Charlotte Hornets: 3 reasons Devonte’ Graham was a good pick

2. Potential upside

One of the many things said about Devonte’ Graham around the time of the draft was that he doesn’t have a high upside — you know what you’re getting with him.

I couldn’t disagree more.

I think the notion that just because a player spent four years at a school instead of one year means that he doesn’t have as much potential is ridiculous. Yes, I agree that those three years are valuable and age definitely matters, but to write someone off because he played through his senior season? Let’s not do that.

There’s a good chance that if Kemba Walker hangs around Charlotte for awhile that Devonte’ Graham will just remain a backup point guard, which is fine. But if Walker moves on, Graham should have an opportunity to take over the team.

The rookie’s biggest weaknesses are his size and his finishing around the hoop. Standing at 6’2″, he doesn’t have the best frame. However, that hasn’t stopped guys like Chris Paul, Kemba Walker, Steve Nash or even John Stockton.

Graham has an incredible ability to shoot the ball from deep (off the dribble or on catch-and-shoot situations), can create for his teammates and never takes a play off.

If he can work on his finishing around the basket (which isn’t terrible but needs work), there’s no reason he can’t be one of the next great point guards.