Hornets Pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to Be Traded to Clippers for Miles Bridges

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander completed his ascent up draft boards Thursday, as he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. 

Gilgeous-Alexander won't actually suit up for the Hornets, though. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Los Angeles Clippers acquired his draft rights:

The Clippers selected Miles Bridges with the 12th overall pick.

The 19-year-old averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds during his lone season at Kentucky. Not considered one of the best prospects of John Calipari's 2017 recruiting class, Gilgeous-Alexander broke out after being unleashed as the Wildcats' point guard.

The 6'6" combo guard saw his stats take a major uptick in conference play and was even better in leading Kentucky to an SEC tournament championship. He scored in double figures in his last 10 collegiate games, though his career did end with a 2-of-10 effort against Kansas State in the Sweet 16. 

"About midpoint during the season, I watched a lot of film," Gilgeous-Alexander said, per Chris Dortch of NBA.com. "I was really taking what coach was asking of me, what this team needed me to do. I just tackled it. Once I cleared that role out, I worked on my game and got better every day."

Most considered him a prospect on the outskirts of the lottery coming into the process. A combination of good workouts and untapped potential wound up pushing him ahead of more established collegiate stars.

Milos Teodosic turned 31 in March, while Patrick Beverley is coming off a season-ending knee injury. Point guard was a need for Clippers, and they addressed that issue with the selection of SGA.

There are some clear issues with Gilgeous-Alexander's game going to the next level. His jumper is a bit of a mess and will need some major fine-tuning before it becomes a viable option against NBA defenses. He's also more of a combo guard than a point guard; he needs to develop better instincts and vision to handle the ball full time or revamp his game to include better off-ball skills.

That said, there's a real chance he becomes a rotation piece if given time to develop.