I’m not important enough to have seat in the media or Zoom room for Mitch Kupchak’s pre-draft press conference, so we’re going to have to consume it vicariously through people who got some fancy media credentials and what not. As is normally the case, Kupchak didn’t reveal much about the Charlotte Hornets plans for the draft, but there are some interesting nuggets we can read way too much into.

We start with the big news. Tomorrow is important.

And now to slightly more interesting comments.

The first substantive comment made by Kupchak implies that the team hasn’t decided on a player yet. He’s probably being a little misleading here as he doesn’t want any reports of the Hornets intentions to be solidified, but I’m sure there is still time for decisions to change. He also said he’ll listen to trade offers, but more than likely the team is going to stand pat and pick someone at number 2.

Kupchak kind of backtracked on a comment he made a couple of months back where he said that fit would be a bigger consideration for this draft. That comment had a bunch of people worried, so maybe this eases those concerns. Still, I don’t think “fit” was really a factor in the Brandon Miller vs Scoot Henderson discussion. Both fit just fine.

Miller’s off court issues have been thoroughly vetted, so if the Hornets do elect to pick him, it means they’re comfortable with his situation.

Shout out to our old pal James Plowright for posting the full press conference so I could gather some of my own takeaways from there.

• Says most trades for picks later in the draft happen while you’re on the clock. Doesn’t know if the team will make all five picks but is comfortable with taking a player with each pick if no good trade presents itself.
• Both Michael Jordan and the new ownership group will have input on the number 2 pick. They will discuss as a group. Michael Jordan has the final say, though he typically defers to Kupchak’s judgment. The new owners are catching up on the evaluation process.

That’s really about it. In short, the Hornets are still solidifying their decision on the top pick with everybody providing input. They expect to be active with their later picks, but they’d also be content picking five players.