Hornets dodge another star rookie in Summer League

The Charlotte Hornets have been great in Summer League, going 3-0 so far and winning by almost double digits on average. That record might deserve an asterisk, though, as the Hornets somehow routinely avoid every team's top draft choice.

The Philadelphia 76ers sat VJ Edgecombe out in Game 2 against Charlotte. Cooper Flagg had been shut down for the summer by the time the Hornets and Dallas Mavericks faced off. In Game 1, the Utah Jazz were without Ace Bailey, too. And tonight, when the San Antonio Spurs try to end Charlotte's perfect run, they'll be without Dylan Harper.

This is not a surprise, according to Don Harris. It was an expected move after Harper averaged 16 points and two assists. The point guard was the number two overall pick in the draft, which means Kon Knueppel is now the highest-picked rookie still playing this summer.

However, unless the Hornets can blow the Spurs out by a fairly wide margin, this will be his final game as well. Despite the perfect record, Charlotte's margin of victory is not good enough to advance presently.

Harper's shutdown is part of a bigger trend of NBA teams doing this. Once they've seen enough out of their top picks, they don't want to risk any injury in games that mean nothing. These contests are to help the players transition and see NBA action, albeit watered down. Once they've seen that they can handle it, the risk isn't worth it.

Even Knueppel sat out a game earlier, also missing that 76ers matchup. However, the Hornets do expect to have everyone available tonight for what's likely the final game before the preseason later this year.

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