With the Charlotte Hornets snagging the sixth pick in the NBA Lottery, ESPN recently completed their first mock draft and had them selecting a talented big man.
The Charlotte Hornets had a disappointing 2023-24 season, as their star LaMelo Ball battled injuries. Ball was only able to play in 22 games this past season, but the franchise does hope that he can be one of their building blocks moving forward.
During the season, the Hornets also moved a lot of players, as they embraced being sellers. We will see if those trades pan out for Charlotte down the road, as they moved on from veterans who weren’t in their long-term plans.
In the NBA Lottery, the Hornets were able to snag the sixth overall pick. Recently, ESPN completed their first mock draft and had the Hornets select Donovon Clingan from UCONN. Here’s what they had to say about the pick.
The frontcourt is a natural place to look to strengthen the roster and build around last year’s No. 2 pick, Brandon Miller, whose future looks extremely bright after finishing third in the Rookie of the Year race. Clingan makes a compelling argument for being the next big man to come off the board, with defensive impact at the forefront of the discussion. The Hornets would surely be highly attracted to the size, length, rim-protection, and passing ability of Clingan, who is coming off back-to-back national championships at UConn and has room for growth alongside their core at just 20 years old. – Givony
The selection of Clingan would be a great one for the Hornets. As a two-time National Champion with UConn, Clingan knows how to win and what it takes to be a winner. Despite being a projected lottery pick, Clingan played a very unselfish brand of basketball in college, especially on the offensive end.
Where Clingan looks like he will shine is on the defensive end of the floor. With his size, Clingan should be able to match up against any big in the NBA down low, as shown by him going toe-to-toe with Zach Edey in the National Championship Game.
For the Hornets with young players in Ball and Brandon Miller, Clingan is also a nice fit positional for them. If Clingan is there for the Charlotte Hornets at six, it makes for a great fit on paper.
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