Charlotte Hornets 2nd round NBA Draft target: Chaz Lanier

Curry's moments in the sun were short lived due to his age and some of the physical limitations that hamstring his overall impact on a 48 minute basketball game, but in doses, the veteran guard was supremely effective.

Chaz Lanier, a draft prospect out of the University of Tennessee, projects to be one of this draft classes most talented movement shooters, a la Seth Curry, and he could be on Charlotte's radar early in the second round.

Analyzing Chaz Lanier's game

Much like Curry, Lanier is deadly behind the arc. According to The Athletic's Sam Vecenie, Chaz shot a blistering 40.5% on catch-and-shoot three point attempts in his final college season at Tennessee. Rick Barnes, the head coach of the Volunteers, crafted an offense to accentuate Lanier's strengths as a movement shooter, and his senior swingman thrived.

Tennessee would run Lanier off a myriad of screens (staggers, flares, pin downs) to free him up for looks from behind the arc. Slithering around the court with Energizer Bunny-like stamina, Lanier proved adept at setting his feet and squaring himself to the rim to bomb away from deep off a variety of angles and tempos. When needed, Chaz unleashed a savvy one-dribble mid-range jumper, providing him a necessary counter to defenses scrambling to shut off his water from behind the arc.

A fifth-year senior in 2024-25, Lanier's maturity shined. His ability to impact games as a catch-and-shoot weapon and solid team defender screamed 'veteran'. The potential 2025 NBA draftee spent four years hooping at North Florida before making the jump to the SEC where he didn't miss a beat, proving the scalability of his game.

The worry with Lanier boils down to his lack of on-ball creation skills and his defensive limitations. He has an NBA-ready frame (Lanier measured 6'3.75" with a 6'9" wingspan at the NBA combine), but he isn't the type of twitchy athlete that dominates high-leverage basketball games.

Lanier has an average first-step, and although he showed some flashes of creating looks for himself and his teammates when attacking closeouts, he didn't do it with enough consistency to project him being a difference maker with the ball in his hands at the NBA level. Lanier's well below-average assist rate, minimal free throw rate, and lack of rim attempts (72 total as a super-senior at Tennessee) are glaring red flags on his statistical profile.

On defense, it's clear that Lanier has played a ton of basketball at the college level. He's a functioning cog in the overall machine that is team defense, but the context at Tennessee covered some of his weaknesses as an on-ball defender. The Vols top-five defense was spearheaded by Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, and Jordan Gainey, three dogged perimeter defenders that checked the opposition's primary ballhandlers while Lanier took the easier matchups.

However, when needed, Lanier could hang on the perimeter against some of the SEC's most potent shot creators. Again, he won't ever be relied on as a wing stopper, but Lanier has enough pride on defense to not be the team's weak link and get played off the floor.

Lanier's fit in Charlotte

The aforementioned Seth Curry is a free agent this summer. If Charlotte wants to replace the veteran guard's production with a second round pick that can function in similar ways to Curry, Lanier is the man for the job. Unlike Koby Brea, another potential second round pick that profiles as an elite movement shooter, Lanier can give an NBA franchise just enough on defense to stay on the floor in crunch time.

If he winds up as a negative on defense, his movement shooting skills give him a clear pathway to carving out a role in the NBA. Malik Beasley, Max Strus, Sam Merrill, AJ Green, and Isaiah Joe all played decent minutes on playoff teams, providing spacing for their star teammates to work. Lanier can do exactly that, and as you know, Charlotte can't add enough shooters this offseason.

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