[draft] Hornets prepared to react
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Hornets prepared to react
If needs can't be filled, they'll draft best player
Thursday, June 24, 2004
By John Reid
Staff writer
The wish list that Hornets general manager Allan Bristow will
take with him into tonight's NBA draft includes seven names.
But with 15 teams making 17 picks ahead of him, Bristow isn't
sure any of those players will be available when the Hornets
select at No. 18.
If not, Bristow will go to his contingency plan: The Hornets
will pursue the best available player, regardless of whether
he fills either of the team's biggest needs -- at shooting
guard and backup center.
Bristow said this week the Hornets would consider drafting
St. Joseph's point guard Jameer Nelson, despite already having
point guards Baron Davis and Darrell Armstrong on the roster.
Nelson, a consensus national College Player of the Year, is
expected to be a mid-to-late first-round pick. He worked out
for the Hornets on Tuesday, and Bristow said he was impressed.
"Point guards are hard to find, and we have one of the best in
the league," Bristow said. "We have needs at other positions,
but sometimes when you're drafting at 18th, you have to get
the best player available. Jameer is definitely one of the
best players available.
"I feel you can't pass up that kind of quality athlete if you
feel he's got the upside to become a star."
Hornets coach Byron Scott, hired last month, will have input
on the team's draft selections. Scott said he wants the Hornets
to become younger and more athletic, and one way to meet that
criteria is by building through the draft.
The Hornets are picking at No. 18 for the second consecutive
year. In the second round, they will select 44th.
In the first round last year, the Hornets drafted forward David
West, who became one of the team's best rebounders.
Meanwhile, Bristow hasn't ruled out the possibility of making a
trade to move up in the first round to land a player such as
shooting guard Kirk Snyder, or someone else projected to be
taken among the top 15 picks.
Snyder, who played at Nevada, had an impressive workout with
the Hornets several weeks ago. Most of the mock drafts have
him going no later than 13th in the first round.
"There's always a possibility (of making a trade to move up),"
Bristow said. "I don't think it's a high probability, but it's
something we're definitely intrigued about doing."
If the Hornets remain at No. 18, available players could be J.R.
Smith, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard who played at St. Benedict's
Prep in New Jersey last season; Sasha Vujacic, a 6-foot-7
shooting guard who played on the Slovenian Junior National
team; and Rafael Araujo, a 6-foot-11 center from Brigham Young.
"This is the same problem you always have when you draft from
16 to 20; there is not anything you can say that's definitely
going to happen," said Bob Bass, who will work his final draft
with the Hornets before retiring next week as the team's
executive vice president of basketball operations.
"So that makes it a difficult situation in terms of what we
might get."
If the Hornets select a guard in the first round, they are
likely to use their second-round pick on a backup center with
college or international experience.
In 2000, the Hornets selected center Jamaal Magloire with the
19th pick in the first round. Magloire made the Eastern
Conference All-Star team this season.
Last year, the Hornets' used their second-round pick on center
James Lang, who entered the draft after his senior season in
high school. But Lang was eventually cut without playing a
regular-season game.
"You're always looking for players who can help you immediately,
and I'm talking about as much as David West helped us last year,"
Bristow said. "But probably 70 percent of the guys that we've
looked at are not in that category."
. . . . . . .
John Reid can be reached at jreid@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3405.
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