NBA Mock Draft: Charlotte Hornets Select Donovan Mitchell From Louisville

SB Nation's NBA Network conducted a mock draft with bloggers from each team site making their team’s picks. To continue the 2017 NBA Mock Draft, At The Hive takes Donovan Mitchell from Louisville

By Dakota Schmidt@Dakota_Schmidt Jun 15, 2017, 5:00pm EDT

NCAA Basketball Tournament - Second Round - Michigan v Louisville

NBA Mock Draft Pick #10 — Donovan Mitchell, Shooting Guard, Louisville

SBNation’s Charlotte Hornets’ blog At The Hive explains their pick:

With the 11th pick, the Hornets select Donovan Mitchell out of Louisville. Losing Jeremy Lin to free agency hurt the Hornets more than they thought it would last season. Now, that's nothing against Ramon Sessions and Brian Roberts -- both of whom performed admirably backing up Kemba Walker -- but Mitchell should immediately add a spark off the bench that the Hornets sorely lacked in 2017. But it's not just Mitchell's ability to create his own shot that the Hornets like. He also shows promise as a good catch-and-shoot guy, allowing him to play off ball when he's sharing the floor with Walker and Nicolas Batum. If he blossoms into a star, awesome. If he stays at his current level for the rest of the career, the Hornets still address a need with a decent player. Either way, we're extremely pleased with this pick.

Ridiculous Upside Analysis

As At The Hive mentioned, Donovan Mitchell could immediately come into the Hornets rotation and shine as a go-to weapon in their second unit. That potential was evident last year as Mitchell averaged 18 points and 2.9 assists on 44% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc on 7.2 attempts per game against ACC competition. However, I think the most important thing about Mitchell is that he might actually be the best defensive player in this year’s draft class. Last season, he was arguably the biggest reason as to why Louisville stood as an elite defensive squad. It seems obvious that Mitchell would carry that defense-first mentality when he’s playing with Steve Clifford and the Hornets.

In our latest video breakdown, we take a look at NBA Draft prospect Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) pic.twitter.com/6tjk8Qx0oh
— Ridiculous Upside (@RidicUpside) May 26, 2017

1. Boston Celtics - MARKELLE FULTZ, WASHINGTON

2. Los Angeles Lakers - LONZO BALL, UCLA

3. Philadelphia 76ers - JOSH JACKSON, KANSAS

4. Phoenix Suns - JONATHAN ISAAC, FLORIDA STATE

5. Sacramento Kings - DE’AARON FOX, KENTUCKY

6. Orlando Magic - JAYSON TATUM, DUKE

7. Minnesota Timberwolves - MALIK MONK, KENTUCKY

8. New York Knicks - FRANK NTILIKINA, FRANCE

9. Dallas Mavericks - DENNIS SMITH, NC STATE

10. Sacramento Kings - LAURI MARKKANEN, ARIZONA

11. Charlotte Hornets - DONOVAN MITCHELL, LOUISVILLE

12. Detroit Pistons -