The dust has settled a bit, and here’s a roundup of some of the reactions to the Hornet’s draft.

The ESPN guys seem to like what they accomplished:

Chad Ford

New Orleans was over the luxury-tax line and had a mandate to get under. Moving Peterson and the pick will save them nearly $7 million next season, plus the tax, enough to relieve the pressure to trade a player like Paul or Darren Collison.

With their two picks, the Hornets also did a good job. Brackins is a versatile forward who can score inside and outside. Pondexter is a big-time athlete who reminds me a little of Desmond Mason. Both could play important rotation roles for the Hornets next season.

John Hollinger:(Insider)

. . . this was a heck of a trade for New Orleans. They still got two first-round picks out of it, choosing Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter, and dumping Peterson takes all the pressure off them to trade one of their stars to get under the luxury tax — depending on where the new cap number comes in, the Hornets may be able to slip under just by paying somebody to take Darius Songaila at the trade deadline. For the short term, at least, we can probably put those Chris Paul conversations to bed.

Kelly Dwyer, over at Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie had this to say as he gave the draft a “B”

So, the Hornets not only saved themselves a heap of money by trading Morris Peterson(notes) and heading under the luxury tax threshold, they added two first round prospects in the process. I know next-to-nothing about Brackins and Pondexter, but given Jeff Bower’s draft history, and the sting of Peterson’s contract, I’m inclined to call this one of the best nights of the bunch.

Chris Mannix of SI gives the Hornets a “B-“, and makes the obligatory “Hornets are cheap” reference.  Sigh.

There were a few “here we go again” moments when the Hornets traded the rights to Cole Aldrich (along with Morris Peterson’s contract) to Oklahoma City for two late first-round picks. But New Orleans landed two potential quality role players in power forward Craig Brackins, a solid inside-out player, and Quincy Pondexter, a terrific athlete who developed into a capable scorer in four years at Washington. Worth Aldrich? Yes, and possibly more.

Next, here’s some video of the Hornets’ new players.  Rock on.

Craig Brackins

Here’s a video of Craig being selected in the Draft with a big bunch of supporters.

And a video of Quincy Pondexter

What’s your take on the draft?  Positive or Negative?