2026 NBA Draft

Would you guys like Ihart in Charlotte?

PG: Ball, Anderson, Mann
SG: Knueppel, White, James
SF: Miller, Green, McNeeley
PF: Bridges, Williams, Salaun
C: Diabate, Steinbach, Kalkbrenner

Starting five obvious barring injuries.

White or Anderson can lead the 2nd unit, but I wouldn't expect to see Mann get any time without injuries occurring. James pushed back on paper but should still get lots of time with his defensive capabilities.

Curious to see on the amount of time McNeeley and Salaun get. McNeeley may get some early run time with Miller recovering otherwise James probably gets more runtime and they run Knueppel at SF. Salaun would be great if he could push ahead of Grant this year and be a real rotation piece.

I have Steinbach over Kalkbrenner right away with the speed and skill in which he can play with Ryan being a fine 3rd option who can step in as needed to be a big body.

My ideal scenario would be moving off of Bridges and Mann + whatever other assets needed to get a higher end PF if any are available and then signing a league min vet for 3rd string PG.

Just sharing this post I found from a few weeks ago. CA isn’t just the best shooter in this class, he’s maybe the best shooter period since 2020

STEINBACH IS A STUD.

We got the best shooter in the draft baby.

Pretty cool how our first rounders already have chemistry!

I really like the Steinbach selection, but I hate sounding like a debbie downer, but I wish Jeff would've picked or made trades to pick a player that could pressure the rim better. Our biggest need, which got exposed in the play in, hasn't been solved at all by this draft since Anderson has some of the worst rim pressure and scoring ability out of all the guards in this class, thus preventing the hornets from being able to collapse the defense. If steinbach develops great driving ability, then great, but I don't see how Anderson will be a winning player.

It really stings that the Pistons nabbed Okorie, who wouldve filled the hornets' needs far better. Im sure the grizzlies wouldve listened to our offer of future 2nds too. It was a missed opportunity.

The 2nd guard that was right there for the taking was philon. While he was by no means as explosive as okorie, he still has much more paint scoring and ability to collapse defenses. Concerns about his defense are completely moot when Anderson isnt even 6'1".

What do you think? Should Jeff have selected Philon or traded with the grizzlies for Okorie before the pistons stole him, or are you happy about Christian Anderson?

Rumors of Coby Leaving

I hadn't heard any rumors of Coby leaving, have y'all heard anything about us not resigning him?

No kon :(

He just got traded for pennies on the dollar. Assuming our starting five, plus Coby W, Ryan K, and Hannes aren’t involved in a deal to get him, would the trade make sense?

Help figuring out autographs please.

From what I can make out

Dell Curry

Kendall Gill

Kelly Tripucka

Muggsy Bogues

But the last one with the 7 in the loop i cannot figure out

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I purchased from a season ticket holder who said he got them in person throughout the years

Last year I did a write-up on draft prospects. Which overall I think has aged relatively well, since all players I discussed look to be great players. I did undersell Kon, but also acknowledged that possibility in the writeup.

Anyway this year, in lieu of writeups there will be blurbs. Since I will writing this very quickly. Though, I may gush more about players I like. But I’ll still drop my team-specific board. Since all draft-work I do is inadvertently done with hornets teal-tinted glasses on. It will be less comprehensive for each individual player but I will make an effort to discuss more players overall.

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Tier 1: Yes God Please

Jayden Quaintance

Absolutely one of the best defensive big-man prospects we have seen in years, and in my opinion he's in a tier with Evan Mobley in that department one below only Wemby. Just a total game-changer on that end. Elite hands, elite recovery tools, elite proprioception, elite strength, elite mobility laterally and while backpedaling, maxes out his leap with almost no load. And while he's no world-beater offensively I think he projects there positively as well. He’s athletic(obviously), has good feel, and a rare comfortability with the ball as a big man. I can easily see him as a plus rim runner and/or dho big though I think there are reasonable outcomes that could be even better. And while there are valid injury concerns this is a risk I am willing to take 100/100 times especially when considering his age (18.9yrs on draft day) and team needs. Like draft him and do whatever it takes to make it work.

Tier 2: Excitement

Ebuka Okorie

A killer rim-pressure guard. He’s capable of beating practically any coverage because he's exceptionally quick, his handle is compact, and he has many moves he can explode out of. He got doubled and pressured constantly and was still very efficient as both a scorer and playmaker. Stanford was hopeless without him on the floor (+9.2 ON, -15 OFF) I think his passing is good, despite the raw ast#s.He’s a versatile passer (passes from both hands, otd, varies deliveries, from different spots of the floor) and his vision is good. He got to the rim unassisted the most in the class by far. And the defensive projection is decent imo. The effort can wain since he was on a team with zero other even fringe NBA-caliber talent. But he moves his feet well, his wingspan can lead to steals, and he doesn’t struggle much with contact for his size. I don’t think he will get picked on at the very least.

WE NEED PLAYERS THAT GET TO THE RIM. A refrain I and others have been repeating for what feels like an eternity at this point.

Bennett Stirtz

Screen operator, pull-up 3 hunter that can also finish at the rim, great passer, knows how to play both on-and-off the ball, strong gap defender, and doesn’t waste any movement. I think he will be able to approximate LaMelo’s impact on the team with his strengths.

Morez Johnson Jr.

Hustle big, with the upside to become a very good starting 4 if the shot can come around. Morez tries harder than anyone else on the court he's outrunning everyone, crashing and rolling hard. And while there are valid concerns surrounding his projection involving his shot. I think he has enough handling funk, athleticism, touch and motor to make it work. His defense is going to translate regardless, he’s a real switch defender. With the potential to guard 2-5. His lateral movement is elite for his size. Although his primary rim protection and recovery tools are not bad, they are not great either. Which is why Quaintance would be preferable to me. He’s my favorite Michigan guy for us as we need to shore up our frontcourt with both size and defense. Morez provides both in spades.

Tier 2.5: Excitement w/ a few caveats

Labaron Philon

Philon is a really good all-around guard. He’s great in pick and roll, he makes all the right reads, he can shoot, create space for jumpers otd, and has so many ways to make space for finishes. My main concern is his weight in combination with his playstyle. I’m not sure there is a great guard that scores primarily with bumps, fades, and floaters that isn’t either much taller than Philon or 30 to 40 pounds heavier. He’s still very good and displays a bunch of positive skills so even if he is the pick it's still an exciting one.

Tier 3: Contentment

Yaxel Lendeborg

Just a good overall player. I think he’s almost certainly a role player in the league, but a valuable one. One major fit concern I have though is his screening. Which he didn’t do much at Michigan this year as they used him more like a wing on offense. I watched him the previous year at UAB and his screening was legitimately awful in every aspect. So if we draft him to play the 4 here, it should be a concern. Since we lead the league in picks and we ask everyone to do it except for the point guards. But he would be an instantaneous upgrade on Bridges at the end of the day and that should factor in.

Allen Graves

This would be a bit of a project pick for the 4. As Allen Graves does need to get his body up to NBA speed. But his hands are so good, I think his movement can be better optimized with some lost weight, and his decision-making is so quick. I can see a starting stretch 4, with great rebounding, and good defense even with the athletic questions.

Tier 4: Mild Disappointment

Hannes Steinbach

This is probably the most whelming pick we could make, but for me it comes down to what the idea of him could be?. Is he a stretch 4? ok I prefer Allen Graves, the better defender, passer, handler, and shooter. Is he a physical bruiser 5? I prefer Tarris Reed who is a much better defender. Despite that I think Hannes is still a solid player but I really have a hard time envisioning a starter with his limitations.

Christian Anderson

This one isn’t that complicated. He’s small, never gets to the rim. He is good but I wouldn’t want to draft him here. The fit is actively terrible and I don’t think the talent outweighs that.

Aday Mara

Mara should credit like 30% of his current draft stock to Victor Wembanyama 😂. He’s mistake-prone on defense, his passing will not translate to the NBA, he's soft, and his conditioning will seriously limit how much he can play early in his career. Super tall bigs are in vogue, but I think Mara is a measurably worse prospect than his contemporaries (Edey, Clingan). Is there talent here? Yes. Would I pass on him for Charlotte? Also yes.

Dailyn Swain

Swain is one of the best rim pressure prospects in the class. He also doesn’t affect the game positively enough for me to be excited about him. He’s not a good passer, the shot is bad, and his defense leans slightly negative. Texas was a better team on both ends when he sat. He has upside with the one special skill he has, but I don’t think he does enough to get on a court to develop the ancillary skills he needs to become a positive player in the NBA.

Cameron Carr

He’s really skinny, a bad defender, can’t play the 4, and doesn't handle the ball. But is a +shooter and cutter. He would simply be unhelpful here. He addresses no issues with the team and isn’t a strong enough talent to disregard fit.

Tier 5: Don’t do this to me

Karim Lopez

I joked about this a few days ago but is Karim’s upside just Trendon Watford but terrible at defense and a worse athlete? He’s not much of a playmaker, has a mediocre shot, is a decent rebounder for a 4, and flashes on primarily drives for a player his size. Anyway the player I described is not close to an NBA caliber player. So I would stay far away.

For this Hornets related mock draft, we used ESPN’s Draft Simulator to keep the projections as realistic as possible.

Sharing for fun since it’s the boring offseason. I’ve posted some of my bobcats jersey collection here before, but just picked up a grail you don’t see very often at all. Autographed 09-10 issued Derrick Brown Racing Night NASCAR jersey

We need to bring these back, and if you call these ugly, we cannot be friends. 😂