Kristian: Hornets pick up a pair of guards

Are the Hornets a better team after the NBA Draft?

Time will tell, but they clearly took a nice step in that direction.   New Orleans selected UCLA point guard Darren Collison in the first round (21st over all). Collison is expected to provided much needed relief off the bench for Chris Paul.

Hornet's head coach Byron Scott described Collison as having "a great basketball IQ" and expects the former Bruin to adjust well to the offense. "He's a guy... that we know can come in here and back up Chris," Scott added. "This is a great fit for us."

Listen to Scott:

Listen:

   
For a team that already has a surging fan base, the decision to trade for the rights to LSU guard Marcus Thornton, should only increase the buzz and help further pack the stands. Of course, it would help even more in Thornton can be a big contributor.

New Orleans shipped 2010 and 2012 second round picks to the Miami Heat for Thornton. In pre-draft work outs, Byron Scott lauded the efforts of the former Tiger.   "He was impressive, he would be a good addition for us." The addition has come to fruition for Coach Scott and the Hornets.

Hornets Color Analyst Gil McGregor loves the acquisition of Thornton. "He's built to score points, he's got and NBA body, that will help the team score and that's an area the Hornets struggled last season."

Player Bio Darren Collison (from UCLA's web site):

2007-08

Darren Collison started in 32 of the 33 games he played, missing the first six games of the year with a strained MCL in his left knee still finished fourth in minutes with 1144 on the year, averaging 34.7 minutes per game he averaged 14.5 points (2nd on the team, 12th in Pac-10), 2.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists (2nd on the team, 8th in Pac-10) and 1.9 steals per game (led the team, 3rd in Pac-10, 75th nationally) ... he shot 48.1 percent (161-for-335) from the field and 52.5 percent (53-for-101) from three-point range (led the team, led the Pac-10, UCLA single-season record) ... also shot 87.2 percent (102-for-117) from the free-throw line (led the team, led the Pac-10, 20th nationally, 6th on UCLA single-season list) ... his 1.70 assist to turnover ratio was the second on the team and seventh in the Pac-10 ... he became the 48th player in UCLA history to score 1,000 points and ended the season at No. 42 on the career list with 1,135 points ... he scored a career-high 33 points in the win at Oregon State (Jan. 26), becoming the first Bruin in three years to score 30 or more points ... scored in double figures in 26 games, including six games of 20 or more points ... his postseason honors included being named third team All-American (Associated Press); third team All-American (CollegeHoops.net); Bob Cousy Award Finalist; All-District IX Team (USBWA); second team All-Pac-10 (Pac-10 coaches) and Pac-10 All-Defensive Team (Pac-10 coaches) ... he also was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Pac-10 Tournament.

Scouting report on Marcus Thornton (from NBA.com):

Thornton ranks fourth in possessions used per game 20.6, and his overall PPP of 1 is indicative of how well he played despite his high usage. More so than some of the players ahead of him, Thornton does a little bit of everything. He gets almost 7.2 Pos/G as a finisher, and though his PPP isn't off the charts at 1.12, it is still above average. Thornton ranks third in catch and shoot possessions per game, but displayed questionable shot selection in shooting 3.6 guarded jumpers in comparison to just 2.2 unguarded shots. Fortunately for Thornton, his guarded PPP of 1.09 ranks third overall. That ability to make shots with a hand in his face should translate itself nicely to the NBA, where open looks are harder to come by.