Hornets mock NBA Draft 2.0: Sounds like Charlotte is wild about a certain ‘Cat

If ever there was a time to have a psychic on speed dial, it’s now.

We’ve reached that point with the 2024 NBA Draft.

Despite being a week away from the league’s initial foray into making the draft a multi-day event, there’s plenty of uncertainty remaining among a collection of players considered the weakest in more than a decade. With no clear cut favorite in this year’s class, the unpredictability factor is off the charts.

Either of the top two French prospects, Alex Sarr or Zaccharie Risacher, could go No. 1 overall to Atlanta. Whatever happens with those two will have a trickle down effect and the questions surrounding where they will land makes predicting who the Charlotte Hornets are going to select all the more challenging.

But we’ll give it a go once again.

Here is the latest version of our Hornets-themed mock draft:

No. 6 pick

▪ Name: Reed Sheppard

▪ Position: Shooting guard

▪ Team: Kentucky

Perhaps no one has risen up the draft ranks faster than Reed Sheppard.

Billed initially as someone just inside the top 10 of most talented players in this year’s crop, Sheppard is one of the hottest names on the draft landscape, drawing rave reviews from all angles. It all has the 19-year-old on the verge of making history.

Sheppard could be the highest-drafted, homegrown player ever to put on a Kentucky men’s basketball uniform. In the Wildcats’ prestigious history, only one native of the state who suited up for the program was chosen in the top five of the draft. And that happened more than 50 years ago, when Frank Ramsey got picked fifth overall by Boston in 1953.

In fact, only eight native Kentuckians have been selected in the first round. So, it’s a sure bet Sheppard gets added to that list. He’s caught the eye of executives and might not be still on the board when the Hornets’ spot at No. 6 comes up. But if he is, he’ll be nabbed by the Hornets without question.

Charlotte could use someone to fill the void left by Terry Rozier’s departure.

Sheppard, who averaged posted 12.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game in his one-and-done season with Kentucky, fared well at the draft combine last month, posting a 42-inch vertical leap that had people doing a double take. His outside shot — he nailed 52.1% of his attempts behind the 3-point arc — also makes him a top prospect and he thinks he could be a boost for the Hornets if he winds up in Charlotte.

“Yeah, they are a good team, they are young,” Sheppard said when asked about the Hornets by The Observer at the combine. “But at the end of the day, I think (it’s) just being myself, just doing the little things, being a player that will do everything it takes to win if you’ve got some big-time scorers.

“So, being able to create for them, get them some open shots and still when they are going, kind of get out of the way, space the floor, maybe knock down a shot or two, and really just play basketball the right way, and do whatever I need to do to win.”

However, there is one thing that could end up being a drawback and a point of concern: his height. Standing at just under 6-foot-2, 187 pounds, he’s not the tallest in stature and that may be an area teams have to evaluate when deciding on how he fits into their backcourt picture.

Before trading Rozier to Miami, the Hornets employed a starting tandem featuring the 6-7 LaMelo Ball and the 6-1 veteran, which didn’t exactly strike fear into the opposition offensively. Sheppard would seemingly be slotted into more of a shooting guard spot than a traditional point guard and that could make him a target on defense, especially in crunch time situations.

“If you’re a playoff team and you are just watching these playoff series, where does he fit in?” one talent evaluator told The Observer. “So, is he a Payton Pritchard for you? You know what the strength of what Payton does is? Defensive. Look at the job he did on Kyrie (Irving in the NBA Finals).

“Reed isn’t a quick twitch guy, Reed isn’t a lateral athlete.”

In other words, Reed has his share of flaws — just like the bulk of this year’s draft elite.

No. 42 pick

▪ Name: PJ Hall

▪ Position: PF/C

▪ Team: Clemson

Named first-team All-ACC as a senior, PJ Hall steadily improved during his days with Clemson and was an integral part of the Tigers’ run to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in March, finishing third in the conference’s player of the year voting.

Hall led the Tigers in points and blocks, notching double figures in scoring in all but one outing. He put up 18.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 2023-24, connecting on 48.8% of his attempts, and averaged at least 15 points and 5.5 rebounds per outing during his final three seasons at Clemson.

At 6-8, Hall has some athleticism, checking in with a 39.5-inch vertical at the combine. The 239-pound Spartanburg, S.C. native is a good finisher around the rim thanks to his nearly 7-2 wingspan, but he has to continue to work on his shot from the perimeter, allowing him to better play away from the basket and pull defenders out of the paint.

He projects as a role player who won’t mind doing the tasks that go unnoticed and aren’t overly glamorous, which is something the Hornets could use.