By Sam Perley and Sam Farber
Over the course of the opening week of the Charlotte Hornets 2021 Training Camp presented by Draft Kings, Sam Perley of hornets.com and Hornets Radio Broadcaster Sam Farber will each be building their own five-man teams throughout the week. Check back each day to see which players get drafted to their squads and who ultimately emerges as the top Sam.
Friday, Oct. 1: Day 4 (Veteran Reserves)
Perley’s Team: Rozier, Hayward, Plumlee, Jones
Farber’s Team: Ball, Washington, Oubre Jr., Bouknight
Perley: “Sam, I’ve had the top pick in each of the first three rounds, so I’ll let you kick it off here with your Veteran Reserve selection.”
Farber: “Well, thank you and with that, give me Miles Bridges. He came off the bench primarily last season, but showed what he can do when he’s given starter minutes. He averaged about 18 points per game when he was in that particular role. Kind of like with PJ Washington, I think this is a significant season for him. If Miles continues to be unselfish, allow minutes and shots to be spread around and be that energy player he’s always been, can he continue to grow his numbers? Or if he goes back permanently into the starting lineup, can he be a 16-to-20-point-per-game scorer when everyone else is there? If he can, this team takes a huge leap. With that, I’m very happy with my starting five here.”
Perley: “Looking at my team right now, I’m going to dip back into the backcourt and go with Cody Martin. He’s going to be in a battle for rotation minutes across both the shooting guard and small forward positions. Martin shot 44% last season and averaged around four points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal, but overall, I’m still intrigued by his potential. He didn’t take a lot of three-point shots and is also probably the team’s best perimeter defender. I think the competition for playing time is going to light a fire under Cody and like with some of my other guys, I like his versatility. I’ve already got the team’s two-leading scorers from last season and like Martin here to fill in the gaps.”
Thursday, Sept. 30: Day 3 (Rookie Additions)[[{"fid":"148959","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"right"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"5":{"format":"default","alignment":"right"}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default media-wysiwyg-align-right","data-delta":"5"}}]]
Perley’s Team: Rozier, Hayward, Plumlee
Farber’s Team: Ball, Washington, Oubre Jr.
Perley: “Moving onto the rookie picks, I’m going to add some more size here and put Kai Jones in that four-spot next to Mason Plumlee. The Hornets traded back into the first round back in July and we quickly saw that tremendous athleticism the team fell in love with from Jones throughout Summer League. He’s still very raw, but you can tell there’s some special, special traits to his game. I think long term, he can play three through five, although right now, I think he’s a power forward. He’s got floor-spacing ability and can maybe hit some outside shots.
"The team won’t put a ton on his plate to start, but look for Jones to play with a lot of energy, finish around the rim, rebound, make some plays on the defensive end. He can also handle the ball well in transition and facilitate. Get his feet wet and go from there, so I’m rolling with Kai Jones.”
Farber: “If you’re looking for a player from this draft that has the biggest opportunity to be a Giannis Antetokounmpo – and what I mean by that is a non-lottery pick who can become a franchise centerpiece – I think Kai Jones is that kind of guy. He’s a little bit of a raw talent with other-worldly athleticism. As he develops and if he hits, watch out because this guy has all the tools to be a superstar in this league.”
“I think a player that will put pressure on Coach Borrego to get minutes on the floor is James Bouknight. One of the most polished scorers to come out of the draft, he needs to up his efficiency based on what we saw in Summer League, but in terms of talent, this guy is a steal for the Hornets. Where he factors in as the backup point guard or two-guard, maybe playing in a three-guard lineup, that’s to be determined, but this guy’s talent is going to put a lot of pressure on the coaching staff to get him some playing time early on.”
[[{"fid":"148952","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"right"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"4":{"format":"default","alignment":"right"}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default media-wysiwyg-align-right","data-delta":"4"}}]]Wednesday, Sept. 29: Day 2 (New Additions)
Perley’s Team: Rozier, Hayward
Farber’s Team: Ball, Washington
Perley: “We’re going to move onto the new additions and I’m going to go with Mason Plumlee. This was one of my favorites moves of the offseason. Acquired in a trade with the Detroit Pistons, Plumlee is presumably the team’s starting center this season. He’s such a great fit for this particular style of offense. He’s a great rim-runner, handles the ball well, had multiple triple-doubles last year and was seventh amongst centers in assists per game last season."
"On the defensive end, he’s physical, he can rebound. I love the total package. He’s not necessarily going to be the focal point of the offense, but Plumlee can go out and get you 12-to-13 points, 9-to-10 rebounds, a handful of assists and maybe a steal and block or two.”
Farber: “Yeah, Plumlee is a really centerpiece for this team because there’s just not a ton of depth and experience at his size behind him. A real key to the season is how much Plumlee can provide to the Hornets in terms of production and just availability because obviously injuries hurt the team a season ago.”
“For my new addition, I’m going to go with Kelly Oubre Jr. I think he represents something this Hornets team really hasn’t had in the last couple years and that is a bonafide 15+ point per game player off the bench. I know he was a starter last year with Golden State and the year before that with Phoenix, but his numbers in terms of scoring have been really consistent. Even when you go back to the prior year in 2018-19 when he split time between two organizations and was mostly a sixth man, he was still a 15-points-per-game guy.
"If we presume that he will go into that same type of role this year, he will represent the Hornets’ best opportunity since James Borrego took over to be that consistent, high-level scorer off the bench.”
Tuesday, Sept. 28: Day 1 (Veteran Returning Starters)[[{"fid":"148929","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"right"},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"3":{"format":"default","alignment":"right"}},"attributes":{"class":"media-element file-default media-wysiwyg-align-right","data-delta":"3"}}]]
Charlotte’s Returning Starters an Impactful Base
Perley: “With the first pick in the Hornets Draft Kings Building Your Team draft, I am taking Terry Rozier. He played in all but three games last season and was the tenth-leading scorer in the NBA amongst shooting guards at over 20 points per game. He was also one of the best clutch performers in the league amongst all players, fifth in total three-pointers with 222 and had three 40-point games. I love how he just raises to the occasion and can go off on any given night for a big scoring total. That’s the reason I’m going with Terry Rozier for my first pick.”
Farber: “I can’t argue with that. I’m going to go with LaMelo Ball. I think for this Hornets team to take a big jump, LaMelo Ball needs to do the same. You look at a point guard like Ja Morant – really good Year 1, then Year 2 was able to get Memphis into the playoffs. Trae Young was a really good player Year 1 in Atlanta, Year 2 his scoring jumped 10 points per game and he became an NBA All-Star. LaMelo is so talented, how about making both the playoffs and becoming an All-Star this season?”
Perley: “I love your LaMelo Ball pick. He’s going to get a lot of points, rebounds, assists and steals and really fill up the box score on a nightly basis. With my second pick, I’m going to go with Gordon Hayward. Obviously, he missed some time last year with injuries, but when he was on the court, the Hornets played really well and won games. He’s a nightly 20/5/5 threat who can score at all three levels – three-point, mid-range and at the rim – and fits really well with Terry and LaMelo. He’s just so experienced, so versatile, such an incredibly smart player and that’s why I’m rolling with him for my second pick.”
Farber: “Can’t argue with Hayward either. I will happily take PJ Washington and I think this is a big year for him heading into Year 3. PJ has been remarkably consistent in terms of scoring, being a 12-to-13 points per game guy, playing 30 minutes a night. He’s one of the best three-point shooting big men in the NBA, shooting 37% as a rookie and 38% as a sophomore. This will be the deepest team that’s been in the Queen City since he came to the franchise so the question is can he maintain his scoring if his minutes or his shot attempts are eroded slightly? Or if he is able to maintain his minutes and production can we see that bump up? If he’s able to get to five three-point attempts per contest, can he maintain or even improve that three-point percentage? This will be a very big year for PJ Washington and I think he’s one of the sneaky key players for the team this season.”