<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>With the NBA Draft scheduled to take place in four weeks, let?s take our first look around the World Wide Web to see what other sites are projecting the Hornets to do with the 13th overall pick (comments with players are from the respective newspapers or websites).Which player do you think the Hornets should select with their first-round pick on June 28? To comment, send an e-mail to jime@hornets.com.ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTIONNick Young, shooting guard, Southern California: ?There are younger and perhaps more talented swingmen available (Georgia Tech?s Thaddeus Young perhaps), but few more athletic or hungry. The Hornets need a more mature player like Young to help solidify their backcourt mix.?* * *CBS SPORTSLINENick Young, shooting guard, Southern California: ?Desmond Mason could be headed elsewhere, and the Hornets could definitely use another athlete who can put the ball in the hole.?* * *CHICAGO TRIBUNESpencer Hawes, center, Washington: ?Highly skilled post player from an NBA family who?s not quite ready but eventually will allow Tyson Chandler to go back to forward.?Hornets.com says: Moving Chandler back to forward? I don?t see the logic there. Chandler just had what was easily the best season of his career while playing all of his minutes at center, after struggling mightily in 2005-06 with Chicago. Plus, shifting him to power forward would mean David West needs to move to small forward. Sure, West is not as big as some power forwards (6-foot-9) in the Western Conference, but he?s much more of a natural four than a small forward. It would be a big adjustment for him to have to defend quick and athletic threes. Chandler at center and West at power forward isn?t exactly broke, so why fix it?* * *DIME MAGAZINEJulian Wright, small forward, Kansas: ?Desmond Mason might be leaving as a free agent, Peja might up and retire, and the Hornets finished last season starting Devin Brown at the two. In other words, there?s a need at the wing spots. Wright is crazy versatile and he?s the best player available.?Hornets.com says: Based on the various mock drafts that we?ve seen recently, unless things change significantly, the Kansas Jayhawk probably won?t last until the No. 13 pick, which obviously would rule out the Hornets selecting him. Among the nine websites that NBA.com uses to determine its NBA Draft ?consensus? rankings, only one mock draft has Wright lasting until 13. In fact, ESPN.com, CBS Sportsline and Inside Hoops each have him going sixth to Milwaukee. At this juncture, at least, it appears as though he?ll have to fall on a lot of teams? draft boards for the Hornets to get their hands on Wright.* * *ESPN.COM?S CHAD FORDThaddeus Young, small forward, Georgia Tech: ?With Desmond Mason hitting free agency, the Hornets will look for a swingman to play alongside Peja Stojakovic, if he can get healthy. (Florida guard Corey) Brewer is the ideal fit, but if he?s gone I expect they?ll decide between (Georgetown forward Jeff) Green, (Florida State forward Al) Thornton and Young ? whoever is left on the board. Between the latter two, Thornton is more NBA-ready, though it seems like Young has the higher ceiling.?* * *FANBALLAcie Law, point guard, Texas A&M: ?Although Chris Paul is obviously the king of the castle in New Orleans, the Hornets lack a solid backup for him. Bobby Jackson and Jannero Pargo are fine, but both are better served coming off the bench as shooting or combo guards. New Orleans took care of its frontcourt depth last offseason when it picked up Tyson Chandler and drafted Cedric Simmons and Hilton Armstrong, and Peja Stojakovic is expected to return from injury and join David West to give the Hornets a solid foundation. Again, (Thaddeus) Young is an option if New Orleans wants to stand pat with its backup point guard situation, but Law is the best fit currently on the board.?Hornets.com says: I suppose anything can happen on draft night due to the possibility of trades, but the scenario of the Hornets taking a point guard doesn?t seem very likely. It?s not just that Paul is on the roster; it?s that so are Bobby Jackson and Jannero Pargo (unless Pargo exercises an option to become an unrestricted free agent). All three of those guards are 6-foot-1 or under and all of them deserve playing time. That would make it pretty difficult for Byron Scott to find minutes for another guy who is projected as a point guard in the NBA (incidentally, Law is 6-foot-3). Also, Fanball?s description of Jackson as a ?combo guard? is accurate, but he?s played the bulk of his minutes at point guard throughout his 10-year pro career.* * *FOX SPORTSJulian Wright, small forward, Kansas: ?The Hornets could use a wing and while Wright isn?t a big-time shooter, he finds a way to score ? and also makes people better and can keep up with Chris Paul.?* * *HOOPS HYPEAl Thornton, small forward, Florida State: ?Late-blooming combo forward with explosive athletic ability and excellent length. Outquicks everyone to the offensive glass, utilizes his terrific first step and ever-improving mid-range jumper as a true mismatch threat at the NCAA level. Doesn?t have a great feel for the game. Could still stand to improve his ballhandling skills, as well as expand his three-point shooting range. A bit on the older side, but has improved considerably over the past few years and still has upside to continue to do so. His outstanding senior year showed he?s still anything but a finished product despite the fact that his team underachieved severely.?* * *MSNBCAl Thornton, small forward, Florida State: ?The ACC?s best player has the body and skill. He is very aggressive and plays with a lot of energy. Shot over 50 percent each year in college. An older player who can help immediately.?* * *SPORTS ILLUSTRATEDAcie Law, point guard, Texas A&M: ?It probably isn?t Law?s fondest wish to go to a team that already has a young star point guard, but the Hornets have an understandable desire to limit the huge minutes that Chris Paul has played in his first two seasons. In addition to giving the Hornets protection in case Paul is injured again, Law is a capable scorer who can also play off the ball as a shooting guard.?Hornets.com says: Let?s explore the issue of CP3?s playing time, a subject that has already created ample discussion among fans and the media. Paul has led the Hornets in minutes for two straight years, averaging 36.0 as a rookie and 36.8 in 2006-07. If you examine last season?s stats, his busiest month was December (39.0 mpg), which makes sense, because Bobby Jackson (cracked ribs) missed that entire month due to injury. How much could the Hornets realistically reduce Paul?s minutes if Jackson remains healthy throughout 2007-08? Let?s take a look at the average minutes played by some of the top point guards in the NBA during the 2006-07 regular season: Gilbert Arenas (39.8), Andre Miller (37.1), Deron Williams (36.9), Jason Kidd (36.7), Chauncey Billups (36.2), Steve Nash (35.3), Baron Davis (35.3). SI describes Paul?s minutes as ?huge,? but they?re actually in line with how much playing time standout point guards get throughout the league. The Hornets may be able to bring Paul?s minutes down a bit next season, but it probably wouldn?t be too drastic of a reduction. It?s wise to try to be careful about players? fatigue during the long 82-game regular season, but there?s a reason why certain players log big minutes ? because their teams need them on the floor to win games.* * *TORONTO STARJeff Green, small forward, Georgetown: ?All last season the Hornets struggled to find consistency at the small forward spot, and Green will definitely give them that. He is as NBA-ready as pretty much any player in the draft, and his game is actually pretty similar to that of current Hornet forward David West. Green doesn't project as a superstar, but he has the goods to be well above average.?* * *YAHOO! SPORTSJeff Green, small forward, Georgetown: ?Green does a little of everything well, and he fits into the winning culture that GM Jeff Bower and coach Byron Scott are determined to infuse into the Hornets on the way back to New Orleans.?These sites conducted mock drafts but did not make comments on picks:* * *COLLEGE HOOPS NETWORKNo. 13 pick ? Thaddeus Young, small forward, Georgia TechNo. 43 pick ? Herbert Hill, power forward, ProvidenceINSIDE HOOPSNo. 13 pick ? Nick Young, shooting guard, Southern CaliforniaMILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINELNo. 13 pick ? Al Thornton, small forward, Florida StateNBADRAFT.NETNo. 13 pick ? Thaddeus Young, small forward, Georgia TechNo. 43 pick ? Quinton Hosley, small forward, Fresno State</div>
Some of these writers don't have any logic in their picks. I can't believe a few of them said we should take Acie Law!!
OK, let me get to work on this myself... What-the-****? Didn't Chandler pretty much lead the league in rebounding at center? Why would they want to put him back at power forward? I understand he's athletic and isn't your prototypical center, but come on? Once again, we don't need either and really need to go for a SG. Unless Thad or Al can be easily molded into serviceable SG/SF's such as Paul Pierce, we don't need them here. I don't see why they would want to limit his minutes by selecting a point guard in the first round, especially at 13?? As far as I know, Bobby Jackson and Jannero Pargo both had pretty good years backing up Chris. If JW falls to us, I wouldn't mind this pick. Anyway, Green will not fall to us either way so it doesn't matter.These writers really sound like machines when they project these picks...come on, be reasonable.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (808Hornetsfan @ Jun 2 2007, 01:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Some of these writers don't have any logic in their picks. I can't believe a few of them said we should take Acie Law!! </div>Why? Past Chris Paul your weak at the PG position. After Chris Paul missed nearly 20 games last season it wouldn't be a bad idea to draft a solid PG to back him up.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (iversonfan268 @ Jun 2 2007, 05:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Why? Past Chris Paul your weak at the PG position. After Chris Paul missed nearly 20 games last season it wouldn't be a bad idea to draft a solid PG to back him up.</div>Iversonfan, thats not even the problem. Why would you take a promising young point in the first round to back up another promising young point who was taken in the first round 2 years ago?? Especially if you really need a two-guard. If they are going to take a point guard, its going to be in the second round.
I realize it's not your biggest need and I'm not even saying that's what they should do, just that if they were to take Law it's understandable why. 808Hornetsfan was acting like you have no need for a backup PG at all.
Well, the staff really likes Jannero Pargo, and are hoping that Bobby Jackson steps up his game and stays healthy. Plus, Scott has always said that he only likes 2 point guards on his roster so that makes the projection even more ludicrous. We could always use an upgrade, thats true, but the staff seems to like it the way it is.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (iversonfan268 @ Jun 2 2007, 05:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I realize it's not your biggest need and I'm not even saying that's what they should do, just that if they were to take Law it's understandable why. 808Hornetsfan was acting like you have no need for a backup PG at all.</div>Really they don't need a backup point guard, and especially not a young one like Acie Law. They have Bobby Jackson, who win healthy, is instant energy off the bench and able to score in a variety of ways. He is a very good point guard to have as your backup. Then after him, they have Jannero Pargo, who showed that he can be an outstanding backup point guard. When both Paul and Jackson were hurt he got starters minutes, and proved to be a good player. So they really don't need a point guard, the Hornets biggest need is a shooting guard, that has a good stroke on them.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (iversonfan268 @ Jun 2 2007, 03:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I realize it's not your biggest need and I'm not even saying that's what they should do, just that if they were to take Law it's understandable why. 808Hornetsfan was acting like you have no need for a backup PG at all.</div>It's like drafting a future starting SF when you already have LeBron James. Jackson did miss some time during the season, but he is versatile and can play either the 1 or 2 for us, and he averaged 10 ppg, 3 rpg and 2 apg. Pargo was solid while both CP3 and Jackson were out, and averaged 9 ppg, 2 rpg and 2 apg for us. Why draft a PG when you already have solid production from your veterans?? Law isn't going to start, nor is he going to help us get to the playoffs.
