By CORY SPIERS
coryspiers@gmail.com
Surprise! The Charlotte Hornets will pick 11th overall in next month's NBA Draft.
If that sounds familiar, it's because the team has picked between 9-12th overall eight times since 2008. The only higher pick outliers were when the team picked fourth overall in 2013 and second overall in 2012.
Charlotte learned its 2018 draft fate at the draft lottery earlier this week. Their lack of luck with the ping-pong balls has them in draft no man's land once again.
While it's possible to find perennial All Stars between 8-12, (see names like: George, Paul, Thompson, Clay and Nowitzki, Dirk) the Hornets certainly haven't done so with any degree of regularity.
Charlotte's eight top 12 selections since 2008 have combined for two All Star appearances-- both by 2011 9th overall pick Kemba Walker. Five of the eight selections are still with the team.
2017: Malik Monk-- 11th overall--
It's still early to say exactly what kind of player Charlotte got in Monk.
The former Kentucky standout flashed his electric scoring ability at times this past season but was mostly relegated to the bench under head coach Steve Clifford who either didn't trust the rookie or simply refused to roll the dice and let him get experience.
Monk played 63 games for Charlotte and averaged just over 13 minutes a game. He scored 6.7 points per game and shot 34 percent from 3-point range.
2016: Frank Kaminsky -- 9th overall--
Ideally, you'd like to see a top 10 pick be a perennial starter.
Kaminsky hasn't been.
The former Wisconsin standout has been a solid guy, but not a regular starter.
Measuring in right around 6-11, 7-0, Kaminsky has been a flex center/power forward for the Hornets. He's appeared in 235 regular season games but has started just 23 of them.
Kaminsky is averaging 10 points and 4.l rebounds per game as a pro. His best statistical season came as an NBA sophomore when he notched career highs in minutes played (26.1), points per game (11.7) and rebounds per game (4.5).
2014: Noah Vonleh -- 9th overall --
The Hornets rolled the dice on Vonleh, who played just one pretty good season as a freshman at Indiana.
The former Big Ten freshman of the year had a slow start in the NBA, undergoing surgery for a sports hernia a few months after being drafted.
After recovering from his procedure, Vonleh appeared in just four games for the Hornets before being assigned to the D-League for a short stint. He appeared in 25 NBA games as a rookie and averaged just over 10 minutes per game and chipped in just over three points per game.
The Vonleh experience was a short one. Charlotte shipped him to Portland in a package that brought Nicolas Batum to the Hornets in June 2015.
Vonleh spent three seasons in Portland and was traded to Chicago, where he played this past season.
He has 231 games played and 113 starts in his career. He has averaged more than four points in a season just twice in his career.
2013: Cody Zeller-- 4th overall--
The Hornets thought they had their franchise center when they grabbed the long, rangy Zeller out of Indiana in the top 5.
It hasn't turned out that way.
Zeller has had a tough time staying healthy. After appearing in all 82 games as a rookie, he appeared in 62 or fewer games in three of the next four seasons.
Zeller appeared in just 33 games this past season as he battled injuries and was buried on the depth chart behind Dwight Howard.
Zeller has 312 NBA appearances with 166 starts. He is averaging 22.5 minutes, 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in his career.
2012: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist-- 2nd overall--
The Hornets could have had Anthony Davis-- who would go on to be a five-time NBA All Star-- but instead, they got his Kentucky teammate, Kidd-Gilchrist.
Despite having the league's worst record the season before, and thus the highest chance to win the No. 1 pick, Charlotte was leapfrogged by New Orleans (at the time, still the Hornets).
New Orleans plucked Davis and left Charlotte with the scraps that were Kidd-Gilchrist.
Kidd-Gilchrist hasn't been terrible by any means, but he's been far from as impactful as you'd like the second overall pick to be.
Kidd-Gilchrist has been a steady starter at forward for Charlotte and has developed a reputation for being a strong defensive player.
His ugly jump shot is the tip of the spear of a set of offensive skills that just aren't up to par for an NBA starter.
Kidd-Gilchrist has played 357 NBA games and has started all but four of them. He averages 9.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Guard Bradley Beal, who was taken a spot after Kidd-Gilchrist, has a career 18.7 points per game average and was an All Star selection in 2018.
2011: Kemba Walker-- 9th overall--
Here is easily the best of this list and a rare instance of Charlotte getting big value out of a high draft pick.
There's not a ton to say about Walker that hasn't already been said. He owns both of the All Star game selections mentioned earlier (2017, 2018) and passed Dell Curry this past season as the franchise's all-time scoring leader.
The Hornets smacked a home run with this pick, nabbing a starting point guard and a good one at that.
Walker has appeared in more than 500 games in Charlotte and has a career points per game average of 18.9 and a career assists average of 5.4.
Well, one out of eight isn't so bad... right?
2009: Gerald Henderson -- 12th overall--
Henderson wasn't an awful guard for Charlotte, but he was covered up by some very bad seasons of Charlotte basketball.
Charlotte was abysmal in 2011-12 but Henderson logged a career-high 33.3 minutes per game and chipped in more than 15 points per game.
Henderson spent six seasons in Charlotte before heading to Portland along with Vonleh in the package that brought Batum to town.
The former Duke Blue Devil went on to play two average seasons in Portland and Philadelphia.
He was out of pro basketball this past season as he dealt with a hip injury.
2008: DJ Augustin-- 9th overall--
Augustin played four pretty good seasons in Charlotte before going on to play for seven different teams over the following nine seasons.
Augustin was solid but not flashy, averaging double-digit points in two seasons with the team, but he became superfluous when Walker entered the picture.
Augustin started 46 games and averaged a career-high 6.4 assists when Charlotte set the record for worst winning percentage in association history in 2011-12.
coryspiers@gmail.com
Surprise! The Charlotte Hornets will pick 11th overall in next month's NBA Draft.
If that sounds familiar, it's because the team has picked between 9-12th overall eight times since 2008. The only higher pick outliers were when the team picked fourth overall in 2013 and second overall in 2012.
Charlotte learned its 2018 draft fate at the draft lottery earlier this week. Their lack of luck with the ping-pong balls has them in draft no man's land once again.
While it's possible to find perennial All Stars between 8-12, (see names like: George, Paul, Thompson, Clay and Nowitzki, Dirk) the Hornets certainly haven't done so with any degree of regularity.
Charlotte's eight top 12 selections since 2008 have combined for two All Star appearances-- both by 2011 9th overall pick Kemba Walker. Five of the eight selections are still with the team.
2017: Malik Monk-- 11th overall--
It's still early to say exactly what kind of player Charlotte got in Monk.
The former Kentucky standout flashed his electric scoring ability at times this past season but was mostly relegated to the bench under head coach Steve Clifford who either didn't trust the rookie or simply refused to roll the dice and let him get experience.
Monk played 63 games for Charlotte and averaged just over 13 minutes a game. He scored 6.7 points per game and shot 34 percent from 3-point range.
2016: Frank Kaminsky -- 9th overall--
Ideally, you'd like to see a top 10 pick be a perennial starter.
Kaminsky hasn't been.
The former Wisconsin standout has been a solid guy, but not a regular starter.
Measuring in right around 6-11, 7-0, Kaminsky has been a flex center/power forward for the Hornets. He's appeared in 235 regular season games but has started just 23 of them.
Kaminsky is averaging 10 points and 4.l rebounds per game as a pro. His best statistical season came as an NBA sophomore when he notched career highs in minutes played (26.1), points per game (11.7) and rebounds per game (4.5).
2014: Noah Vonleh -- 9th overall --
The Hornets rolled the dice on Vonleh, who played just one pretty good season as a freshman at Indiana.
The former Big Ten freshman of the year had a slow start in the NBA, undergoing surgery for a sports hernia a few months after being drafted.
After recovering from his procedure, Vonleh appeared in just four games for the Hornets before being assigned to the D-League for a short stint. He appeared in 25 NBA games as a rookie and averaged just over 10 minutes per game and chipped in just over three points per game.
The Vonleh experience was a short one. Charlotte shipped him to Portland in a package that brought Nicolas Batum to the Hornets in June 2015.
Vonleh spent three seasons in Portland and was traded to Chicago, where he played this past season.
He has 231 games played and 113 starts in his career. He has averaged more than four points in a season just twice in his career.
2013: Cody Zeller-- 4th overall--
The Hornets thought they had their franchise center when they grabbed the long, rangy Zeller out of Indiana in the top 5.
It hasn't turned out that way.
Zeller has had a tough time staying healthy. After appearing in all 82 games as a rookie, he appeared in 62 or fewer games in three of the next four seasons.
Zeller appeared in just 33 games this past season as he battled injuries and was buried on the depth chart behind Dwight Howard.
Zeller has 312 NBA appearances with 166 starts. He is averaging 22.5 minutes, 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in his career.
2012: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist-- 2nd overall--
The Hornets could have had Anthony Davis-- who would go on to be a five-time NBA All Star-- but instead, they got his Kentucky teammate, Kidd-Gilchrist.
Despite having the league's worst record the season before, and thus the highest chance to win the No. 1 pick, Charlotte was leapfrogged by New Orleans (at the time, still the Hornets).
New Orleans plucked Davis and left Charlotte with the scraps that were Kidd-Gilchrist.
Kidd-Gilchrist hasn't been terrible by any means, but he's been far from as impactful as you'd like the second overall pick to be.
Kidd-Gilchrist has been a steady starter at forward for Charlotte and has developed a reputation for being a strong defensive player.
His ugly jump shot is the tip of the spear of a set of offensive skills that just aren't up to par for an NBA starter.
Kidd-Gilchrist has played 357 NBA games and has started all but four of them. He averages 9.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Guard Bradley Beal, who was taken a spot after Kidd-Gilchrist, has a career 18.7 points per game average and was an All Star selection in 2018.
2011: Kemba Walker-- 9th overall--
Here is easily the best of this list and a rare instance of Charlotte getting big value out of a high draft pick.
There's not a ton to say about Walker that hasn't already been said. He owns both of the All Star game selections mentioned earlier (2017, 2018) and passed Dell Curry this past season as the franchise's all-time scoring leader.
The Hornets smacked a home run with this pick, nabbing a starting point guard and a good one at that.
Walker has appeared in more than 500 games in Charlotte and has a career points per game average of 18.9 and a career assists average of 5.4.
Well, one out of eight isn't so bad... right?
2009: Gerald Henderson -- 12th overall--
Henderson wasn't an awful guard for Charlotte, but he was covered up by some very bad seasons of Charlotte basketball.
Charlotte was abysmal in 2011-12 but Henderson logged a career-high 33.3 minutes per game and chipped in more than 15 points per game.
Henderson spent six seasons in Charlotte before heading to Portland along with Vonleh in the package that brought Batum to town.
The former Duke Blue Devil went on to play two average seasons in Portland and Philadelphia.
He was out of pro basketball this past season as he dealt with a hip injury.
2008: DJ Augustin-- 9th overall--
Augustin played four pretty good seasons in Charlotte before going on to play for seven different teams over the following nine seasons.
Augustin was solid but not flashy, averaging double-digit points in two seasons with the team, but he became superfluous when Walker entered the picture.
Augustin started 46 games and averaged a career-high 6.4 assists when Charlotte set the record for worst winning percentage in association history in 2011-12.
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