The Charlotte Hornets are holding their first post-lottery draft workout at the Spectrum Center today and six prospects will be present for the action.
Among these prospects, Jalen Bridges, Jordan Miller and Nae’Qwan Tomlin are currently regarded as consensus top-100 prospects, while Xavier Castaneda, Nelly Cummings and Tamell Pearson are likely targets for undrafted free agency.
Tomlin and Miller are ranked in the At The Hive Top-100, coming in at 52 and 98, respectively. Tomlin is an agile big with an intriguing ball-handling package and the ability to beat defenders off the dribble. He didn’t even play basketball until he got to college in 2019, so he’s a bit raw for a 22-year-old. The combination of handling, finishing and rebounding upside from a 6-10 big is difficult to pass on in the late stages of the draft.
Miller spent five years in college and averaged 15/6/3 with Miami last season en route to an Second-Team All-ACC selection. I’m not as high on his translation as a scorer or his feel for the game, but there’s no disputing his productivity against quality NCAA competition.
Cummings would be an awesome player to watch in Greensboro. He spent six seasons in college; one at Bowling Green, four at Colgate (including a redshirt transfer year), and a sixth-year at Pitt. A career-35.7 percent shooter on a light 588 total 3PA in college, Cummings can heat up in a hurry from downtown and he’s more than willing to distribute to his teammates. Anyone who played basketball in the Central New York region is okay with me.
Bridges is a senior forward that nearly averaged a block and a steal per game at Baylor last season and is considered to have upside as a spot-up shooter and defender. Castaneda spent three years at USF and two at Akron, finishing just outside the top-10 in the nation in scoring with 21.7 points per game as a fifth-year. Pearson, another fifth-year, scored in double-figures in two years at Western Illinois before transferring to Appalachain State last season and playing just 13.1 minutes per game.
Pre-draft workouts should continue to heat up over the next few weeks. Obviously, the list of lottery-level prospects that could come in for a workout has gotten much shorter since the Hornets jumped up, but with four draft picks between 27 and 41, Charlotte has lots of work left to do in scouting the middle of the draft.