Eastern Notes: Hornets Draft, Spoelstra, Bulls’ Draft, LaVine

The Hornets haven’t had much lottery luck over the years and this one was no different. With Brandon Miller representing the Hornets at the lottery, they dropped from the No. 3 pick to No. 6. “In this process, I don’t think anything is a surprise, just because you never know what can go on here,” Miller told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “I think the main thing here is to always be focused, prepared just for anything because it can go the wrong way. It can go the bad way.”

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

• After receiving an eight-year extension, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra won’t be going to the draft combine. Heat president Pat Riley said Spoelstra is getting some much-needed time off. “He deserves it,” Riley said of Spoelstra’s extension, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He could have been a free agent and gone anywhere. That leads to organizational stability with your players. Players who come to him and his staff and develop, other players see that. All of a sudden, they have career contracts and career opportunities. It’s a credit to him.”
• The Bulls remained in the No. 11 spot in the aftermath of the lottery. NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson looks at some potential prospects who could land in that area, including Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, USC Isaiah Collier and Colorado’s Cody Williams.
• In his offseason preview for Spotrac.com, Keith Smith believes the Bulls will trade Zach LaVine this summer, believing they’ll find a way to move his contract to a contender in need of scoring punch. DeMar DeRozan‘s free agency is a bit more unpredicable, as the Bulls could re-sign him if they’re intent on remaining a playoff contender. If not, they’ll let him walk and look to rebuild.