The Worst Draft Mistakes In Charlotte Hornets History

With the recent news that Michael Jordan is in deep talks to sell his ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets, we thought we would take a look back at one particular part of his tenure there that was a complete failure. Never mind the bad contracts and minimal winning, the selections that Michael Jordan’s regime made in the NBA Draft are maybe the worst part of everything that went wrong while he owned the team. But Jordan has only owned the Hornets since 2010 and the Hornets have existed since 1989 which means there is much more of a team draft history to uncover. 

The main focus of these draft mistakes today will be the same as they were when we spoke about teams like the Nets and Pistons. It isn’t so much about how bad the selection the Hornets ended up making but more about the massive talent that was available at the same time and they missed out on it by just a few selections. For example, not all of the NBA Draft lottery picks made by Jordan’s team were bad. They selected LaMelo Ball third overall in 2020 and PJ Washington 12th overall in 2019 which will end up being good moves for their team down the line. However, it doesn’t make up for the lottery picks that have been complete failures under Michael Jordan. Those picks are as follows:

Malik Monk was 11th overall in 2017, Frank Kaminsky was ninth overall in 2015, Noah Vonleh was ninth overall in 2014, Cody Zeller was fourth overall in 2013, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was second overall in 2012. Today, we take an in-depth look at these draft mistakes that could have changed the direction of the Hornets franchise and maybe kept the team in Michael Jordan’s possession a little longer.

These are the worst draft mistakes in the Charlotte Hornets’ history.

Kirk Haston (2001 NBA Draft) – 16th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Zach Randolph – 19th Overall Pick

Believe it or not, the Hornets actually had a good track record of drafting players up until the NBA ushered in the 2000s. In 2001, they made their first major mistake when they drafted Kirk Haston 16th overall out of Indiana. Haston would have an uneventful and very short NBA career. He played in just 15 games during his rookie season and averaged 1.7 PPG in 5.1 minutes of action. He would spend one more season with the Hornets in which he played just 12 games and 4.8 minutes off the bench. Haston would retire after the 2003 season.

Lurking just three picks later is one of the more underrated bigs of his era, Zach Randolph. By his third season with Portland, Zach Randolph was a 20.0 PPG scorer who pulled down 10.5 RPG. The tremendous production continued to and through his time with the Grizzlies where he became an All-Star twice in 2010 and 2013. In eight seasons with Memphis, Randolph averaged 16.8 PPG and 10.2 RPG while being a major part of their grit and grind days along with Marc Gasol and Mike Conley.

Adam Morrison (2006 NBA Draft) – 3rd Overall Pick

Better Available Picks: Brandon Roy – 6th Overall Pick, Rajon Rondo – 21st Overall Pick, Kyle Lowry – 24th Overall Pick

After the 2005 NCAA season concluded, one of the hottest commodities in the draft was reigning National Player of the Year, Adam Morrison. His rookie season looked promising with the Bobcats as he played 78 games and averaged 11.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 2.1 APG. Unfortunately for Morrison, he would suffer a knee injury that would cost him his entire second season. He would never be the same again as he would play just three more seasons in the NBA and average less than 5.0 PPG per season. Morrison would leave the NBA in 2010 to play in Serbia. 

Sitting below Morrison was two franchise-altering point guards in Rajon Rondo and Kyle Lowry as well as one of the most talented players of the 2000s, Brandon Roy. After a few All-Star seasons, Roy would suffer from career-ending knee issues that took his career away. As for Rondo and Lowry, well they both became championship-winning point guards in their careers who knew how to run an offense. Rondo would win in 2008 with Boston and in 2020 with the Lakers. Lowry would help the Raptors win their first championship in 2019.

Gerald Henderson (2009 NBA Draft) – 12th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Jrue Holiday – 17th Overall Pick

With their third biggest draft mistake coming in 2009, the Bobcats decided on Duke product Gerald Henderson with their 12th overall pick. Henderson would actually have a few good seasons, with Charlotte averaging 15.0 PPG or better in 2012 and 2013 while also averaging 14.1 PPG over a four-year stretch in Charlotte. In 2015, Henderson was traded to Portland in exchange for Nic Batum and would last just two more seasons in the NBA following the deal.

In my opinion, the Bobcats would have been far better off if they had gone with Jrue Holiday, who wound up going 17th to the 76ers anyway. Holiday would become an All-Star with the 76ers in his fourth season and averaged 13.4 PPG and 6.8 APG during his time there. Holiday would move on to the Pelicans, where he became one of the best perimeter defenders in basketball, a title which he still holds today. In 2021, he helped lead the Bucks to their first NBA championship in 50 years, and in 2022-23, he was selected to another All-Star team. Holiday could have been a great piece for a desperate Charlotte team in 2009.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2012 NBA Draft) – 2nd Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Bradley Beal – 3rd Overall Pick, Damian Lillard – 6th Overall Pick

Now we get to the first real mistake of the Michael Jordan Hornets regime. In 2012, the Hornets decided on the Kentucky product Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The 6’6’’ forward struggled to adjust to the NBA and would only become a 10.0 PPG scorer by his third season. In 2016 with the Hornets, he averaged a career-high 12.7 PPG but only played seven games due to injury. Kidd-Gilchrist would be waived in the winter of 2020 by the Hornets and play just 13 more games in his NBA career for the Dallas Mavericks. 

Sitting below Kidd-Gilchrist were the real stars and superstars of this NBA Draft. Selected directly after Kidd-Gilchrist was star scorer and offensive player Bradley Beal. He has been a three-time All-Star and an All-NBA Team member in 2021 who has multiple seasons of averaging at least 30.0 PPG. Along with missing Beal, they also missed one of the best point guards of our generation, Damian Lillard. Not only is Lillard an all-time great three-point shooter, but he is also one of the most clutch players in the game today as well as a seven-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA Team selection, and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. 

Cody Zeller (2013 NBA Draft) – 4th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo – 15th Overall Pick

In 2013, Michael Jordan and the Hornets wanted to redeem themselves for the previously horrendous choices they made in the NBA Draft. They needed a big man and decided that with their top-five pick, Cody Zeller out of Indiana was the choice for them. Unfortunately, it was a swing and a miss again for Charlotte as Zellerdisappointed in his eight seasons with the team. He accumulated just three seasons of 10.0 PPG or more and was pretty much a pushover on the defensive end of the ball. Zeller has played 10 games in 2022-23 for the Heat who were riddled by injury. 

Now, to be fair, half of the NBA missed on the Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2013 NBA Draft but it was still a massive mistake. The Hornets had taken a big chance on Zeller as a top-five pick and all they had to do was look abroad for their answer. All Giannis has done in his career so far is become a two-time MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year, an NBA champion as well as a Finals MVP. In 2022-23, Giannis is still one of the best offensive and defensive players in the game today, and most would call him the best player in the world.

Noah Vonleh (2014 NBA Draft) – 9th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Zach LaVine – 13th Overall Pick

For the third NBA Draft in a row, the Hornets end up with a mistake and another head-scratching selection in the top 10. This time, the pick was big man Noah Vonleh who was yet another Indiana pick the Hornets made around this time. Vonleh was abysmal in Charlotte and averaged just 3.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 25 games as a rookie. Charlotte had seen enough and shipped him out that summer to Portland. Vonleh would play a total of seven seasons in the NBA with career averages of 4.7 PPG and 4.9 RPG. 

As badly as Charlotte needed a big man for their frontcourt, they also needed scorers and athletic stars, which they had none of at the time. Zach LaVine, who is one of the top players in the NBA at both of those things, was waiting for Charlotte to select him with their ninth pick. LaVine would, of course, go to Minnesota where he would average 13.7 PPG over three seasons. After being traded to the Bulls, LaVine flourished and became a 20.0 PPG scorer as well as an All-Star in 2021 and 2022. LaVine is yet another player who could have steered the ship right for Charlotte that they missed on in the NBA Draft.

Frank Kaminsky (2015 NBA Draft) – 9th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Devin Booker – 13th Overall Pick

The Hornets had a really bad stretch in the early to mid-2010s with their draft selections as we have seen now for the fourth season in a row. In 2015, the Hornets decided on National Finalist from Wisconsin, Frank Kaminsky. It wasn’t the most awful selection, as Kaminsky had been one of the best players in the NCAA during his final year there. However, it did not translate to the pros much as his best years came in 2017 and 2018, when he averaged 11.0 PPG or better in each of those seasons. After four years with Charlotte, Kaminsky spent three years with the Suns and is currently fighting for playing time in 2022-23 with the Rockets.

Just a few picks later, one of the best offensive shooting guards in basketball today was selected by the Phoenix Suns. Devin Booker was taken with the 13th overall pick by Phoenix and has become a star for them over the last eight years. Since 2019, Booker has become an All-Star three times and has averaged 26.6 PPG on 47.8% shooting from the field. Booker helped lead the Suns to an NBA Finals appearance in 2021 and looks poised to do so again in 2022-23 if the team can remain healthy.

Malik Monk (2017 NBA Draft) – 11th Overall Pick

Better Available Pick: Donovan Mitchell – 13th Overall Pick

The Hornets’ final draft mistake under Michael Jordan as the owner came just a few seasons ago in 2017. Now, with this selection, they chose to go with Malik Monk, who had enjoyed some good seasons at Kentucky. Monk would play four seasons with the Hornets through the 2021 season averaging 9.1 PPG over that time. Monk has been much better since leaving the Hornets after the 2021 season, averaging over 13.0 PPG in 2022 with the Lakers and in 2022-23 with the Kings off the bench.

The better choice for Charlotte would have been perhaps the most skilled shooting guard in the NBA today, Donovan Mitchell. The 71-point man has been one of the most exciting and offensively gifted players in basketball since his debut in 2017 with the Utah Jazz. Mitchell has averaged at least 20.0 PPG in every season of his career so far and averaged 23.9 PPG in five seasons with the Jazz. The 2022-23 season marks his first with the Cavaliers, and he has rewarded them with a career-high 27.4 PPG on 47.7% shooting, another career-high. Mitchell has the Cavaliers ready to make some noise in the NBA playoffs while the Hornets are seeking a new owner and praying for a shot at the number one pick and the services of Victor Wembanyama. 

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