Curiously, the draft with the clearest number 1 in many years has one of the most uncertain number 2 in memory. The Charlotte Hornets, who will choose in second position, have been debating between Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson for weeks, and although many voices around the franchise claimed that they leaned slightly towards the former, a few hours after the ceremony things may have changed.
According to Shams Charania, a journalist for The AthleticHenderson is beginning to gain some momentum in the North Carolina franchise, in which his name is sounding perhaps more strongly than ever. Although no decision is final, since the managers have yet to meet throughout today to finish opting for one or the other, everything indicates that at this point Scoot could have advanced Brandon as the favorite choice.
Henderson is regarded as a prospect more interesting for many teams, but in Charlotte they fear that he will overlap too much with LaMelo Ball at point guard. Miller, with very different characteristics from the star of the team, would fit better if what they are looking for is to cover several positions, but the truth is that with picks so high, the most common thing is to opt for the greatest talent. And that is what the team has to assess until the time comes.
Implications for Portland?
The curious thing about this decision is that the Hornets are by no means the only potential involved. Despite the fact that many franchises have tried to get hold of the pick 2, from the Spectrum Center they have been in charge of letting them know that it is not for sale, so these calls have been referred to the Blazers, who have the pick 3 and they do seem interested in transferring it. But the value of that third choice depends on what Charlotte does with the second.
And it is that, among the teams that seek to climb positions in the draft, it seems that there are more who want to do so to choose Henderson, so they would be very interested in negotiating with Portland if the Hornets opt for Miller but not so much if Scoot ends up being his choice. Therefore, right now it seems likely that there will be many negotiations on conditional terms and that, whatever happens, a major butterfly effect will break out when it becomes official who will be number 2 in the 2023 Draft.
(Cover photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
