The Hornets only have the 45th overall pick in this Thursday’s NBA Draft.  The Hornets will likely take the best available SG or PF with their pick.  PFs Markieff Morris (Kansas) and Nikola Mirotic (Serbia) might be available.  That would be a hard choice for the Hornets but I think they would go with Morris.  The Hornets really aren’t likely to get the kind of help they need this Thursday.  Free agency and the trade market will be the only likely way the Hornets will improve the roster for 2011-12.

UPDATE:  (6/27/2011) – The Hornets picked center Josh Harrellson in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft and then they sold him to the Knicks for a wad of cold hard cash.

The Hornets were outrebounded 43-30 last night and it really hurt them in this game.  Carl Landry led the way for the Hornets last night with 19 points and 2 rebounds.  Trevor Ariza also had a somewhat decent game with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists last night.  Marco Belinelli only shot 4 of 12 from the floor but he still finished up with 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist  and 2 steals.  Chris Paul didn’t have his best game last night but he still finished up with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals.  The Hornets season is now over as the Lakers beat them 4-2, but at least they gave them a fight.

The Hornets have acquired PF/SF Craig Brackins (#21 overall) and SF Quincy Pondexter (#26 overall) to complete the Cole Aldrich/Morris Peterson trade with the Thunder. Brackins is a big guy at 6’10″, 230 pounds but he will need to play tougher in the NBA. Brackins played in 32 games (all starts) last season at Iowa State and he averaged 16.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He played in 96 games (95 starts) in his three years in college and he averaged 16.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Quincy Pondexter played in 36 games (all starts) last season at Washington and he averaged 19.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He finished up in college having played in 136 games (102 starts) in which he averaged 13.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The Hornets have a good track record in the draft so this could turn out to be a outstanding trade for them. Only time will tell.

The Hornets picked center Cole Aldrich out of Kansas with the 11th overall pick and then they traded him along with 32-year old small forward Morris Peterson to the Thunder for the 21st and 26th overall picks in the NBA Draft. Peterson played in 46 games (39 starts) for the Hornets last season and he averaged 21.2 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. In his three years with the Hornets, Peterson played in 165 games (124 starts) in which he averaged 19.9 minutes, 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. This was little more than a salary dump move for the Hornets as Aldrich and Peterson will make a lot more money in 2010-11 than whoever the Hornets use their two first round picks on.

The New Orleans Hornets have the #11 pick in tomorrow night’s NBA Draft. They should be looking at getting either a SF or a SG with Marcus Thornton playing the other spot. But rumors abound that the Hornets are in financial trouble which could cause them to trade Chris Paul as early as tomorrow night. If he is truly available teams will be lining up to make the Hornets offers involving both picks and players. The Hornets could also demand that the team getting Paul takes back a Morris Peterson or James Posey to clear more cash off the books. It will be a interesting night to be a Hornets’ fan tomorrow.

The Hornets acquired Marcus Thornton from the Miami Heat on Draft Night. He played in 118 games in four seasons at Kilgore Community College and LSU where he averaged 20.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Thornton will be a fan favorite for the Hornets seeing how he played his last two seasons at LSU. That’s not the reason that the Hornets selected Thornton……they picked him because he’s got game.

The New Orleans Hornets selected 21-year old guard Darren Collison with the 21st pick in the NBA Draft last night. Collison played in 142 games in his 4-year career with the UCLA Bruins and he averaged 11.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Collison likely will project as a backup at both guard spots as a rookie. He brings a nice long range stroke as he nailed 43.5% of his three pointers in college. This was a solid pick for the Hornets.

The Hornets decided to take shooting guard Adam Haluska in the 2nd round with the 43rd pick in the NBA Draft.  The 6’5″, 210 pound Haluska played for both Iowa State and Iowa in college.  Haluska played in 129 games in college and he averaged 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  He also is a decent shooter as he’s hit 42.4% from the floor, 36% from the three point range and 83.7% from the free throw line.  Haluska will likely back up Stojakovic at shooting guard as a rookie.

The Hornets will probably move Peja Stojakovic to shooting guard to make room in the starting lineup for their first round pick, small forward Julian Wright.  Wright is a good rebounder and a very active defender so he should fit right in with the Hornets.  Wright has nice size at 6’8″, 225 pounds and he’s a good all-around basketball player.  Wright played in 71 games for Kansas and he averaged 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  Wright shot 55.5% from the floor and only 59.1% from the free throw line which he will need to improve on.  Look for Wright to start from Day #1 for the Hornets.