An NBA draft moves fast. A team has a maximum of five minutes to exercise a first-round pick when its name comes up in the annual June event.
Last June, those five minutes were busy for the Charlotte Hornets, picking 11th overall. They had worked out Donovan Mitchell, the long-armed 6-foot-3 guard from Louisville. In the last few days leading up to the draft, it became increasingly plausible that Kentucky guard Malik Monk, a gifted scorer, might also be available when the Hornets selected.
That presented a pleasant problem of sorts. Mitchell, with the extraordinary wingspan of a 7-footer, had huge upside as a defender.