Charlotte Hornets select Noah Vonleh ninth overall

The Charlotte Hornets used a lottery pick on a power forward out of Indiana for the second consecutive season,  selecting Noah Vonleh.

I haven’t particularly been a large fan of Vonleh throughout the draft process, but I can’t envision a better circumstance for him to be drafted into. Placing him at power forward next to Al Jefferson and allowing him to defend the weak side with his length could pay immediate dividends for the Hornets if Vonleh can get on the court. The Hornets have actually mitigated a lot of the risk that I thought Vonleh had through their roster construction. Personally, I felt Vonleh was something of a floater in college on offense. In Charlotte, that would actually be okay. It would allow Jefferson to do his thing in the post — where he’s among the best in the NBA — and would allow Vonleh to focus on improving his outside jumper, which is already decent.

The idea of Vonleh is spectacular in every way. He’s a 6’9 rebounding behemoth that has solid shooting mechanics for the future, good athleticism, and the perfect body for a power forward. His 7’4 wingspan is huge, and his hands are massive. The problem with Vonleh though is that the tape doesn’t even come close to matching these projections. The basketball instincts just don’t seem to be there outside of his rebounding skills, which are elite.

As far as what this means for the Hornets, I’m mostly unsure of where this leaves Cody Zeller. Obviously, teams need more than two big men, but Vonleh almost certainly has better potential. And honestly, Vonleh probably isn’t on the same developmental curve as Jefferson’s remaining two seasons with the Hornets. But if Jefferson re-signs and stays at his current level for the next three seasons, Vonleh is a pretty awesome compliment. Maybe he’ll even pick up a few tricks of the trade in the post from Jefferson. Plus, developmentally from a defensive perspective, Vonleh couldn’t have gone into a better situation than getting to learn under Steve Clifford and Patrick Ewing.

It’s a pick more for the future than the present, but it’s one that could work out.