Hornets247 Consensus Big Board

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Published: June 27, 2012

All the writers of Hornets247.com unveil their final Big Boards and we arrive at a consensus.

The rules and scoring are simple. Each writer was asked to unveil their Big Board, numbers 1-15. For this exercise, we all assumed we were Dell Demps, and therefore arranged our board specifically for the Hornets. A player ranked first on our board got 15 points, ranked second got 14 points and so on and so forth. Here is our Lottery Board, (and others receiving votes below) followed by our individual boards and some back and forth on some of the draft’s most burning questions.

Rank Name Points
1 Anthony Davis 90
2 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 82
3 Thomas Robinson 77
4 Bradley Beal 73
5 Harrison Barnes 68
6 Andre Drummond 52
7 Kendall Marshall 42
8 Dion Waiters 39
9 Damian Lillard 31
10 John Henson 25
11 (Tie) Jeremy Lamb, Tyler Zeller 23
13 Austin Rivers 20
14 Terrence Jones 19

Also receiving votes: Jared Sullinger (16 points), Perry Jones III (11 points), Royce White (8 points), Meyers Leonard (5 points), & Marquis Teague (2 points)

Individual Boards:

McNamara Gerrity Ginsberg Calmes Madison Schwan
1. Anthony Davis 1. Anthony Davis 1. Anthony Davis 1. Anthony Davis 1. Anthony Davis 1. Anthony Davis
2. MKG 2. Bradley Beal 2. Thomas Robinson 2. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 2. Bradley Beal 2. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
3. Bradley Beal 3. Thomas Robinson 3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 3. Thomas Robinson 3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 3. Thomas Robinson
4. Thomas Robinson 4. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 4. Bradley Beal 4. Harrison Barnes 4. Thomas Robinson 4. Harrison Barnes
5. Harrison Barnes 5. Harrison Barnes 5. Harrison Barnes 5. Bradley Beal 5. Harrison Barnes 5. Dion Waiters
6. Kendall Marshall 6. Dion Waiters 6. Andre Drummond 6. Andre Drummond 6. Andre Drummond 6. Jared Sullinger
7. Andre Drummond 7. Damian Lillard 7. Damian Lillard 7. Kendall Marshall 7. Meyers Leonard 7. Bradley Beal
8. Austin Rivers 8. Andre Drummond 8. Dion Waiters 8. Meyers Leonard 8. Kendall Marshall 8. John Henson
9. Jeremy Lamb 9. Kendall Marshall 9. Tyler Zeller 9. Austin Rivers 9. Damian Lillard 9. Kendall Marshall
10. John Henson 10. Jeremy Lamb 10. Terrence Jones 10. Tyler Zeller 10. Perry Jones III 10. Royce White
11. Dion Waiters 11. Austin Rivers 11. Meyers Leonard 11. Perry Jones III 11. Jeremy Lamb 11. Andre Drummond
12. Tyler Zeller 12. John Henson 12. John Henson 12. Terrence Jones 12. Tyler Zeller 12. Quincy Miller
13. Damian Lillard 13. Perry Jones III 13. Perry Jones III 13. Dion Waiters 13. John Henson 13. Damian Lillard
14. Jared Sullinger 14. Tyler Zeller 14. Jeremy Lamb 14. Jeremy Lamb 14. Dion Waiters 14. Marquis Teague
15. Terrence Jones 15. Jared Sullinger 15. Royce White 15. Royce White 15. Royce White 15. Lamb

1.  Of the players projected to go late in the lottery, who would disappoint you most if the Hornets took them at #10?

McNamara: I would be disappointed if the Hornets took Jared Sullinger because I think there are simply too many red flags. If they traded back or could sneak back into the first round, maybe you take him and roll the dice. But who knows if the Hornets will be picking this high again anytime soon- you can’t take a gamble like that in my opinion.

Gerrity: Zeller. He just won’t ever be anything more than one of the worst starting centers in the league. Even at 10 there will be picks that are just as safe with a much higher upside.

Calmes: Sullinger. The guy has issues you know about to take him out of contention at 10 for me. Take the fun way out and find out someone else’s problems.

Ginsberg: Before all of the medical red flags associated with Sullinger, I was all ready to put Rivers here; however, Sullinger would clearly be worse at this point. Too many question marks between the translation of his game to the NBA level along with his back problems.

Schwan: Meyers Leonard.  He is the classic late lottery big man reach who is where he is because of nice workout numbers and measurements.   Do you remember anyone putting Leonard in the lottery before the workout circuit?  He’s not there because of his basketball skill.

Madison: Sullinger. There are just too many red flags associated with him. I’m all for taking risks with the 10th pick, just not on a player with medical issues..

2. Give me a player not on your board that you would target if the Hornets traded back in to the end of the first round

McNamara: If the Hornets went big with the 10th pick, or traded for a veteran big man, I would love to see them target Marquis Teague at the end of the first round. In weaker drafts, I think he would be a lotto pick. He is a better prospect than Eric Bledsoe coming out of UK, for instance. Jack plays next year, then Teague and Vasquez battle it out for the future starting PG position.

Gerrity: Evan Fournier. I’d have a party if the Hornets could add him with a late first rounder, assuming he’s OK with staying in Europe for a couple more years. Once he’s ready to contribute to a winning team we could bring him over–developed and on a rookie deal. Just as Anthony Davis is really starting to enter his prime, the Hornets could potentially add a Manu Ginobili type player making a fraction of his on-court worth. I’d also be happy adding Sullinger if he falls past 20 or so.

Calmes: Henson. Henson will be a fine ball-player. He’s redundant here, and he’s not good enough to net value for the 10th pick in trade, but he’d be fine for a trade later on with a late round pick. This, of course, is ignoring the price of the trade to get him.

Ginsberg: Quincy Miller. He’s projected by most to go between 20-30 as many teams have concerns about his knee (he was on my big board until these worries arose as well), but I love his game and size (6’10”) and think he could be a great addition to the Hornets at small forward.

Schwan: Miller has to be the guy, unless Royce White plummets.  Those are my two late first-round sleepers who will be much better than people think.

Madison: I kind of like Fab Melo. He has great size and the tools to be a strong defensive big man. He’d also allow Davis to roam around on defense like he did at Kentucky.

3. Without knowing who will still be on the board at #10, would you trade the pick today for any of the following players: Evan Turner, Paul Millsap, Josh Smith, Darren Collison. If so, which one(s)?

McNamara: I would say yes to Millsap and Millsap only. The goal would be to solidify the frontline and put myself in position to get an elite point guard next summer, then re-sign Millsap to a four year deal.

Gerrity: Nope. Millsap and Smith had my interest, but I just don’t really dig their two-year deals. Smith just gets paid too much. Millsap’s contract is solid, but I don’t love the idea of pairing him next to Davis in the short term. He’s a bit small, and he’s not a guy who really creates that much for himself on the offensive end.

Calmes: Millsap. It’s all about Davis, and bringing him along at the right pace while adding in a change-of-pace guy should Davis win the starting job is a plus. After being here for a year, we may have a guy that we can sign using a Bird exception next offseason, or perhaps a guy worth something in a sign-and-trade.

Ginsberg: Turner and Collison are immediate rejections, and unless Smith or Millsap were going to agree to an extension, then I would say no to them as well. Both are only signed through the end of the upcoming season, and while I would actually love the possibilities that would be created by putting Josh Smith at SF with Davis at PF (with the versatility to move to PF and C against smaller lineups), it wouldn’t be worth it without knowing either of them would be tied down long-term.

Schwan: I’d take any of them other than Collison.  Millsap and Smith would take the pressure off Davis to be awesome and let him develop this year, while Turner still has the potential to be a wonderful swiss-army knife defender.  Oh, and if you are still terrified of his shooting issues, I’ll point out he was essentially Trevor Ariza as a shooter – but actually turned in great passing and rebounding numbers along with good defense.

Madison: Maybe Millsap. But unless he agrees to an extension, I’d rather keep the pick. Smith is also interesting, but it’s the same problem with his contract.

4. Your draft day prediction for the New Orleans Hornets…

McNamara: I believe they take Austin Rivers at number ten and then grab a guy to stash in Europe at number 46. No trading for Dealer Dell, which is a surprise of sorts, but patience is the name of the game.

Gerrity: Fans in the arena will be sloppy drunk. They’re essentially going to the Arena to watch TV. I firmly believe that we’ll be seeing the highest average BAC from Hornets fans since that game that didn’t happen in the 2009 playoffs. This time the tears will be due to joy. Optimistically I hope that Lillard or Waiters will fall and the Hornets will pounce! Realistically I think I’m going to wind up disappointed in that regard.

Calmes: . . . is that they draft Davis and trade the other picks.

Ginsberg: I’m on board with every part of Mr. Gerrity’s response, from the drunk fans to who I hope that we grab with the 10th pick. I also agree with McNamara about the usage of our second round pick.

Schwan:  I predict they draft Anthony Davis, trade 10 for a veteran and a late first rounder, draft Evan Fournier with the late pick, and then grab another euro-stash player with the 46th pick.

Madison: I agree with Ryan. Draft Davis, trade the 10th pick and stash a euro player with the 46th.

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