Dwayne Bacon came into the Orlando Summer League with no guarantees. For now, he's guaranteed to be a Charlotte Hornet. The 6-foot-7 athletic beast from Florida State, shined against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, scoring 29 points with 8 rebounds in a nine-point win. Bacon was the 40th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Hornets and offers a ton of help to Charlotte's Malik Monk and Kemba Walker.
Offense
On offense is where Dwayne Bacon makes his money. He's got some elite athleticism, and he uses that really well. He can spot-up and hit a three, but where he is really useful is off the dribble.
Bacon has crafty finishes when he's flying through the air to get his shot around long defenders. Off the Pick And Roll, Bacon has nice touch on his step back and creates a lot of space between him and his defender when he shoots his fade away. He's going to offer a lot of help to the Hornets in the future.
One thing that wasn't emphasized a lot from Bacon in college was his ability to pass. He pulls defenders into help-side with his offense, and his ability to pass to the open man can be very useful for Charlotte.
Hornets' future
The Charlotte Hornets are building their team nicely. After a couple of questionable drafts by them, the Hornets really spent this offseason trying to get star point guard Kemba Walker some help.
Kemba is known to have little to no offensive help beside him, and it just got a lot better. The Hornets went out and got Dwight Howard from the Atlanta Hawks, giving Kemba a big target to lob passes to off the pick and roll. With their first round draft pick, the Hornets selected Malik Monk out of Kentucky, who was one of the best flat-out scorers in college basketball.
Now with Dwayne Bacon, they are building a real force on the offensive end.
Defensively, Dwayne Bacon has the tools to be a quality defender. He's long, athletic, and has quick feet and a solid build. He doesn't offer a ton on defense in his rookie season, but over time it's a real possibility that he develops some defensive prowess.
One reason the Hornets went out and got Dwight Howard was for his past ability to defend the paint. He isn't as mobile as he used to be, but he can still rebound the ball well and clog the paint well.
The Eastern Conference may have lost a lot of stars, but the Hornets have some real stars in the making now. Kemba Walker should be an All-Star next season, and with the young talent that both Malik Monk and Dwayne Bacon possess, this team could do some damage in the playoffs.
