In the days leading up to Thursday night’s draft, rumors circulated that the Charlotte Hornets could be looking to trade Cody Zeller, who they selected with the fourth overall pick in 2013. They expectation was that upon dealing Zeller, they’d hone in on Frank Wisconsin’s Kaminsky.  

Charlotte instead traded Noah Vonley and they selected Kaminsky with the ninth overall pick anyway. He didn’t work out for the Hornets in the weeks leading up to the draft. 

“We knew it was on the radar,” Kaminsky said of Charlotte selecting him. “Like I said, it’s just part of the process and scheduling and match-ups and workouts. It just didn’t work out to where I went down to Charlotte and worked out, but they were definitely on the radar and definitely a team I was interested in.”

Kaminsky and Zeller play a similar style, although Kaminsky’s range is deeper. Despite a possible positional battle, Kaminsky believes he can work with Zeller in the frontcourt.

“I had an opportunity to play against him for two years, so I know about him and I knew where he started and where he is now,” Kaminsky said of Zeller. “Just looking forward to playing with him. He’s obviously a good player. Like I said, I’m just so excited to get down there and find out what my role will be and try to make the most of it."