It's that time again. Time for my annual (former Bobcats now Hornets) entry on who the Hornets should draft in this years NBA Draft. Let me preface this as I always do by saying I am not a Hornets fan, but I am a basketball fan who lives in the Charlotte area and I would love to see the product improve so I can attend some games not solely to see the stars on the opposing teams. Last year I said they should've drafted Ben McLemore, the shooting guard out of Kansas, because they needed a SG with range to spread the floor. {I still stick by that even thou he only averaged 9 ppg and shot 38% from the field and 32% from the 3 point line. I blame most of this on being drafted to a dysfunctional Sacramento Kings organization and being a rookie. Give him a couple years and he'll figure it out, trust me}. After not following my advise what do the Hornets need again in this years upcoming draft? A shooting guard with range to help spread the floor to give Kimba room to drive and Al Jefferson room in the post. The best two candidates to fill that void in this years draft in my opinion are Zach LaVine, and PJ Hairston. Most of the experts have Gary Harris the guard out of Michigan St. ranked higher but these two are better prospects to me. Zach LaVine is a super athletic guard out of UCLA with deep range, a good handle, and enough athleticism to defend the position. His numbers from UCLA in his only season there doesn't reflect how good this kid will be. His only issue is his slight frame which he will obviously fill out once he becomes a professional. If he isn't available at 9 when the Hornets pick then they should go with PJ Hairston. Hairston is a big guard who also have unlimited range, is athletic and is a physical defender as he proved by defending the 4 position at UNC. His issue is that he proved to be a knucklehead with off the court issues at UNC that prevented him from (imo) playing what would have been a breakout Jr season at UNC. A season that would have definitely propelled him into the lottery. As long as he can prove he has matured from the off the court issues he to will be a star in this league in due time. Hopefully the Hornets will take my advise this year and address a need and take one of these 2 guys, and realize there is a lot of validity to what I'm suggesting and add me on the scout team to put all this knowledge to use with some professional assistance and tools.
