The New Orleans Hornets, now formally known as the Pelicans, finished off the 2012 NBA season with a dismal fifth place showing in the Southwest Division. Their 27-55 record was probably to be expected as their lineup was full of rookies and younglings looking to make their mark in the league.
Last year’s first overall draft pick Anthony Davis overcame a slow start to the season and battled through some injuries to finish the season up strong and show that he was deserved of that top selection. In addition to Davis, Greivis Vasquez had a breakout season for the Pelicans as he finished out with averages of 13.9 ppg and 9.0 apg to go along with 25 double-doubles on the season.
The enigma in New Orleans is Eric Gordon. He doesn’t seem content to play for the Pelicans yet he has a bit of an albatross contract that makes it hard to move him anywhere. Gordon is injury prone as evidenced by his 42 games played last season. While Gordon is scheduled to be the team’s starting shooting guard come season opener; if a team came along that was willing to absolve the remaining three years on his contract at nearly $14 million per, the Pelicans would make the trade.
Areas of Weakness
The biggest concern for the Pelicans is their team defense as a team they ranked 28th in the league. While many suggest that another big man would be the way to go here in order to bolster that frontcourt. The Pelicans do have Robin Lopez who had a solid season and provided some interior defensive help. A solid wing defender who can play the three spot would be of a huge benefit as the Western Conference is laden with uber-athletic two-guards and small forwards.
Draft Projections
This is where the draft gets really interesting as the projected top-six picks are quite interchangeable depending on individual team needs. The Pelicans could easily find themselves in a position to grab a guy who might have projected as a top four selection here and their draft board has to include at least ten prospects that they are watching.
Despite last season’s success of Vasquez, the Pelicans could grab Trey Burke out of the University of Michigan here. The 6’1” point guard was the undisputed leader of the Wolverines squad and arguably the best collegiate player last year. With Burke the Pelicans would hope that he brings his positive attitude and high energy approach to the court. He certainly willed the Wolverines to win games and the Pelicans hope that such a will would become contagious. If Burke is the Pelicans guy then it will be interesting to see how they will use Vasquez and Gordon in the rotation.
As the draft unfolds and the top five teams make their selections it is highly possible that one of the likes of Victor Oladipo or Otto Porter could still be available in the six spot. If this scenario unfolds, I would prefer the Pelicans to use their selection on one of these guys over a Trey Burke. Vasquez has shown his ability to handle the point and drafting Burke isn’t entirely necessary. Oladipo would offer a premier perimeter defender who is crazy athletic, long-armed, can score the ball and seemingly jump right out of the gym. Porter on the other hand is not known for his defense; however, he is viewed as a low-risk prospect who would be capable of stepping into the rotation and contributing immediately. The Phoenix Suns hold the fifth overall selection and it would seem that they might be leaning towards Oladipo or perhaps Anthony Bennett. If this holds then Porter and Burke would likely be the two best remaining prospects for the Pelicans to choose from.