nba_draft_gradesThe New Orleans Hornets selected Kansas center Cole Aldrich with the 11^th pick in last night’s NBA Draft then worked out a proposed trade with Oklahoma City. 

As part of the deal, the Thunder receive the rights to Aldrich as well as Hornets shooting guard Morris Peterson while the Hornets receive the rights to forwards Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter who Oklahoma City selected at 21^st and 26^th in the 1^st round.  The deal is not official yet as the two teams will wait until July 8 to finalize the deal per league rules. 

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated gave the Hornets a B-minus in his draft grade report.  Mannix said the team landed two quality role players in Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter who are both solid.  Fox Sports.com gave New Orleans a solid C.  They say neither pick were of good nor bad value but trading down made sense for the Hornets.

New Orleans received a solid B from NBA Fanhouse’s NBA Draft Grade report.  They say that although there were better prospects than Brackins; it is positive that they gained some cap room by trading Morris Peterson and picked up two rotation players along with Pondexter.  CBS Sports.com gave New Orleans a B saying moving down in a trade with the Thunder to get two productive players makes a lot more sense.

ESPN’s Chad Ford gave the Hornet’s a pretty decent grade with an A-minus.  Ford said the trading of the 11^th pick and Morris Peterson will be enough to relieve the pressure of having to trade Chris Paul or Darren Collison.  As for the picks, he said both Brackins and Pondexter can play important rotation roles for the Hornets next season.

Overall, the Hornets fared well in this year’s draft able to free up cap space to explore the free agent market and adding two quality players that can step in to improve the team.