With the early entry withdrawal deadline coming to pass on Wednesday, a handful of freshly updated 2021 NBA mock drafts were released this week.
For Charlotte, the focus was on shooters around LaMelo Ball. After a standout rookie season, the Hornets are focused on building around Ball. One of the primary ways to do so is to add shooters to a team that ranked 14th in the league in 3-point shooting.
The Rookie Wire’s Cody Taylor projected the Hornets to take Duke forward Jalen Johnson:
“After dealing with a foot injury and opting out of the season in February, Johnson logged only 13 appearances with the Blue Devils. He averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocked shots on 52.3% shooting from the field. Despite the shortened season and overall questions regarding his durability, Johnson still projects to bring plenty of defense and post-scoring to the NBA. Of note, Johnson recorded the largest hand size at the combine by length (9.75 inches) and width (10.5 inches).”
From CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, Charlotte would take Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu:
“Proven bucket-getter who embraced pressure, led Illinois to its best season in 16 years and did so despite injury and a never-ending greeting of double teams. Dosunmu will almost certainly be drafted 5-10 spots lower than he should be, because he’ll be over-scrutinized and overanalyzed. He’s a desirable player because he’s fundamentally good at so many things. What will hold him back is some thought that he’ll never be NBA-great at any one thing. Once you’re outside of the top six or seven picks, those hangups can shoot you awry. Dosunmu will be a plus on the offensive end, will have defensive reliability, and he’ll be a quality role player. His toughest challenge heading into the draft is the question of if he should, or will, be able to guide an NBA offense in a lead guard role.”
NBA.com released a consensus mock draft in which they awarded points based on where players were drafted across 14 mock drafts and assigned the players to teams accordingly. The result for the Hornets was landing Australia forward Josh Giddey.
“Big guard who can dish and defend, likely providing efficient minutes from the jump; scoring punch will determine how versatile the lineups can get”
