Current Roster
PG: Kemba Walker/Briante Weber
SG: Nicolas Batum/Malik Monk/Jeremy Lamb
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Dwayne Bacon/Treveon Graham
PF: Marvin Williams/Frank Kaminsky
C: Dwight Howard/Cody Zeller
2017 Free Agents
Restricted
G Brian Roberts
G Ramon Sessions (team option)
Unrestricted
F Christian Wood
Who They Drafted
1-11 Malik Monk, SG Kentucky
2-40 Dwayne Bacon, SF Florida State
Portland trading up for Zach Collins pushed one of the top 10 tier of guys down a spot to where the Hornets were picking at 11 and they smartly reaped the benefits. With a pretty set starting five, the Hornets were in dire need of depth, particularly in the backcourt, and Malik Monk dropping to them is an ideal fit for the kind of skills they need. Outside of their starters, Nic Batum and Kemba Walker, the Hornets don't have any other perimeter players that are much of a threat to score, which is where Monk comes in. His main skill (some might argue his only skill) is the jumpshot, which he creates space for by utilizing a few quick dribbles and a step-back, even without space Monk is able to make shots. From the Hornets standpoint, that is what they will ask him to do off the bench early in his career; Monk is fairly mercurial, sometimes he can't miss, other times not so much, which will be ideally suited to coming off the bench, where he can help win games with a scoring outburst, but not be relied on too heavily to carry the team offensively. What will be more important for the team, from Monk's standpoint, is whether or not teams will respect Monk enough to guard him consistently, obviously he is a dangerous shooter should and provide valuable spacing for the rest of the team when he is on the floor. However, if he streaky nature gets the better of him and he is shooting in the mid to low 30% from three, teams might start helping off him more, and if he isn't making shots or spacing the floor, he really doesn't help you much. Though his poor defensive profile (6-3 with a 6-3+ wingspan) will be mitigated a some by coming off the bench, he does provide a bit of a conundrum for coach Steve Clifford's defense, though Clifford has shown an ability to constructed good defenses around questionable defenders. A Monk/Batum pair could work with the later playing as the primary distributor, as could potentially could Monk and Briante Weber, mainly because Weber is such a good, tenacious defender that he could guard backup shooting guards well. Still, long term the Hornets will be hoping that Monk can become more of well rounded player than he currently is, whether that be by becoming a better defender or ball-handler/distributor.
After some moving around some in the second round, the Hornets selected Dwayne Bacon from Florida State. Bacon will likely be a depth player only on this team, but there is a chance he can develop into something more, particularly if his future lies at power forward. Bacon is a strong player with a good body that, if he continues to add weight could work as a small-ball four off the bench, at least in certain match-ups. As a power forward, all of a sudden Bacon's shooting and driving ability all of a sudden works a lot more that it would on the wing. Defensively, he has the movement skills to switch and defend perimeter 4s, but don't expect much on the glass or protecting the rim, as Bacon averaged a pathetic 8.1 rebound percentage and blocked an even more pathetic 5 total shots in 1987 career minutes (that's one block every 397 minutes, an embarrassing number for a player with his physical profile.)
What They Need Going Forward
The Hornets have a pretty full roster, but they still have questions at backup point guard where Weber does some things really well, but is fairly unproven. Ramon Sessions should probably not be brought back and Charlotte could look for a bigger point guard to take a flyer on, such as Michael Carter-Williams or Langston Galloway. Christian Wood is an option to return and spend time in the G-League, but the Hornets should look at a reliable veteran power forward, someone like Ersan Ilyasova or Amir Johnson, just in case Marvin Williams doesn't bounce back.
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