NBA mock draft: Charlotte Hornets projected to take SEC sharpshooter in latest projection

The Charlotte Hornets aren't lightyears away from contending.

LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller have the goods on the court (health pending), and their new head coach, Charles Lee, has brought some juice to the bench. The franchise sits at a disappointing 7-17 through the season's first quarter, but positives can be plucked out of the muck and mire.

Arguably the most glaring positive is that the Hornets are pacing to keep their first round draft pick in 2025. The team will flip the pick to San Antonio if it falls out of the lottery, but as the losses mount, that reality becomes more and more unlikely.

In a recent mock draft by B/R's Jonathan Wasserman, their NBA draft guru, Charlotte is projected to use that lottery pick on another offensive weapon to supplement Ball and Miller's outputs.

Wasserman selected Texas' sharpshooting wing Tre Johnson for the Hornets with the fifth overall pick. Johnson, a smooth, lanky, freshman has brought back memories of another dominant wing scoring first-year Texas Longhorn from years past: Kevin Durant.

Here's a snippet of Wasserman's assessment of Johnson's skillset: "Advanced shotmaking has been and continues to be the 6'6" guard's signature skill and projected moneymaker. But he's been off from deep the last three games (4-of-21 3PT), yet he's still finding ways to score inside the arc with mid-range moves and touch shots."

Johnson's college debut, an explosive outing in a loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes, was the full actualization of his diverse offensive game. Check it out below and scout for yourself.