Why the Hornets will likely wait until after the draft to make any significant trades

Two weeks out from the 2025 NBA Draft, and only two selections are guaranteed: Duke's Cooper Flagg will go number one, and Rutgers' Dylan Harper will go number two.

After that, predicting who could go where becomes a difficult task. Could the Philadelphia 76ers select the other Rutgers star, Ace Bailey? Or perhaps Baylor's VJ Edgecombe is the player they like? Nobody outside of the Sixers front office have any idea where they might go with their decision, which makes figuring out who the Charlotte Hornets will take is difficult.

We know one thing, though: the Hornets are targeting players with good character, and VJ Edgecombe and Duke's Kon Knueppel are the alleged targets for the squad.

One interesting name that's been thrown around by insiders? Duke's third star, center Khaman Maluach. Though, it leads to an important question: why would the Hornets select a center with their top selection with Mark Williams still on the roster?

Well, the idea here is that he would not be on the roster.

The Hornets already dealt Mark Williams before, so who is to say the team is keen on keeping him around? Jeff Peterson could look to move on from Williams again, and trading him before draft night may tip the team's hand on who they have zeroed in on.

Could they still trade Williams, and select one of Knueppel/Edgecombe? Absolutely. Though, a trade back alongside a Mark Williams deal could point to Khaman being the Hornets 2025 first round selection.

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