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In a frustrating season of near misses, injuries and close losses, the New Orleans Hornets finally got a break last Wednesday.
How big a break?
Rumor has it this dose of good luck stands 6-foot-10, weighs 220 pounds, is a shot-blocking machine and has a nasty looking unibrow.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, the Hornets were the big winners in the NBA Draft Lottery, hammering down the first pick in June’s draft.
With just a 14.8 percent chance of landing the pick, the Bees will now have the first crack at drafting Kentucky big man Anthony Davis, who appears to be the consensus top choice.
Hornets executives and coaches aren’t ready go to that far just yet, but they all agree winning the lottery is a huge plus for the rebuilding team.
“We feel blessed to be in this position,” Hornets coach Monty Williams said. “It’s great for our city, great for the state of Louisiana. We’re really excited right now.”
The lottery victory signifies the first victory of the new era within the franchise.
New Orleans Saints owner and multi-millionaire businessman Tom Benson purchased the franchise from the NBA in April in an effort to stabilize the organization’s footing within Louisiana.
With Gov. Bobby Jindal recently signing a 10-year tax break for the team, it appears Benson has achieved his goal.
The owner said he also has plans to rebrand the franchise, if he doesn’t give it a completely new name.
With the No. 1 pick in his back pocket, the owner was short and to the point about the lottery win.
“Just a first step for us to winning it all,” Benson told a national audience after the lottery balls had stopped bouncing.
With the lottery now complete, all of New Orleans’ eyes appear to be on Davis.
The lanky hybrid forward started his high school career as a 6-foot, 1-inch guard.
But after an abnormal growth spurt, Davis blossomed into one of the top prep players in American within the Class of 2011.
In just one season at Kentucky, the standout proved why that was the case, averaging 14.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game with a whopping 4.7 blocks per contest – all while leading Kentucky to the NCAA Championship.
Davis’ shining moment arguably came in what is expected to be his NBA city. The Wildcats All-American used his 7-foot-4-inch wingspan to swat six shots and pull down 16 rebounds in the Wildcats’ championship game win against Kansas – a game that was played in the New Orleans Arena.
The prospect said he would welcome the chance to be a Hornet, if chosen.
“I won a national championship in New Orleans, so why not win another one in New Orleans?” Davis told ESPN.com following the lottery. “I just have to buy into what they’re doing and work my hardest.”
If the Hornets opt to go in another route with the pick, North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Connecticut’s Andre Drummond and Kansas’ Thomas Robinson are all names that could come into play.
The team also has the option to package the selection in an attempt to receive a proven commodity that is currently on another roster.
The team said it would explore all of its options before making a final decision.
“I think we can go any way in terms of the draft,” Hornets General Manager Dell Demps said. “With the way our roster is set up now, we can add players at any position. We don’t think of it as a difficulty; we think of it as an opportunity.”
Opportunity is a word that is being used often in New Orleans these days.
That’s because while the Hornets were one of the worst teams in the league in 2012, they closed the season on a high note and proved capable of challenging any of the league’s top teams on a given night.
The apparent centerpiece of the franchise going forward will be young guard Eric Gordon, who missed most of last season with an ankle injury.
But when healthy, Gordon has proven to be an effective threat on both ends of the floor.
The team also has Trevor Ariza, Jarrett Jack, Al-Farouq Aminu and Gustavo Ayon under contract for next season.
New Orleans also has the luxury of having the 10th pick in this year’s draft, which means another young player will be thrown into the mix next season.
Players that could be on the Hornets’ radar with that selection include North Carolina’s John Henson, Tyler Zeller and Kendall Marshall, Connecticut’s Jeremy Lamb, Baylor’s Perry Jones, and Duke’s Austin Rivers.
Throw Davis and any one of those guys into the team’s already young, but sturdy group and the Hornets feel like they have a recipe for future success.
“That’s what we’re hoping,” Demps said. “I think we have a good core right now. I think we’re looking forward to just building for the future.”
This team is in a good spot,” Williams added. “There was so much up in the air as far as who was going to own the team, whether we would stay in town, and now that all that stuff is out the way, we have the No. 1 and No 10 pick and we just have to work.”
Kentucky center Anthony Davis stares at his opponents during a game this season. The Kentucky standout, best known for his trademark unibrow, is likely headed to the Hornets next season. That’s because the team won the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in last week’s draft lottery.
