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What can the Charlotte Hornets do with their picks in the 2023 NBA Draft?
The Hornets ended last season with a 27-55 record, good enough for fifth place in the Southeast Division and 14th place in the Eastern Conference. Guards LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier led the team in scoring with 23.3 and 21.1 points per game, respectively. Ball led the team in assists per game with 8.4.
Ball and Rozier will be under contract for the Hornets during the 2023-24 season, according to Spotrac. Forward Kelly Oubre Jr., who placed third on the squad with 20.3 points per outing, is listed as an unrestricted free agent on Spotrac's 2023 free agents list.
Charlotte will have a multitude of picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, including the No. 2, No. 27, No. 34, No. 39 and No. 41 selections. The Hornets could have the option of selecting guard Scoot Henderson at No. 2, leaving plenty of room to shore up the bench with a pick or trade the selections for more experienced options.
Could Pepperdine forward Maxwell Lewis be a solid fit for the Hornets with the No. 27 pick?
Scoring off the Hornets' bench
The Hornets must find players who can score off the bench next season.
The team ranked dead last in offensive rating with 108.4, taking spots behind the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets. Its bench had a rating of 50.7, putting it just ahead of the Toronto Raptors for 29th in the league.
Lewis, a former 4-star recruit out of Las Vegas, Nev., saw a massive leap in production from his first to his second season at Pepperdine. He jumped from 11 to 17.1 points per game between his freshman and sophomore seasons, tacking on 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in 31 games and 31 starts in the 2022-23 season.
“In 26 years as a head coach, I've never seen a player improve as much as he has from the first day on campus until now,” Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar said, via NBADraft.net. “He's made the biggest jump of anyone I've ever coached.”
He scored 30 points on two occasions for the Waves during the 2022-23 season, once during a December matchup with Northern Arizona and again with an early-January bout against the Pacific Tigers.
“I always tell people Max's progression is unheard of. He went from AAU in 2021 to Pepperdine to play the 2021-22 season,” said Mario Lewis, his older brother and manager, via NBADraft.net. “I don't even think he's 65 or 70 percent of the way in his development.”
If he can continue to grow at the meteoric rate his coaches raved about, Lewis could become a solid scoring contributor for the Hornets sooner rather than later as forward Gordon Hayward enters the final year of the 4-year, $120 million contract he signed with the Hornets in 2020.
Depth at the wings
No team can have too much depth at either wing spot.
The Hornets will have Hayward, forward Cody Martin, guard James Bouknight and guard Bryce McGowens returning during the 2023-24 season. Martin, Bouknight and McGowens saw limited action for Charlotte last season. McGowens led the three with 46 games played, earning seven starts during his first season with the Hornets, according to Basketball Reference.
Lewis's skillset on offense can make him a solid contributor right away for Charlotte. He detailed how he can help the team who drafts him in a late-January article by NBADraft.net.
“I can do the little things like get on the floor and get charges to help my team win,” said Lewis. “Of course, I'm not going to be the star player right away but if I'm a lottery pick, I can do the little things to keep my team in the game.”
