2023 NBA Redraft: Podziemski skies into the Top 10 as Warriors land forward

No. 2: Charlotte Hornets select Brandon Miller, Alabama

When the 2023 NBA Draft took place, the Charlotte Hornets were largely panned for their selection of Alabama wing Brandon Miller with the second pick. Many draft analysts who had G League Ignite point guard Scoot Henderson ranked above Miller thought that the Hornets were only taking Miller because they already had LaMelo Ball, and at the top of the draft you are not supposed to draft for fit.

Whatever the motivation was, the Hornets look like they got the better player a year later, and all of those analysts (myself included) were wrong for not having Miller as the No. 2 player in this class. He had a strong rookie season, averaging 17.3 points per game and shooting 37.3 percent from 3-point range on a healthy volume of attempts. Add in his length and motor on defense and you get a two-way player who was ready to play as a rookie.

There is no more valuable position in the NBA than two-way wings, and the Hornets landed one in the draft. They do so again this time around in our redraft.

Original Pick: Brandon Miller, Alabama

No. 3: Portland Trail Blazers select Amen Thompson, Overtime Elite

Our first deviation from the original draft comes at pick No. 3, when the Portland Trail Blazers originally drafted Scoot Henderson. While he showed flashes of upside, he also set records for negative plus-minus in games and was ice-cold nearly every night. He could still reach All-Star heights, but there are better bets to make with the third pick.

One of those is Amen Thompson, who is ostensibly a point guard but played most of his minutes as an athletic, rim-rolling forward for the Houston Rockets. Thompson is a nuclear athlete, one of the very best in the NBA already, and his defensive impact was already present as a rookie. Whether or not his jumpshot comes around will dictate his ceiling, but his floor is already really high.

Original Pick: Scoot Henderson, G League Ignite