Hornet look at trading up!!

[DrReality]

In the Oklahoman. this could be a great opportunity for us.

Hornets Fan Blog

Read NewsOK's community blogger: HORNETS FAN.

Hornets general manager Jeff Bower is steadfast in his belief that the cutoff for upper echelon talent in this year's draft class is at six.

But with three of the top six teams in this year's draft -- Toronto (No. 1), Charlotte (No. 3) and Minnesota (No. 6) -- reportedly interested in trading down for various reasons, the Hornets have plenty of potential partners.

The Atlanta Hawks, who select fifth, are also reportedly interested in trading down. The Boston Celtics, who pick seventh, and Houston Rockets, who have the eighth selection, might be trade partners. Both the Celtics and Rockets have reportedly discussed swapping picks with the Orlando Magic, who own the 11th pick.

Naturally, the tight-lipped Bower didn't offer specifics when asked about the Hornets moving their pair of first round selections, saying only: "We're going to explore a lot of things. Maybe we have already."

Hornets coach Byron Scott, however, said the team would do, "Whatever we feel can help us."

"If that means packaging the 12th and 15th pick to get in the top six, and we think it can be something that can help us right away, we're going to take a look at it," Scott said.

Bower did say that the he has talked with a few teams with higher selections in an attempt to get a feel for what kind of package it would take on the Hornets' end to strike a deal.

Bower added that he doesn't think a combination of one of the first-round selections and one or more of the Hornets' current players would be sufficient. Consequently, unless the Hornets find a taker for that scenario, they would most likely have to include both picks to move up.

One concern Bower voiced was how high the team could actually go. Moving into the top two, Bower said, is highly unlikely.

That leaves the Hornets having to decide which draft slot is worthy of relinquishing two of the top 15 draft picks. The Hornets are primarily in the market for shooters and big men.

Of the 12 players who have already worked out for the Hornets, only Villanova guard Randy Foye, Memphis forward Rodney Carney and Duke forward Shelden Williams are projected top-10 picks.

If the Hornets stand pat, players such as guards J.J. Reddick of Duke and Ronnie Brewer of Arkansas might be available, as well as centers Patrick O'Bryant of Bradley and Hilton Armstrong of Connecticut.

"I haven't seen the top six (rated player)," said Scott when asked if trading up would be worth it. "I would have to see some of those guys work out to give you a better view of what I think as far as that's concerned.

"We're just going by college careers. I like to see these guys in a (private workout setting), where you have four of them here. Lot of drill work and one-on-one and two-on- two to see if that's warranted."

Like every other NBA team, the Hornets' brass is headed to Orlando this week to evaluate draft prospects during the annual pre-draft camp, which runs from Tuesday through Saturday. The Hornets are scheduled to continue their private workouts on Friday, June 16, with Temple guard Mardy Collins, Wake Forest guard Justin Gray, N.C. State forward Cedric Simmons and Connecticut center Hilton Armstrong scheduled to participate.

[NJHAWK]

Pretty simple, if Aldridge falls to us at 5 then we should prolly take him. If not then trade down for 12 and 15 to N.O. We can get two good players with those picks because despite what some of you say, BK KNOWS TALENT!!!! Maybe we get NO with someone left on the board at 5 they want really bad like Rudy Gay and we can get 12, 15 and maybe JR Smith. I know JR Smith is just another atletic g/f that we have some of already but we dont have to keep him. We can use him with Al to get something or trade him for a future pick. Hey we can keep him too and see what he can do for us. Regardless BK has given us so many options to keep building this team up. Our hands are not tied like half the other teams in the league are.

[DrReality]

All the possibilities make my mouth water. I think we get a quality big man and a guard with these picks.

[jezmund]

Why not work out a 3-way allowing us to end up with like #8 and #15. I'm becoming intrigued with O'Bryant.

[pathway23]

my dream O'Bryant at 8 and Rondo at 15

[Buzzard]

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All the possibilities make my mouth water. I think we get a quality big man and a guard with these picks.

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Hornets are wanting to move up so they can pick a big. They just worked out Sheldon and O'Bryant. Both will probably be gone by the 12th pick....

[joannes3000]

I couldn't agree more.

[Yeti]

I'm a bit confused. It seems like we have enough bench players and can get more of them from FAcy. What we need are quality starters and are very unlikely to get them from FAcy, so we need to draft them. My worry is that we probably have at least a 50% chance in getting a starter at #5, but #10 through 20 usually end up roll players or worse. (Yes there are always exceptions.)

So would we really get something better down lower in the draft? I am also interested in O'Bryant and Sene, but are either really likely to beat out ZaZa and Anderson? They are both long-term projects with lots of question marks. Do we have enough faith in the Hawks famous "good luck" to make this kind of swap?

I'd rather work out a deal to get a second pick for AL (they pick for us and trade later). That way we can draft a quality player AND take a chance on a project. If we can get Aldridge, Roy, or Bargnani at #5 we should be able to help the team. I'm more skeptical of Morrison, Gay, M.Williams, S.Williams, and Thomas. I don't think we need a PG who can't shoot freethrows - we'll just have to bench him in crunch time.

[Final_quest]

I agree in principle. You are more likely to get an all-star with a #5 pick. The problem is that the top of the draft is mostly players we don't need. Thomas and Bargnani are combo-forwards. Gay and Morrison are true SF. That leaves Roy and Aldridge. I say if we can get Roy or Aldridge we stay at our pick, perhaps Foye could work also, but if not we may be forced to trade down.

[Teeareess]

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I'd rather work out a deal to get a second pick for AL (they pick for us and trade later). That way we can draft a quality player AND take a chance on a project.

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Am I wrong in thinking that that kind of trade is impossible? Al can't negotiate with other teams, so he won't agree to a sign & trade until he can. (It's not just a matter of he can't be traded until he's officially a free agent. He won't agree to a deal until he's explored his options)

I half agree with you on the draft. I really hope Aldridge or Roy slip down to us. If they do, I really want to keep the pick. If they don't, I'm all for moving it.

[Blunt91]

The only problem I see with trading down with New Orleans is whom do we get with the 15thpick? We would more than likely draft Cedric Simmons or Shelden Williams with the 12thpick but whom with the other pick? Rajon Rondo is likely to be gone by then(he will probably go between 9th-13thpick). So who else is there? I know one thing for sure, if we picked up multiple picks Billy Knight will want at least one of them to have 3 or 4years of college experience. IMO it might be best for us to deal with a team willing to part with one of their young players instead of taking the 12th & 15thpick. I just don't see anyone worth giving up the 5thpick for outside of the lottery picks.

[Final_quest]

No, you are absolutely right. Trading Al for a pick in this draft is impossible. For those who disagree, accept this challenge. Find a top 15 pick that was traded for a UFA after free agency began. For that matter find a trade involving a draft pick being traded several weeks after the draft.

Lots of deals go down the night of the draft. Find one that happend several weeks after the draft, and in the case of Al find one involving an unsigned draft pick traded for a newly signed UFA.

[Yeti]

After watching the video of Aldridge on another thread, I'm beginning to wonder about him. It was the LSU game of course. But if he can get stopped by Glen Davis what happens in the NBA? Still he's probably the best big man. I was thinking earlier that Roy might last down to us - but it seems like there are big questions on everyone else, so Roy will probably be the safe pick.

The Knocks:

Aldridge - the LSU game

Morrison - defense and diabetes

Thomas - size and limited offense

Bargnani - 7' small forward

Rondo - can't shoot FT's

S. Williams - even shorter than we thought

M. Williams - athleticism and offcourt problems

Gay - not a hard worker / no heart

So no-one is perfect. This time the pressure is really on BK to find a good player - trading down would be giving up.

[Lascar78]

Foye!

[exodus]

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The only problem I see with trading down with New Orleans is whom do we get with the 15thpick? We would more than likely draft Cedric Simmons or Shelden Williams with the 12thpick but whom with the other pick?

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If the Hawks do make this deal, which i seriously doubt, they will most likely take a chance on Sene with one of the picks.

[gsuteke]

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The only problem I see with trading down with New Orleans is whom do we get with the 15thpick? We would more than likely draft Cedric Simmons or Shelden Williams with the 12thpick but whom with the other pick?

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If the Hawks do make this deal, which i seriously doubt, they will most likely take a chance on Sene with one of the picks.

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that would pretty much sum up how pitiful the situation is around here.

[exodus]

I don't understand your reasoning there at all. Like I said it is very doubtful BK would trade down that far. But if he does the 15th pick is a very good spot to take a project center.

[Lascar78]

for me, if we trade down and take a big with the 12 (shelden, o'bryant, whoever...), then the 15 would be great to take a shot on the second tier PG's like Rondo, Diaz, Rodriguez. Who knows, maybe Foye takes a big fall and lasts.

[Diesel]

Rondo, Farmar, or Sene.

[DJlaysitup]

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my dream O'Bryant at 8 and Rondo at 15

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We go that way and lose AL without getting back equal value and we may be looking at a 25-30 win season. Neither of these guys are close to ready for prime time (IMHO).