Charlotte Hornets: Complete grades for 2019 NBA offseason
By Phil Watson
Drafting PJ Washington
The Charlotte Hornets found a potential stretch 4 with the selection of Kentucky sophomore PJ Washington with the 12th overall pick in the NBA Draft, but they will have to wait until this fall to start getting a really good look at the Louisville native.
Washington sat out Summer League play due to the same sore left foot that sidelined him for the first two games during the NCAA Tournament.
Washington is a player who helped his stock with a return to school in 2018. He entered the 2018 draft pool after an up-and-down freshman season in Lexington, but withdrew to go back to the Wildcats.
It was a good call. He put up 15.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 29.3 minutes per game last season, shooting 52.2 percent overall and hitting 42.3 percent on 2.2 3-point attempts per game after going just 5-for-21 from beyond the arc as a freshman.
Washington might have been a reach at No. 12, but not a large one. Most pre-draft mocks had him in the 14-20 range overall.
Washington projects as a combo forward with stretchability, in the mold of players such as Paul Millsap. His 7-foot-2 wingspan projects to being defensively versatile, but there have been questions about his commitment on that end.
Charlotte has yet to come to terms with either of its second-round picks, Cody Martin (No. 36 overall) and Jalen McDaniels (No. 52 overall).
Martin, a 23-year-old wing from Nevada, started all five games for the Hornets in Las Vegas, averaging 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 23.1 minutes per game while shooting 46.7 percent overall and going 6-for-15 from deep.
A transfer from NC State to Nevada, Martin put up 12.1 points, 4.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 34.4 minutes per game last season for the Wolf Pack, shooting 50.5 percent overall and 35.8 percent on 2.8 triple tries a night as a point forward of sorts.
Martin is a good defender and solid rebounder as a wing and has both on- and off-ball skills at the offensive end.
McDaniels also played in Las Vegas, starting one of his five games and averaging 3.6 points in 13.4 minutes per game. He was 7-for-18 shooting overall and missed all three of his 3-point attempts.
As a redshirt sophomore at San Diego State last season, McDaniels averaged 15.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 31.1 minutes per game on shooting percentages of 46.6 percent overall and 32.0 percent on 2.2 deep tries a night.
But McDaniels brings baggage with him to the NBA in the form of two separate civil suits filed by women accusing the player of filming them performing “intimate acts,” per the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The alleged incidents occurred while McDaniels was in high school in the Seattle suburb of Federal Way.
So you have a bit of a reach at No. 12, a solid athletic wing at No. 36 and a guy with some off-the-court issues at No. 52.
Washington’s foot issues have to be a lingering concern moving forward as well.