Hornets got eyes on stand out NBA Draft player after an impressive month of…

Which player stood out the most at the NBA Draft Combine last month, impressing league executives, yet not grabbing major headlines? Ever heard of Trentyn Flowers? “He was the youngest and best athlete at the combine,” a seasoned talent scout told The Observer. “Overall, the best athlete is Devin Carter from Providence. Devin Carter is 22. But among the players born in ‘05, Flowers is the most athletic with great positional size.”

Flowers may be familiar to dedicated Carolina high school basketball fans. He played at Combine Academy in Lincolnton during the 2022-23 season, was ranked nationally by 247 Sports, and received offers from top programs like Kansas, Michigan, and North Carolina. However, instead of playing college ball, Flowers joined the Adelaide 36ers in Australia’s National Basketball League for the 2023-24 season, averaging 5.2 points in 18 games. Standing at 6-foot-8 and weighing 205 pounds, this wing has gone from a relatively unknown prospect to a noteworthy player on some draft boards, partly due to his performance in Chicago.

The Charlotte Hornets are one of the teams showing interest in Flowers, having brought him in for a workout earlier this week, according to a league source. The Hornets have the sixth overall pick and the 42nd pick, which they acquired from Oklahoma City in a trade that sent Gordon Hayward to the Thunder in exchange for Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, and Vasa Micic. Named by TNT’s Kenny Smith as his top sleeper in this year’s draft class, Flowers has also worked out for Brooklyn, Washington, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Houston, and San Antonio. At least 13 teams are evaluating him through various drills. Like many prospects in what’s considered the weakest draft since at least 2013 — when Anthony Bennett was the No. 1 pick by Cleveland and Cody Zeller was selected fourth by the Hornets — Flowers’ draft position is uncertain.

He just turned 19 in March, but Trentyn Flowers already exhibits traits that have evaluators excited about his potential. With his positional size, Flowers moves smoothly on the wing and can guard multiple positions. His exceptional athleticism is evident, as he tied for the best overall max vertical leap at the combine with a 42-inch jump. He also came close to leading in the standing vertical leap with a 34.5-inch mark. “Athleticism, you can’t teach it,” the talent evaluator said. “You either have it or you don’t. Athleticism is invaluable because it allows you to compensate for mistakes and recover quickly. Playing athletically always gives you an advantage.”

This was evident during some of the scrimmages in Chicago. Flowers scored 12 points, going 5-of-5 from the floor and making an impressive dunk in one of the games, catching the attention of many. “His performance is attracting a lot of interest from teams,” the talent evaluator noted, “because there’s not much film available from his time in Australia’s NBL. Seeing what he accomplished at the combine makes him very intriguing.”