Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego needs another P.J. Washington with the No. 3 draft pick.
Not specifically a player of Washington’s dimensions or skill set. Rather, as quick a learner as Washington was as a rookie, when he won the starting job at power forward.
The Hornets and the rest of the NBA face a compact offseason in which the Nov. 18 draft will come less than two weeks before the start of training camps. That all but eliminates time to help rookies assimilate to their new teams before camp.
With so much at stake with this third overall pick, Borrego has to figure out how to compensate for the loss of summer league and several months of one-on-one teaching of the rookies.