The Charlotte Hornets might have gotten a steal in this year NBA Draft by drafting freshmen shooting guard Malik Monk from Kentucky with the 11th overall pick. Going into the draft most NBA insiders had the Hornets drafting either guard's Luke Kennard or Donovan Mitchell with the 11th pick. Couple days ago ESPN insiders had Monk dropping to the Hornets and Charlotte taking him, I initially thought that’s too good to be true, either a team will draft him before we were able to or that the Hornets would pass on him and take Kennard or Mitchell instead. Lucky, I was wrong. Malik Monk was the first option on a Kentucky team that finished as the nation’s 12th ranked offense. Was a key to the Wildcat’s run to the Elite Eight and earned All-SEC first team honors while average 19.8 points a game. Strengths: Monk is an explosive athlete in terms of both burst and leaping, highlight dunker with an explosive bounce in space. Good defender when motivated and good at close out. Dynamic Scorer, scored 30+ points four times, including a 47-point game. Deep range, confident, versatile shooter; explodes into pull ups, jumper threat opens drive. Dangerous stepping into three’s. Great contested, very confident shooter, has the quickness to lose his man off screens. Reads the defense well, good mid-range game and good crossover to get to the rim, sharp footwork. Has a score-first mentality but can make basic passes, makes the simple play. Made clutch shots all year long and is a very confident shooter. NBA-ready scoring guard with considerable upside. Weaknesses: He is undersized as a two guard at 6’3” has an average frame, not physical. Doesn’t absorb contact well when he does attack bigs, lacks the size to contain most shooting guard and even some big point guards. Effort/IQ comes and go on defense, needs to play with consistent intensity, ball watches, beat by straight line drives and takes bad angles and needs make more of an effort to keep the ball in front of him. He’s mostly limited to basic crossover/straight line drives which can make him very predictable. Not good with ball pressure. Reliance questionable shot leads to inconsistent efficiency, wants jumpers over assists doesn’t hit the open pop. Doesn’t let plays develop/recognize lacks spacing.
Charlotte had the 31st pick from the Atlanta trade early in the week and the Hornets drafted guard Frank Jackson from Duke but traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans for the 40th pick and cash. And with the 40th pick, the Charlotte Hornets drafted small forward Dwayne Bacon from Florida State. Played alongside 6th overall pick (Orlando Magic) Jonathan Isaac, Bacon could highlight his offensive versatility and his efficiency from the floor. As a sophomore, Bacon held an average 23.9 points, 5 rebounds per 40 minutes. Strengths: Listed at 6-7. 6-9.5 wingspan, nice size for a wing. Can absorb contact and finish. A physical defender, capable rebounder for a wing. Ability to challenge shots with length. Is an elite scorer in transition, confident shooter and can attack in transition after defensive rebound and has sound shooting mechanics. Creates space for pull ups. Is NBA ready in terms of scoring and physicality and could possibly become a reliable 2nd unit guard? Weaknesses: Struggles to create vs NBA-level length and athletes, an average athlete with questionable shot selection. Lacks explosiveness at the rim. The inconsistent three-point shooter, not a consistency shooter in general. Inconsistent defense effort doesn’t play in a stance, lacks focus off the ball, lose shooters. Needs the ball in his hands to make an impact on offense. Has a low basketball IQ, can he think at the NBA level?
Overall, I think the Hornets knocked it out of the park this year in the draft. Especially over the past drafts where we had failed miserly. I think Malik Monk can be a factor for the Hornets for years to come and help unload some of the scorings from Kemba Walker also. Also, gives them a player who is explosive and a dynamic scorer which the Hornets needed to badly. The trade the Hornets made also makes sense, they needed money because they were getting close to reaching the tax threshold and would not surprise me if we trade for an experienced backup point guard. Drafting Dyane Bacon was probably the best player they could get at the selection, I see him playing for the Greensboro Swarm, especially since we have Jeremy Lamb, Treveon Graham, and Malik Monk. Like I said I generally think the Hornets did a great job in this year draft, I haven’t felt this way about the Hornets after the draft in a long time. And with the trade to bring in Dwight Howard as the starting center, if the Hornets can get a reliable back-up point guard I believe they can make the playoffs again. Well, that’s what I think about the Charlotte Hornets draft, what do you think about it? Tell me in the comment section below! And Gives this a thumbs up!
