CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Hornets added four new players in the NBA Draft Thursday night.
After selecting Brandon Miller with the second overall pick, the team stayed busy throughout the night as they selected Nick Smith Jr. from the University of Arkansas in the first round.
Smith spent one season in the college ranks, averaging 12.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 25.8 minutes per game.
Charlotte then selected Xavier guard Colby Jones and Washington State forward Mouhamed Gueye with the 34th and 39th picks, respectively. They traded the rights to both players to the Boston Celtics for the draft rights to James Nnaji, the 31st pick. Nnaji, a 6-10 center, has played overseas for the last two years in the Spanish ACB league and EuroLeague.
OFFICIAL: We have agreed in principle to trade the draft rights to Colby Jones and Mouhamed Gueye to the Boston Celtics as part of a trade to be finalized later in which we will acquire the draft rights to James Nnaji, the 31st pick.
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) June 23, 2023
Full release here: https://t.co/uWy0sI1seW pic.twitter.com/BbTbxNllcU
The Hornets selected Amari Bailey with the 41st pick. Bailey averaged 11.2 points and made the 2022–23 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team in one season in the college ranks.
According to multiple reports, the Hornets signed former Tar Heel and Concord native Leaky Black to a two-way deal after the draft.
(WATCH BELOW: Hundreds of Hornets fans attend draft party at Spectrum Center)
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