Identifying the Hornets' winners + losers from the NBA Draft lottery

It was yet another disappointing draft lottery for the Charlotte Hornets on Monday as they came short of the first pick yet again, landing the fourth pick in the upcoming draft. The franchise hasn't had the first pick since the 1991 season when they drafted Larry Johnson.

Obviously, picking fourth isn't a great thing, but it could've been certainly worse, as they could've slid to the sixth or seventh pick. The Jazz, Wizards, and Pelicans all fell behind the Hornets even though they were amongst the four worst teams, along with the Hornets.

However, another one of the issues that made the Hornets an even bigger loser of this draft lottery was that the Dallas Mavericks won the No. 1 pick.

The Hornets have the Mavericks' 2027 first-round pick, and due to them winning the lottery, it has now lost a pretty substantial part of its worth because Dallas should have a very talented roster with the likely addition of Cooper Flagg.

The Mavericks had just a 1.8% chance of winning the lottery, but somehow came out on top. Despite the controversy, there's nothing that can be changed.

Obviously, the Hornets were one of many teams that got the bad end of the draw, but let's take a deep dive into the overall winners and losers for the Hornets from Monday's results.

Winner: Miles Bridges

It was never definite, but if the Hornets had received the #1 pick and selected Cooper Flagg, then it would've made Miles Bridges potentially more expendable. However, since the Hornets are in a different draft range now, it's more likely they'll focus more on guards like VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, or Ace Bailey.

Since the Hornets won't be able to get Flagg, it makes Bridges' spot on the roster much more secure then maybe it would've been with Flagg as Bridges' worth on the team remains very high.

Loser: LaMelo Ball + Brandon Miller

You dream of adding a player like Cooper Flagg beside two fantastically talented players in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller and unfortunately it will remain a dream. Now, not saying the Hornets won't still get a talented player at the fourth selection, but Flagg was deemed to be a generational talent.

Ball and Miller would've loved playing with him due to his offensive arsenal, playmaking ability, and his defensive instincts and awareness. It could've been a franchise-altering move having Flagg as a main piece of the Hornets core next to Ball and Miller in the starting lineup.

Winner: Tidjane Salaün

If the Hornets had been lucky and gotten Flagg, then it would've been hard to see Tidjane Salaün having much of a role at all for the Hornets next season. However, since that obviously won't be coming to fruition, Salaün should still have a pretty decent role off the bench.

The 19-year-old rookie had some opportunities for the Hornets due to the injury to Grant Williams early in the 2024-2025 season. If Salaün can have a good off-season and learn to play with other forwards, it's likely he will stay in the rotation next season.

Loser: Hornets backup guards

The easiest loser of the Hornets' fourth selection is definitely the Hornets' backup guards. Players like Tre Mann, KJ Simpson, Josh Green, and Nick Smith Jr. could all potentially be impacted.

The fourth spot in the draft could have a drastic impact, due to guards like Edgecombe, Bailey, Kon Knueppel, and Tre Johnson. Now, some of those players could slide into the forward position, but it would also make the guard position more jumbled, and likely that the Hornets could afford to move on from some of their current guards.

Tre Mann, who is a restricted free agent will most likely have a small market in free agency, but if the Hornets were to draft another guard and they want to save money, then who knows what the Hornets would decide.

Then the decision with KJ Simpson and Nick Smith Jr. could become interesting as both on the same roster with a new rookie guard wouldn't make the greatest sense. The Hornets will certainly have some huge decisions to make in the coming month.

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