And-Ones: Kaminsky, Draft, Warriors

Hornets owner Michael Jordan liked the experience Frank Kaminsky received as a four-year player at Wisconsin and the team has been satisfied with the rookie’s progress so far, Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel relays.

“After summer league, you could see what he could become,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “Particularly on the defensive end, he’s made such great strides. I think Michael’s big point about him is that so much of the draft now are guys that are freshmen. Frankly, when you’re watching a lot of the college tape, the difficult challenge of the draft is they’re good players, but even on their college teams they’re the third or fourth-best guy.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

• LSU freshman Ben Simmons, a point forward, who is listed at 6’10″ and 225 pounds, is already gaining traction as a favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 Draft, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Simmons, who is projected to play small forward in the NBA, is averaging 16.2 points, 14.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks through his first five games this season, as Kennedy notes.
• Harrison Barnes will be out at least one week after spraining his left ankle, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group details. The Warriors determined Barnes did not suffer a fracture, Leung adds.
• Shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whom the Pistons exercised their team option on  for the 2016/17 season last month, continues to earn major minutes because of his defensive ability, David Mayo of MLive.com writes.