2008 Draft Prospectus 2.0

Ok, first off, let me apologize for Curry's ongoing attempts at funny headlines. Moving on.

So, the plan was to do another round of draft prospectus (ergo the title), but as Curry pointed out, the Hornets have traded their one and only pick in this draft for cash considerations. "Why?" you may ask. I have no idea. I'll have to look into it more. My guess (like Curry's) is that Bower thinks he can take care of the team's needs with free agent signings. The move does concern me a little since, even though this draft class isn't that strong, next year's looks to be even weaker. Never mind that we could have drafted CDR or Courtney Lee to help fill out the wing or even Nathan Jawai or DeAndre Jordan to strengthen the front court (Chad Ford seems to think that Jordan will drop as far as pick 28). But, you know what? I trust Jeff Bower. For now, at least.

Even with the Hornets taking a day off tomorrow, we at HH still have a vested interest in the draft. This year's group has been hard to peg since, after picks 1-4 (which are by no means set), the remaining 26 picks in round 1 could fall any which way. I was going to write that the Hornets should be targeting the following players in the following order: CDR, Lee, Jordan, Jawai. But now, that's irrelevant. I just thought you should know. Just in case.

Really, the saddest part of this day is that the Hornets have ruined one of the best fan ploys in the history of fan ploys. After drafting Courtney Lee this year and Stephen Curry next year... well, let's just say that the crew at HH would have been sporting some sweet jerseys. Alas.

Starting at guard: Lee and Curry!

The projections below are a cross between what teams might do and what I think they should do (you know, GM Lee just donning advice for multi-million dollar corporations in his spare time). Also, with the exception of the Hornets trading their pick, this prospectus does not take into account the possible trade rumors. Too many hypotheticals if we accounted for those. We've got enough as it is.

***

1. Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose (PG, Memphis)

2. Miami Heat: Michael Beasley (PF, Kansas State)

3. Minnesota Timberwolves: O.J. Mayo (SG, USC)

4. Seattle Sonics: Russell Westbrook (PG, UCLA)

5. Memphis Grizzlies: Kevin Love (PF, UCLA)

6. New York Knicks: Jerryd Bayless (PG, Arizona)

7. Los Angeles Clippers: Eric Gordon (SG, Indiana)

8. Milwaukee Bucks: Danillo Gallinari (SF, Italy)

9. Charlotte Bobcats: Brooke Lopez (C, Standford)

10. New Jersey Nets: Joe Alexander (SF, West Virginia)

11. Indiana Pacers: D.J. Augustin (PG, Texas)

12. Sacramento Kings: Darrell Arthur, (PF, Kansas)

13. Portland Trailblazers: Alexis Ajinca (C, France)

14. Golden State Warriors: Anthony Randolph (PF, LSU)

15. Phoenix Suns: Brandon Rush (SG, Kansas)

16. Philadelphia 76ers: Kosta Koufos (C, Ohio State)

17. Toronto Raptors: Donte Greene (SF, Syracuse)

18. Washington Wizards: Marreese Speights (C, Florida)

19. Cleveland Cavaliers: Robin Lopez (C, Stanford)

20. Denver Nuggets: Roy Hibbert (C, Georgetown)

21. New Jersey Nets: DeAndre Jordan (C, Texas A&M)

22. Orlando Magic: Courtney Lee (SG, Western Kentucky)

23. Utah Jazz: JaVale McGee (PF, Nevada)

24. Seattle Sonics: Serge Ibaka (PF, Congo)

25. Houston Rockets: J. J. Hickson (PF, NC State)

26. San Antonio Spurs: Ante Tomic (Croatia)

27. Portland Trailblazers: Nicholas Batum (SF, France)

28. Memphis Grizzlies: DeVon Hardin (C, California)

29. Detroit Pistons: Chris Douglas-Roberts (SF, Memphis)

30. Boston Celtics: Jamont Gordon (SG, Mississippi State)

***

For those of you who can't get enough draft talk, I'd suggest Hollinger's draft class PER predictions for big men and wing men (the idea was to predict each draftee's PER after three years in the pros using college/international statistical data). Also, be sure to check out Andy Katz's draft day trade rumors.

Be sure to pop in tomorrow night for the live blogging battle between Curry and myself as we duke it out trying to project each pick. There will be many bad puns, silly references, and Miller High Life (no that was not a product placement, no we do not get paid to mention that stuff; if we did, we'd be buying better beer). So stop by for entertainment guaranteed to be more enlightening fun than whatever's being broadcast.

Peace.

Portland: a good way to get warm

New Orleans 119 | Portland 93

Two games, two wins. Honestly, for a team returning home with quite a few new faces, I'm glad we got to start off against two mediocre (at best) teams. In fact, the 20 point winning margin was even larger before Byron Scott took out most of the starters and gave some time to JuJu . Unfortunately that means that good old Ryan Bowen got a handful minutes as well. We will now refer to Mr. Bowen as the Uncle. That's what he looks like. That's what he plays like. That's who he'll be: Uncle Bowen.

The team looked sharp. Peja and CP3 almost dropped 20 a piece, Tyson threw down a double-double, and three players off the bench were in double figures. It was good team basketball overall. No one player took over the game per se, but it was nice all the same to see them play well together. After all, Global Icon did teach us that it takes more than one to win a championship.

Despite a strong showing, I was surprised-- perhaps even disappointed-- at the sparse turnout from the New Orleans fan base. We almost lost this team to another city, and even though OKC may be getting the Sonics (I sure hope not), that still wouldn't be enough to prevent the Hornets from ever leaving. If anyone's listening out there, now would be a good time to show some support for your team. They're great, they win; come to a game,see for yourself... well, maybe skip the next one against San Antonio, but then again, who knows? We'll see how the road games go. See you next week.