Hornets two-round NBA mock draft: Projecting Charlotte's three selections

With Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, and Ace Bailey off the board, this selection comes down to three players for me: Knueppel, Baylor's VJ Edgecombe, and Texas' Tre Johnson.

There's a case to be made for all three. Edgecombe's gravity-defying athleticism lends him one of the safest floors in this draft class. He'll bring an edge and tenacity on defense from day one that Charlotte's 'core four' doesn't currently have. And on offense, Edgecombe projects to be a serviceable spot-up shooter with limited on-ball creation abilities that must develop over time for him to reach his limitless ceiling.

Johnson, a sharpshooter from Texas that led the SEC in scoring at 19.9 points per game, is a pure bucket-getter. Astute analysts will point to the Longhorn's lack of a dynamic offensive structure for the lack of verve on Johnson's film, and they have a point. Tre has all of the requisite tools to be a dynamic offensive weapon, but he needs a bit of seasoning before he gets there.

So Knueppel is the pick. Of the three, the Duke freshman has the most well-rounded game that will translate to the NBA on day one. Knueppel can shoot the lights out, create offense for his teammates on secondary actions, and has fancy footwork in the paint to finish among the trees. He's a highly-skilled, safe selection that will slot nicely between LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller on the wing from the onset of his career.

Round two, pick 34: Walter Clayton Jr. - Guard - Florida

Clayton earned himself boocoo bucks during the NCAA Tournament. The dynamic shot-maker led his Florida Gators to a national championship, stealing the hearts of college basketball fans and draft evaluators on his warpath to the title.

The 22-year-old combo guard boasts an intriguing blend of off-the-bounce talent and shot making skill that, if you squint hard enough, show flashes of Jamal Murray and Payton Pritchard. Clayton's ancillary skills: defense, passing, ball screen reads, etc., need work, but there's no doubt that the man can fill it up. He's likely to go in the first round of the NBA Draft, but he's available for Charlotte in the second round in this scenario and they will run to the podium to turn their card in.

Round two, pick 35 - Ryan Kalkbrenner - Center - Creighton

Kalkbrenner's draft stock is fluctuating like most of the market on Wall Street in 2025: up and down and left and right depending on which way the wind blows.

Those who believe in Kalkbrenner's potential see his sky-high block rate, his glass-cleaning metrics, his finishing ability, and the shooting touch he possesses.

Those who are bearish on Kalkbrenner point to his age (22), his five years in school, and his lack of production as a young prospect.

However, as we've seen in the NBA playoffs, team's can't employ enough big men to do their dirty work off the bench, and the Creighton product can do exactly that on day one. He may never develop into the Brook Lopez-type player that draft niks have been following for much of his college career, but a Luke Kornet-esque impact is within Kalkbrenner's safe range of outcomes, making him a valuable second-round selection.

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