We have ended the first round and go on to the teams without
a first round pick.  The first of those teams is the Charlotte
Hornets (who's first round pick ended up with Seattle).  The Hornets
in the real NBA draft will be picking at the 38th spot.  Here they
pick at 28.  Their usenet gm is:

    Richard Shoffner

and he selects: Derrick Phelps, PG, 6-4. UNC ==================================================================== Draft History The Hornets have been extremely lucky with their draft picks. They have also been extremely stupid with their draft picks. I think the needle has settled on the "lucky" side for now, as they should be at least final eight contenders for the forseeable future. Now is the time that Charlotte management must begin to show how smart (or stupid) it really is. Their record will be too good to get a lottery pick most years; they must be able to identify the 5 or 6 impact players that are available later in each year's draft and get one of them. Good luck. Their first choice in 1988 was the star-crossed Rex Chapman. Who said all white guards were heady, coach-on-the-floor types? Rex was DUMB. He has loads of physical ability, but no court sense at all. He is currently frustrating the Bullets. Why pick him? A Caucasian with explosive talent is rare. But if a kid born and raised in Kentucky is lacking basketball sense, what makes you think you can teach him any? Their 1989 pick was another mistake in hindsight. They took J.R. Reid with the #5 pick and expected him to be a superstar. They must have quit watching him after his freshman year at Carolina. Thirty pounds later, he had lost the quickness he needed to be great. Charlotte drafted him, gave him the big contract, then got dissatisfied when he was only a decent player. He was traded to San Antonio. Charlotte now has a hole at power forward which J.R. would fill perfectly. The only reason he is not in Charlotte today is the size of his contract. The 1990 pick was Kendall Gill. How was this fiasco allowed to happen? This man was headed towards being the best shooting guard not named Jordan in the NBA. Are you telling me there was no way Gill could be kept happy in Charlotte? I suppose there is enough blame for everyone involved, but I wish he were here instead of Seattle. These three drafts have a common pattern. First, profess undying love for the player, and sign to a large contract. Next, watch him play and slowly become dissatisfied. Next, make life hard for the player with comments, head games, and contract squabbles. Finally, get rid of the player (because you feel you must) for much less than he is worth. This is the "stupid" part of their draft history. The luck is obvious. The addition of Larry Johnson in 1991 and Alonzo Mourning in 1992 turned the Hornets into legitimate contenders. Scott Burrell will be a useful player for them as well, although I wish they had been able to keep Greg Graham. The Hornets will be getting teens and twenties picks for the next few years; we will see if the front office can get anything out of them. Team Needs Center--Alonzo Mourning should be a major star for the next 8-10 years, barring injury. He has the whole package--offense, defense and attitude. He needs some backup help, though. Frank Brickowski played very well here while Alonzo was injured, and this is a role I would like to see him fill. Unfortunately, he may become a free agent and leave. Kenny Gattison is wide, but too short. Leron Ellis is tall enough, but too skinny. If Mourning can play 40 minutes a game, they can get away with having these two back him up. Power Forward--The Hornets may see this as their greatest strength. I see it as a hole. Someone keeps insisting that Larry Johnson is a power forward. Charlotte will NEVER win anything that matters with Larry Johnson at power forward. His career will never be what it could be because he uses up so much energy playing men much bigger than he is. Move this man to small forward immediately! Gattison tries hard, but his skills are marginal. He needs to stay a backup. Ellis is just not physical enough to start here, but he is an OK backup. What they need is a bruiser--someone to rebound, play defense and body up on post men so Alonzo can swoop from the weak side and block shots. Sounds like a job for J.R. Reid to me. Small Forward--Here the Hornets are loaded. If they had any sense at all, they would put Larry Johnson here to start and change the style with their substitutions. Need instant offense? Dell Curry. Need defense? David Wingate. Need both? Scott Burrell. All three of these men can swing to shooting guard as well, giving the Hornets great versatility. Eddie Johnson will likely leave the Hornets, but Curry duplicates his strengths. If the Hornets insist on keeping Larry Johnson at power forward, Burrell will likely be the starter here. Shooting Guard--Hersey Hawkins starts here. He is a very good shooter and a complementary player. He, unlike Gill, can be content being the third option on the team. But he lacks Gill's explosiveness and his defensive tenacity. He is also on the short side (6'3") for a two guard in today's NBA. The three men mentioned above fill in the minutes as backups. Point Guard--If Muggsy Bogues were a foot taller, he would be the best point guard in the league and EVERYBODY would know it. Well, he's only 5'3''. He may still be the best point guard in the league, and all anyone wants to know is "When are you going to get rid of Muggsy?" Answer: When you can find somebody better. It might be a long time. No one can control a game at the pace Muggsy sets with as few turnovers as he has. No one's dribble is safe when he is in the area. He has consistently been among league leaders in assists the past few years. Muggsy is the man for at least the next couple of years. The backups need work, though. Tony Bennett is small and inadequate. His excellent outside shooting cannot overcome his ineffective defensive play. Rumeal Robinson is just plain lousy. It was obvious to all except Hornet management that his game would not work with Bristow's passing game. He is not in the Hornets future plans. My Selection My selection (and I am really amazed that I was able to get him) is Derrick Phelps of North Carolina. He is arguably the best on-the-ball defender in the college ranks. He has the height (6'3"-6'4") to handle most point guards. He has quick hands, long arms, and the desire to play defense. His only weakness is poor shooting, but I don't mind that for two reasons. One, he will work diligently and get better. Two, the Hornets already have enough scorers. What they need is defense, and Phelps will provide that at the point position. Hopefully, by the time Muggsy starts to slow down, Phelps will be ready to switch roles with him. This would provide the Hornets with quality play at point for the next 8-10 years. Others Considered My main focus was on Gaylon Nickerson, but he was snapped up two picks earlier by the Knicks. I think he has the potential to be an impact player in the NBA. Other guards I was thinking about were Howard Eisley of Boston College, Stevin Smith of Arizona State, Damon Bailey of Indiana and Brooks Thompson of Oklahoma State. Had both Phelps and Nickerson been available, I would have taken Phelps because he was a true point all of his career and Nickerson went back and forth. Phelps also faced a more consistent level of competition than did Nickerson. I also had Eric Mobley of Pittsburgh in the back of my mind. This is a big guy with athleticism and a mean streak. He has a lot of potential. I might have been willing to take a chance on him, but both Phelps and Nickerson would have had to be off the board. Who the Hornets will take I have no earthly idea. The Hornets have not shown any logic up to this point; why should they start now? I think they should spend most of their pre-draft studies on guards. You almost never get a tall man worth anything at all with a #38 pick. They have plenty of small forward types now. They should only be looking for a ballhandling guard with decent size and defensive ability. Other moves the Hornets should make 1. They should try to land a free agent power forward to help Alonzo and force LJ to play the 3 spot. Renounce Rumeal Robinson and Eddie Johnson, add their money to the cap room, and make a run at Horace Grant. If they can't afford him, then try for Scott Williams or whoever else is available. The Hornets need to enter camp with another big guy that is good enough to start. 2. They need to hire a "bench coach" to help out the most clueless head coach in the NBA. Allan Bristow apparently has nude pictures of George Shinn and farm animals. Since he can't be fired, they should add a real NBA technician to the bench (a la Jack Ramsay) to help out with strategy. 3. They should try to get taller as a general plan. The overall team height is below average, which limits their options on offense and defense. The running game and pressure defense will work during the regular season, but playoff games slow down and rely on halfcourt play at both ends. The Hornets are just too short to be competitive in a grind-it-out series against a contending team. 4. They must be consistently intense on defense. The Hornets have a wealth of scorers and an uptempo offense. Too often their plan for the defensive end was to outscore the other team. Good defense moves teams forward in the playoffs, and that doesn't just mean shotblocking. The rest of the team would do well to follow Bogues' and Wingate's examples and tighten up. ======================================================================= 1. Milwaukee Bucks GM: Bobby Davis Pick: Glenn Robinson, PF, 6-8. Purdue University. 2. Dallas Mavericks GM: Theo Wendt Pick: Jason Kidd, PG, 6-4. Cal. 3. Detroit Pistons GM: Eric Iverson Pick: Grant Hill, SF, 6-8. Duke. 4. Minnesota Timberwolves GM's: Kevin Hansen Toni Morgan Pick: Donyell Marshall, SF, 6-9. Connecticut 5. Washington Bullets GM's: Jim Nagle The Crossjammer Pick: Juwan Howard, PF, 6-10. Michigan 6. Philadelphia 76ers GM's: Brent Halliburton Pick: Yinka Dare, C, 7-0. George Washington 7. Los Angeles Clippers GM: Paul Osmond Pick: Carlos Rogers, PF, 6-11. Tennessee State 8. Sacramento Kings GM's: Don Hearth Daniel W. Huang Pick: Clifford Rozier, PF, 6-9. Louisville 9. Boston Celtics GM: Ellie Cutler Pick: Lamond Murray, SF, 6-7. Cal 10. Los Angeles Lakers GM: Kosh Pick: Jalen Rose, SG, 6-8. Michigan 11. Seattle Sonics GM: Aaron Gill Pick: Wesley Person, SG, 6-6. Auburn 12. Miami Heat GM: Rob Clough Pick: Sharone Wright, C, 6-11. Clemson 13. Denver Nuggets GM's: Rick Grubin John Exby Pick: B.J. Tyler, PG, 6-1. Texas 14. New Jersey Nets GM: Matthew Mitchell Pick: Dontonio Wingfield, PF, 6-9. Cincinnati 15. Indiana Pacers GM: Richard Burton Pick: Charlie Ward, PG, 6-0. FSU 16. Golden State Warriors GM: Mike Moore Pick: Eric Montross, C, 7-0. UNC 17. Portland Trail Blazers GM: Mike Northam Pick: Jim McIlvane, C, 7-1. Marquette 18. Milwaukee Bucks GM: Bobby Davis Pick: Brian Grant, PF, 6-8. Xavier 19. Dallas Mavericks GM: Theo Wendt Pick: Kendrick Warren, SF, 6-8. Virginia Commonwealth 20. Philadelphia 76ers GM: Brent Halliburton Pick: Voshon Lenard, SG, 6-4. Minnesota 21. Chicago Bulls GM: Andy Knipp Pick: Eric Piatkowski, SG, 6-7. Nebraska 22. San Antonio Spurs GM: Varun Singh Pick: Khalid Reeves, PG, 6-1. Arizona 23. Phoenix Suns GM: Curtis Hill Pick: Aaron McKie, SG, 6-7. Temple 24. New York Knicks GM: Alan Sepinwall Pick: Arturas Karnishovas, SF, 6-10. Seton Hall. 25. Atlanta GM: Mark Mitchell Pick: Billy McCaffrey, SG, 6-4. Vanderbilt. 26. New York Knicks GM: Alan Sepinwall Pick: Gaylon Nickerson, SG, 6-3. NW Oklahoma St. 27. Orlando Magic GM: Tom McGuian Pick: Bill Curley, PF, 6-9. Boston College 28. Charlotte GM: Richard Shoffner Pick: Derrick Phelps, PG, 6-4. UNC Next up: 29. Cleveland GM: Mark Wensell


Craig Simpson - Usenet Draft Commissioner