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While the Minnesota Timberwolves jumped to the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, it may be the Charlotte Hornets that walk away from the draft as the biggest winners. By jumping from the No. 8 pick into the top-three, the Hornets injected themselves into the mix of what many see as a three-person draft.
As a result, many drafts forecast a player like LaMelo Ball landing in Charlotte, a nearly entirely unexpected landing spot for the youngest Ball brother heading into the draft lottery.
Jordan Greer of Sporting News was the lastest to slate Ball to Charlotte in his latest mock draft.
At 6-7 and with incredible playmaking skills, Ball is understandably the top prospect on a lot of big boards. He can easily break down defenders off the dribble, and though he takes some questionable pull-up jumpers, he also often draws help and finds an open teammate.
Yes, Ball needs a lot of work on the other end, and the Hornets already have Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier in the backcourt. Still, Charlotte got lucky with this pick given its lottery odds. It’s worth taking a big swing with Ball if he’s available.
An interesting aspect of having Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier is that, in many ways, it takes some pressure off Ball. Instead of needing to come in and be the lead guard at all times from the get-go as he would in some places, Ball can ease his way into things in Charlotte.
While the Hornets struggled in many aspects last season, Graham and Roziers were bright spots as the team’s top two leading scorers at 18.2 and 18.0 points per game, respectively. Ball could come in and focus on specific aspects of his game as a result.
Graham did not spend any minutes at shooting guard this season but played 40% of his minutes his rookie season as the two-guard. Rozier, meanwhile, played the majority of his minutes as a shooting guard. Ball would be able to play with either player, a strong fit for a team that could walk away big winners this fall.
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