Charlotte Hornets: Expectations for rookie forward PJ Washington

Charlotte Hornets rookie forward PJ Washington has played well during the preseason. Will he be named as a starter for the season opener?

The Charlotte Hornets finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 39-43 record, which marked the third consecutive season in which they failed to win at least 40 games. Coincidentally, it was also the third straight year that they missed the playoffs.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the team’s star player — Kemba Walker — opted to sign with the Boston Celtics after the Hornets gave him an offer that wasn’t remotely close to the supermax deal he was eligible for. Additionally, the Hornets saw their second-leading scorer, Jeremy Lamb, ink a three-deal with the Indiana Pacers.

With that in mind, the Hornets and their fan base needed something to look forward to this upcoming season and they may have found a silver lining in rookie forward PJ Washington. Charlotte selected Washington with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Washington compiled averages of 15.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest on 52. 2 percent shooting from the field and 42.3 percent from 3-point range during his sophomore campaign with the Kentucky Wildcats, which earned him an All-SEC First Team selection.

While Washington did have a solid season with the Wildcats, the question was whether his skill set could translate at the NBA level. This concern gained more momentum after Washington didn’t play in the Summer League as well as the team’s general manager, Mitch Kupchak, who stated that he expected all of the Hornets’ draft picks to spend a significant amount of time playing in the G-League.

Based on that premise, it would have reasonable to presume that Washington would not be a factor in the team’s rotation in 2019-20, correct.

Well, not so fast.

During the Hornets’ preseason slate — and yes, I understand it’s only preseason — Washington has more than held his own. After coming off the bench in the first two preseason games, Washington has started the last three outings, including a 32-minute stint against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 16.

In those five appearances, Washington has posted averages of 12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest. His shooting numbers are better than they were during his last season in Kentucky, as he has converted 62.9 percent of his overall attempts while shooting 50.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Washington has performed so well during the preseason that the subject of being in the starting lineup on opening night has recently surfaced, an idea that head coach James Borrego wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to.

"“I could start him, I could play him off the bench, I could play him at (power forward), I could be playing him at (center),” Borrego told the Charlotte Observer. “He (offers) a lot of versatility to our lineup if he enters that consistent rotation.”"

Whether Washington does get the nod as a starter on opening night remains to be seen. What is a fact is that he has exceeded expectations to this point and if he can play at this level consistently, he will be considered one of the steals of the 2019 draft class.