The Charlotte Hornets have a new name and a new outlook heading into the NBA draft and with three picks in the event, a trade up for the right to pick Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid or Julius Randle with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks or Philadelphia 76ers in the top 3 is an option for owner Michael Jordan, who says his team is planning on making a splash this summer after signing Al Jefferson last year.
ESPN.com reports that Jordan has spoken about the plans for the team and since they have $13 million in free agency, the team may look at signing a number of players. The team potential has all five starters coming back next season after making the playoffs and if Josh McRoberts leaves, the team will have $17 million to play with.
The Hornets have some money to spend this offseason and some of the B and C level free agents could be options for the team and that comes after years of missing out on players. Jefferson came in last season and played very well and he has shown that other players can come in and contribute, as the Bobcats pushed in a solid young roster, including names like Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
This season the Milwaukee Bucks had the worst record and they are picking second in the draft, while the Cavaliers won the lottery and are in first place. The Cavs won the lottery for the second straight season despite the team having just a 1.7 percent chance of getting the pick and they beat out the 25 percent of the Bucks. The 76ers could be a potential partner, as they have two top 10 picks and could be more willing to move around because of that. The Hornets aren't garneted to make a trade, but this would be a decent class to do it despite the fact that it's deep, as the class is top heavy as well.
Everyone in the top 10 is going to get an impact player since names like Wiggins, Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, Dante Exum, Aaron Gordon, Tyler Ennis, Gary Harris, Doug McDermott, Nik Stauskas, Kyle Anderson, Dario Saric, Jordan Adams, Shabazz Napier and Rodney Hood are in this draft, but even with that depth, there is a clear difference at the top. The first four players have the chance to be elite players and the Bobcats could look at moving up since they have three picks in the draft. The team picks at number nine via the Pistons and then they have two other picks at number 24 and number 45.
The Bobcats had one of their best seasons before officially turning back into the Hornets and now the franchise will go away having never won a playoff game. Charlotte was swept twice in the two chances it had in the playoffs before becoming the Hornets and now Jordan is hoping the combination of changing the name and making the playoffs is the way to get fans and it to get people to forget about the struggles of the Bobcats franchise.