Charlotte Hornets have the sixth pick. Which player at the NBA Draft Combine makes sense?
They’re not impervious to the outside chatter.
Don’t think for a nanosecond the prospects in this year’s NBA Draft class haven’t heard the noise from pundits, suggesting the collection of talent is among the worst in more than two decades.
“It definitely bothers me, for sure,” G League Ignite product Ron Holland said Tuesday. “I feel like if you put us against any other draft class, we just don’t have a standout unicorn or anybody like that. But I feel like we all can be very good role player some day, I feel like some of us can be All-Stars. I feel like we are a regular draft class.
“When I hear we are a pretty bad draft class, I really try not to pay attention to it but also it burns my blood. So, I’m sure it pushes not only me, but it pushes me to go and prove everybody wrong.”
Holland is one of several intriguing players who could still be on the board when it’s time for the Hornets to make their first-round selection in next month’s NBA Draft in New York. At No. 6, the Hornets will have a fair share of talent to choose from and that’s why these past two days at the NBA Draft Combine were important.
With so much uncertainty surrounding the draft and a new regime in place in Charlotte, it’s essential for Hornets’ decision makers to reach a consensus. And that’s why they descended here, attempting to gather more information about the best prospects.
Stephon Castle, Connecticut
Several mock drafts peg Stephon Castle as the Hornets’ likely pick and it makes sense for a variety of reasons. Particularly given Castle’s positional fit, championship pedigree after helping the Huskies capture the national title in April and perhaps, most importantly, defensive acumen.
Some scouts view the 6-foot-6 Castle as a combo guard and the Hornets could use help in that department with Terry Rozier in Miami and their backcourt uncertainty outside of LaMelo Ball and Tre Mann.
Castle’s glaring weakness during his only season with the Huskies centered around his shot. He nailed just 26.7% of his 3-pointers and averaged 11.1 points per game en route to claiming the Big East freshman of the year honors.
But Castle fared well during activities in front of scouts and executives at the combine on Monday, sinking 15 of 23 attempts he fired off in the 3-point star drill. He also sank 56.7% in the shooting off the dribble session.
“I can do it on both ends and I take pride in doing it on both ends,” Castle said. “I feel like I have a pretty good offensive skill set and I feel like I wasn’t able to showcase it as much as I probably want to. But at the end of the day, we still won a national championship and I feel that shows that I can be on the court, and play in so many different ways and still impact the game.”
Donovan Clingan, who played with Castle at Connecticut, co-signed all that.
“There’s not too many guards out there that want to guard the ball the way he does,” Clingan said. “He doesn’t care if he scores zero points. His mission is to stop their best player from scoring and I feel like he has a lot more to his offensive game to show.
“He can get to the rim at a high level, he’s explosive and we saw (Monday during combine drills) he’s been in the gym working on shooting the ball, and (Monday) shot the ball at a very high level. I feel like he’s going to have a great career and I’m really excited to see the seeds grow.”
Since he only played one season at Connecticut, Castle will need time to hone his craft and improve his game. Going to an organization that is keen on developing talent will greatly benefit his growth to ensure he’s headed in the right direction.
“I mean for sure, but then again I’ll be blessed to play honestly anywhere,” Castle said. “But yeah for sure I would love to go to somewhere that allows me to develop and really expand my game in the ways that I desire to.”
Reed Sheppard, Kentucky
Castle isn’t the lone freshman who could be on the Hornets’ radar.
Reed Sheppard may be another, but it’s unclear he’ll still be around when the Hornets are on the clock. Sheppard is continually moving up the mocks after his one-and-done campaign at Kentucky.
Sheppard measures 6-3 and he wowed observers in some of the combine tests and drills, including a 42-inch vertical leap that produced quite the buzz. His outside shot — he canned 75 of his 144 3-point attempts (52.1%) — also makes him a hot commodity. He posted 12.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game, proving he’s well-rounded.
Within the past few weeks, he’s gone from being projected as a candidate outside the top 10 to crashing the proverbial draft party. One projection had him being selected by the Hornets before the NBA Draft Lottery proceedings settled the actual order, dropping Charlotte to sixth.
Predictions regarding Sheppard’s possible new home are all over the place.
“What I’m seeing right now is what you guys are seeing,” Sheppard said, “and to me it doesn’t matter if I’m up there or if I’m not. I’m going to enjoy this process. I’m at the NBA Combine right now. Not a lot of people can say they have the opportunity to do this, so I’m just going to enjoy this week, have a lot of fun with it,and this next month is going to go really, really fast.
“But I’m super excited and I’m just looking forward to working out and getting better as a player. It’s going to be really fun and I’m excited for it.”
Sheppard pondered what it would be like to join the Hornets and how he could help.
“Yeah, they are a good team, they are young,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I think (it’s) just being myself, just doing the little things, being a player that will do everything it takes to win if you’ve got some big-time scorers. So, being able to create for them, get them some open shots and still when they are going, kind of get out of the way, space the floor, maybe knock down a shot or two, and really just play basketball the right way, and do whatever I need to do to win.”
Rob Dillingham, Kentucky
Another possibility: someone who’s no stranger to the Carolinas.
Rob Dillingham, a Hickory native, was Kentucky’s second-leading scorer despite coming off the bench, averaging 15.2 points and 3.9 assists per game. He grabbed the Southeastern Conference’s sixth man of the year and earned all-freshman team honors.
He’s listed at 6-3 and isn’t overly imposing, but the 19-year-old brushes off any questions about his stature. It stems from his days at Combine Academy under the guidance of Jeff McInnis, who played for coach Dean Smith at North Carolina in the 1990s and had a solid NBA career.
“Really it just prepared me all the way because it’s Jeff McInnis, because he has a chip on his shoulder,” Dillingham said. “Then also, he was a point guard, a big point guard. So, he taught me little things, like how to not let guards get into you when they are bigger than you, just the little things that you have intangibles over other players. So, I love coach Jeff for sure.”
Dillingham is also rising up draft boards. In last month’s top 100 prospect rankings, ESPN had him at No. 4 behind Frenchmen Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr, and Connecticut center Donovan Clingan.
He was coy about the idea of playing for the pro team in his home state.
“I feel like any situation that they ask me to come in (to), I can play the role that they want me to play,” Dillingham said. “So, I’m not going to say no to any team, I feel like any team that wants me to play, whatever they want me to I can do.”
Ron Holland, G League Ignite
Dillingham’s mentality sounds similar to Holland’s.
Holland, who hovers at 6-7, was projected as the No. 1 pick months ago. But the Ignite’s season-long struggles — even though he averaging 19.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals before rupturing a tendon in his right thumb in February and ending his season — didn’t help matters and there’s questions about his immediate readiness to succeed at the next level.
He disagrees and believes he has all the tools.
“I describe my game as a high level energy guy that’s very versatile that can guard one through five, that can play one through four,” Holland said. “I can do anything my coach needs me to do and I feel like that’s one of he best parts about my game. Because I feel like you can throw me in any position and whatever the coach needs me to do at any given time.”
Confidence isn’t a concern for him at all.
“I’m the most versatile,” Holland said. “Literally anything the coach needs me to do on the floor, right now, I feel like I can step on an NBA court on any team right now and help them win and thrive in the playoffs, in a regular season game, anything. And like I said, anything the coach needs me to do, I feel like I’m able to do it.
“Whether it’s guard the best player on the floor, whether it’s hit shots, whether it’s getting downhill to get other people, I feel like I can do anything.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2024, 5:30 AM.
