# Hornets 2010 Draft Thread



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

Wow. Cole Adrich. I was kind of leaning towards Henry or Patterson. Well, here's hoping the best.


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Apparently he's on his way to OKC. I actually liked the pick, but they are supposed to 18,21 and dump Peterson...Which would be better if it was someone with a really bad deal that wasn't expiring.


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

Ok so now Ric Bucher is saying he thinks the Hornets will trade Aldrich and Mo Pete for OKC's 18th and 21st picks.

So does this mean the Hornets will get 2 players now like I hoped for?


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

i dont think the players we really want are gonna be there at 18 and 21. I expect we will get one decent rotation player and bust on the other, whereas at 11 we had the chance to get a good/great rotation player and future starter. last year was fools gold in that we kind lucked into getting two players deep in the draft, i doubt we strike oil twice tho


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

Tooeasy said:


> i dont think the players we really want are gonna be there at 18 and 21. I expect we will get one decent rotation player and bust on the other, whereas at 11 we had the chance to get a good/great rotation player and future starter. last year was fools gold in that we kind lucked into getting two players deep in the draft, i doubt we strike oil twice tho


Yeah I kind of figured we surely couldn't get THAT lucky two years in a row.


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

and apparently now its gonna be the 21 and 26 as opposed to 18/21. First time in a LONG time that I question this teams effort to produce a winning ball club.


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I really liked the Aldrich pick...I don't like trading him to save money, but of course it's not my money. Moving down this far is pretty stupid. They need a wing who can give them a lot of minutes...They need a big man who can give them a lot of money. It'll be dumb luck if you find either here


----------



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I saw this guy against Duke...He looked pretty good in that game, but I don't know much else about him.


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

i know they worked him out in a group, so he must have stood out as a player they liked as opposed to the lottery talent they initially had interest in. Hornets are criminally undersized at the 4/5 spot and still have no toughness whatsoever.


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

I read somewhere (can't for the life of me remember where) that the Hornets liked Brackins after they worked him out. And then Yahoo's Woj goes on to say this...



> When the Hornets were considering moving down in the draft, they had hoped Brackins would be there for them in the early 20's.
> 10 minutes ago via web



I don't know anything about this guy but of course I don't know much about a lot of players coming into this draft. Hahaha! I didn't know anything at all about David West or J.R. Smith.


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

whelp I cant lie my bias really wanted us to select pondexter with the 26th pick based on how much I saw him play and the fact that he is a 4 year college player who should come in and contribute immediately. He gets a solid jumper and he'll be a great rotation player.


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

also i just have to toss it out there.... the hornets picked up two VERY well spoken players who carry themselves very well and should be real high character guys. Obviously the hornets gravitate towards that, for better or worse.


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

Tooeasy said:


> whelp I cant lie my bias really wanted us to select pondexter with the 26th pick based on how much I saw him play and the fact that he is a 4 year college player who should come in and contribute immediately. He gets a solid jumper and he'll be a great rotation player.


Just like last season then in picking up 4 year players. I know nothing about Pondexter though. I guess I'll go try to find some highlights or something.


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

Draftexpress tweet...



> The Hornets will keep Pondexter I'm told. His camp is really happy to go to New Orleans.
> 41 minutes ago via web





> Eek...New Orleans just reached badly for Brackins. What a dropoff from Aldrich to Brackins. Not a good look there. Hope that's a trade.
> about 1 hour ago via web


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

to me draftexpress is full of smug writers that think they are much more knowledgeable than they truly are. They obviously have access to more outlets in terms of scouts, gm's, etc... but I really take most of what they say with a grain of salt.


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

Chad Ford tweets...



> Thunder select Craig Brackins for the Hornets. Another good pick for Hornets. He addresses another need. A big who can stretch the floor.
> about 1 hour ago via web





> Pondexter to the Hornets. A great athlete who reminds me a bit of Desmond Mason.
> about 1 hour ago via web





> The Hornets-Thunder trade is a good one for the Hornets. Saves them $6.2 million next year & gets them under the luxury tax. Save CP3!
> about 2 hours ago via web


He's still on my poo-poo list though. :bowen:


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

> *New Orleans Hornets clear salary, get two rookies in NBA draft*
> 
> New Orleans Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower has spent the past few weeks pondering whether to move down in Thursday’s NBA draft, given the expected depth of the overall talent pool and New Orleans’ desire to purge itself of some under-performing excess salary weight.
> 
> ...


http://mobile.nola.com/advnola/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=kgACUAly&full=true#display


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

im comin around slowly. the players taken between 11 and 21st really dont blow me away, and aldrich may have been a blessing for us I believe brackins/quincy/cap relief is probably the better bet to help us out in the short and long term. Like I was sayin, the hornets did workout brackins so somethin tells me they didnt consider this much of a compromise and were impressed with what he showed them.


----------



## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

Tooeasy said:


> to me draftexpress is full of smug writers that think they are much more knowledgeable than they truly are. They obviously have access to more outlets in terms of scouts, gm's, etc... but I really take most of what they say with a grain of salt.


They might me smug, but I would trust DX over almost any beat writer, and I would certainly trust them more than Chad Ford.


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

GregOden said:


> They might me smug, but I would trust DX over almost any beat writer, and I would certainly trust them more than Chad Ford.


And I'd trust the opinions of certain posters on this website more than essentially any of them. To be honest, I disdain all these beat writers for espn, yahoo, etc... I don't particularly find it impressive that because they have "connections" and can break stories to the everyday fan that they are anything special.


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

Craig Brackins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZdelSuiYJk&feature=player_embedded


----------



## Geaux Tigers (Apr 26, 2004)

I don't mind the picks. I think we added depth. I agree with Tooeasy saying that we might have been able to really get a better impact instead of Brackins with the pick. I was hoping to be tough around the basket and get some real athleticism and tenacity. Brackins may be a little outside game oriented which could work out, but not exactly what I would want to pair next to West. 

As far as Pondexter goes I like the value there. He's got good size and really contributed all 4 years. Can't say I like the conference he played in much as far as competition goes. I do like the 7 rebs a game from his position and he should add scoring off the bench.

I'd give this draft a C+ that could turn out better if these guys can stay healthy and if we maximize the money we saved in Free Agency.


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

> *Brackins headed to 'The Big Easy'*
> 
> Instead of sitting through two hours of the NBA draft to learn his pro future, Iowa State forward Craig Brackins could have asked Fred Hoiberg.
> 
> ...


http://www.amestrib.com/articles/2010/06/24/ames_tribune/sports/doc4c2411ab21b8f213336784.txt





> *Washington's Pondexter selected 26th by OKC, but will go to New Orleans*
> 
> Too nervous to watch, Quincy Pondexter spent the NBA draft in the same place he had spent so many other hours during his Washington career.
> 
> ...


http://blog.seattlepi.com/huskies/archives/212425.asp?source=mypi


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

Brackins' reaction when hearing his name called...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DaCLVTHLBQ

Brackins post draft interview..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a47-rWDKsmU


----------



## Tooeasy (Nov 4, 2003)

I cant get a certain trade scenario out of my head..... dc and west for danny granger. Since Brackins plays a somewhat similar game to west do you think the tradeoff would be worth it?? we finally would have that legit #1 scoring option but #2 player behind chris. speculating like this is kinda dumb but I just wonder about our still very suspect starting 5.


----------



## Geaux Tigers (Apr 26, 2004)

Id do it just for Granger. I don't care if Brackins doesn't reproduce West in that scenario. We could find another West. I expect his production to start dropping off slowly from here on out.


----------



## jalen5 (Nov 19, 2004)

I really like what we did in the draft. The way the picks before us went, I didn't think there was a great choice at 11, as I was hoping Al-Farouq Aminu would fall (figured there would be no chance for him to fall) or Paul George (realistic he could be there) would be there for us. I really think we need some athletic, long wings that are versatile, can run the floor w/ CP3, and can score. The only guy I wouldn't have minded us taking at 11 that was still left was Xavier Henry. Because of who was there tho, I didn't mind at all us trading down and getting two picks and finally getting rid of Mo Pete. I think Brackins is a little underrated. He's got some skills and ability to score but was just stuck on a bad team at Iowa State, as every team he faced focused on him. I also think Pondexter was a good pick at 26 considering who was available. He's got good instincts and some size for a wing and I think he'll find himself a solid spot in the rotation fairly quickly. Initially, I thought the trade was for the 18th and 21st selections. I was hoping either Babbitt would fall to us at 18 or Bledsoe would be there and we could either trade him or Collison for something. I thought it was a great move by OKC to trade Bledsoe to the Clips for a future 1st and we could have done something similar. But what originally was reported as 18 and 21 turned out to actually be 21 and 26. With those two spots, I thought our selections were solid. Getting rid of Mo Pete's contract was solid but it really doesn't help us much for this free agency unless we can move someone else (Peja or Posey). 

Our problem is simply our contract situation and ownership not wanting to spend money. If we don't vastly improve our personnel over the next couple of years, I think CP3 is as good as gone when his contract is up. One thing you can't deny about CP3 is that winning is his #1 priority. He simply hates losing so badly that it's almost at a Jordan-esque level. We really needed to be players in the free agency bonanza this offseason but we simply can't because of Peja's contract, along with Posey's. I know Peja's contract expires at the end of this coming year, but we really needed to be free of it before this year. With all the stud free agents available right now, I know we could have lured one of them to come play with Chris. No one over the past two years would take Peja because of his contract. We need to add a stud ASAP to pair with CP3 but I just don't know how we are going to be able to do that. We don't really have any trade assets other than Collison and West. As long as CP3 is here, we are always going to be picking late lottery at best so it will be tough to add one there as well. We don't have any cap room to make a splash in free agency (without a trade being part of it). We need to trade Posey either now or before the trade deadline during the middle of this coming season because he is on the books for the next two years. I really hope the free agency class next year has some studs in it so we can try to pluck one once Peja comes off the books. Anybody know who will be available in free agency next offseason?


----------



## girllovesthegame (Nov 3, 2005)

I'm more anxious about next summer than I am this one. I don't think Chouest will hesitate to spend money but while he's a rich man he didn't get to be one by spending foolishly. Now all we need is for them to finish off that ownership deal. Whatever is the hold up (Chouest looking for minority partners, oil spill), whatever, just get it done. If CP can't wait until the summer of 2011 when the Hornets can be big players in FA, then don't let the door knob hitcha. Not to say that we can't begin to get competitive and work our way back into the playoffs this upcoming season but next season should look even better. In the meantime, his butt and the rest of the team needs to try their best to stay healthy. Also, this summer is just beginning. We may not have seen the last of whatever deals there are to be made. 

2011 Free Agents


----------



## jalen5 (Nov 19, 2004)

That 2011 Free Agency list doesn't get me excited very much. There are no stars that we could realistically sign off that list. You can cross off Tony Parker, Duncan, and Carmelo. I would be interested in Caron Butler and Zach Randolph. Regardless, the 2011 free agency crop is not nearly as deep and top heavy as it is this year. I feel we are going to have to make some kind of big trade to really give us a chance to right the ship and get us on the track we need to be on.


----------

