for four first-round picks.
McNeeley had a tough year at Connecticut, as he had to play more on the ball than he should have, and he also injured his ankle midseason. He’s a real shooter despite his 31.7 percent mark from 3, as many of those shots were contested and occurred after his ankle injury. He’s also remarkably competitive. McNeeley has a shot at being a rotation player, and the same goes for James. Defensively, there are few better guards in the class, and I really like James as a potential matchup player against some of the stronger, more physical guards in the NBA. Ultimately, though, he might not have enough offensive skill to stick. James will have to hit shots at a reasonable volume and become not just a positive processor of the game, but an elite one.
The Hornets also finally executed a Mark Williams trade. More on him in the Suns’ section, but I am not as big a fan of his as many seem to be. Williams has an injury history and is extension-eligible this year. Better to move Williams elsewhere rather than decide on him yourself, especially when you have value on the table.
Essentially, the Hornets added my No. 4, No. 20, No. 27 and No. 31 players plus a future first-round pick for Williams. This is terrific business. Genuinely, I think the Hornets’ front office has done an awesome job positioning itself over the last two years by accumulating assets and having a strong sense of timing on when to cash in on a player. They’re gonna need to hit on some players at some point, but the moves on the margins have all been strong.
Grade: A