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Hornets add to frontcourt depth in latest 2025 NBA mock draft

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated 10/16/24

It's difficult to gauge where the Charlotte Hornets will be positioned in the 2025 NBA Draft, but most expect them to still land somewhere in the lottery.

Why?

Well, for one, until the injury luck finally swings back in their favor it's hard to believe anything will change. Most folks want to see the Hornets stay healthy for a full season before throwing them into the Eastern Conference mix.

The other part of it is the Hornets have no incentive to win this season. If they fall outside of the lottery, they will send their first-round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs. For a team that is extremely young and hasn't played much together because of injury, it's unlikely that they go from the bottom of the East to going on a special run.

Not to mention, this upcoming draft class is loaded with talent and some believe it's one of the deeper classes in recent memory.

In his preseason mock draft on The Athletic, Sam Vecenie projected the Hornets to select Georgia freshman forward Asa Newell.

Vecenie's reasoning for the pick:

"Newell is a terrific big man who played with Flagg at Montverde. He’ll get to step out of that shadow and potentially emerge as one of the primary options at Georgia, a team I think is quite underrated heading into the 2024-25 season.

"There are a lot of comparisons to be made here to a guy like Taylor Hendricks, who was taken in the top 10 a couple of years ago. Newell is a terrific athlete and shot-blocker at 6-9 and makes winning plays with his positioning and motor on that end of the court. On offense, he has a terrific, burgeoning perimeter game where he can knock down shots from the perimeter and straight-line drive to finish inside."