New Orleans Hornets Are In A Good Position For 2012 NBA Draft

  By Draft Dawg | 05/02/2012 - 12:55 am | NBA Draft
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It was only 6 months ago that everything looked terrible for the New Orleans Hornets.

Chris Paul wanted out and the Hornets worked out a deal to send him to the Lakers only to have the League step in and veto the trade:

“The proposed trade would have sent Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets and furnished New Orleans with three top-flight NBA players in Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Lamar Odom as well as playoff-tested guard Goran Dragic and a 2012 first-round pick that Houston had acquired from the Knicks. The general reaction among rival executives was that Hornets general manager Dell Demps did as well as he could under the circumstances after Paul told the Hornets on Monday he would not sign a contract extension this season and instead planned to become a free agent July 1, 2012.”

After licking their wounds, the Hornets managed to trade Paul to the Clippers:

“The Clippers will send guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first-round pick to the Hornets for Paul. The Clippers will also receive two future second-round picks.”

Amid all of the hub-bub that was going on about the trade and non-trade, the Hornets still played basketball in 2011-12. Now, they find themselves in position to make their team MUCH better because of the trade that didn’t go through.

Imagine if the Hornets would have had to deal with Lamar Odom all season as they stumbled to the finish line. Ouch!

Instead they have Eric Gordon coming back from injury next year, Chris Kaman and his 12.7 million coming off the books and two high draft picks (#4-#10…before the lotto) with a 13% chance of landing the top overall pick. Either way, they can pick up two fantastic players, think Jared Sullinger, who has fallen in most Mock Drafts and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and should have about 20 million dollars to rebuild their franchise.

This is the perfect time to have two high draft picks entering the Lotto. You never know what those ping pong balls will do, but, this draft is 10-12 players deep with difference makers and New Orleans will, more than likely, have two of them.

NBA Draft: 2012 Draft Lottery Odds and Current Order

  By Draft Dawg | 05/01/2012 - 5:30 pm | NBA Draft
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Here is a look at where each of the bottom 14 teams, currently, stand for the 2012 NBA Draft.

1) Charlotte Bobcats – Charlotte has a 25% chance of keeping the #1 overall pick

2) Washington Wizzards – The Wizards have a 19.9% chance of moving into the top spot

3) Cleveland Cavaliers – Cleveland has a 13.8% chance of climbing to #1

4) New Orleans Hornets – The Hornets own an 11.9% chance of reaching the summit

5) Sacramento Kings – The Kings are in the same place they were last year and have a 7.6% chance of landing the #1 slot

6) Brooklyn Nets – Jay Z and the Nets have a 7.5% chance of sneaking into the top spot

7) Golden State Warriors – The W’s have a 4.3% chance of nabbing the best player in the Nation

8 – Toronto Raptors – Toronto’s chances slipped to 2.8% when they lost the tie breaker to Golden State

9) Detroit Pistons – Deee-Triot Basketball’s chances are 1.7%

10) Minnesota Timberwolves (This pick belongs to New Orleans) – The T-Wolves are the last team to have above a 1% chance as they will have 11 ping pong balls in and a 1.1% chance

11) Portland Trailblazers – The Blazers have eight balls in and thus a .8% chance of reaching the pinacle

12) Milwaukee Bucks – The Bucks just missed the playoffs and are a long shot to nab the top player with only a .7% chance

13) Phoenix Suns – Stuck in the #13 spot again, the Suns have a .6% chance of moving to #1

14) Houston Rockets – Houston has the worst chance of moving into the top spot with five ping pong balls and a .5% chance

Defensive Top 5 Players per position for 2013 NFL Draft

  By Justin VanFulpen | 04/30/2012 - 8:54 pm | 2013 NFL Draft, NFL Draft
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DE
1. Brandon Jenkins, Florida State
2. Devin Taylor, South Carolina
3. Alex Okafor, Texas
4. Dion Jordan, Oregon
5. Travis Long, Washington State

DT
1. Kawann Short, Purdue
2. Star Lotulelei, Utah
3. Jordan Hill, Penn State
4. Johnathan Jenkins, Georgia
5. Sylvester Williams, North Carolina

OLB
1. Sean Porter, Texas A&M
2. Chase Thomas, Stanford
3. Nico Johnson, Alabama
4. Zaviar Gooden, Missouri
5. Gerald Hodges, Penn State

ILB
1.Manti Te’o, Notre Dame
2. Shayne Skov, Stanford
3. Kevin Reddick, North Carolina
4. Arthur Brown, Kansas State
5. Patrick Larimore, UCLA

CB
1.Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State
2. Micah Hyde, Iowa
3. Desmond Trufant, Washington
4. Jordan Poyer, Oregon State
5. Johnny Adams, Michigan State

S
1. Ray Ray Armstrong, Miami Fl
2. Robert Lester, Alabama
3. Bacarri Rambo, Georgia
4. T.J. McDonald, USC
5. Prentiss Waggner, Tennessee

Offensive Top 5 Seniors per position for 2013 NFL Draft

  By Justin VanFulpen | 04/30/2012 - 8:51 pm | 2013 NFL Draft, NFL Draft
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QB
1. Matt Barkley, USC
2. Tyler Wilson, Arkansas
3. Landry Jones, Oklahoma
4. E.J. Manuel, Florida State
5. Mike Glennon, N.C. State

RB
1. Knile Davis, Arkansas
2. Montee Ball, Wisconsin
3. Andre Ellington, Clemson
4. Kenjon Barner, Oregon
5. Stepfan Taylor, Stanford

WR
1. Cobi Hamilton, Arkansas
2. Terrance Williams, Baylor
3. Tavarres King, Georgia
4. Russell Shepard, LSU
5. Emory Blake, Auburn

TE
1. Jake Stoneburner, Ohio State
2. Joseph Fauria, UCLA
3. Chris Gragg, Arkansas
4. Ryan Griffin, Connecticut
5. D.C. Jefferson, Rutgers

OT
1. Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin
2. Alex Hurst, LSU
3. Dallas Thomas, Tennessee
4. Xavier Nixon, Florida
5. Oday Aboushi, Virginia

OG
1. Larry Warford, Kentucky
2. Barrett Jones, Alabama
3. Chance Warmack, Alabama
4. Travis Bond, North Carolina
5. Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina

C
1.Khaled Holmes, USC
2. Mario Benavides, Louisville
3. Braxston Cave, Notre Dame
4. Matt Stankiewitch, Penn State
5. P.J. Lonergan, LSU

Trumaine Johnson, CB, St. Louis Rams: Draft Reactions

  By Draft Dawg | 04/28/2012 - 5:17 pm | 2012 NFL Draft, NFL Draft
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It is no secret that we think Trumaine Johnson should have been the third or fourth corner off the board and St. Louis got a steal by nabbing him in the Third Round.

Let’s take a look at what other sites had to say and how they are reacting:

From Turf Show Times:

O how I love this…..

I will try and see if I can get ahold of him tonight and ask him on his thoughts… Griznation is so damn proud right now. Its pretty cool to have another kid from Missoula now on our roster. Yall will love this kid. He can be a little rigid but, he will pour his heart out on the field. TRUST ME! – RamRocker

From the Washington Post:

NFL.com said the 6-foot-2, 204-pound Johnson was arguably one of the best prospects to emerge from the Big Sky Conference in several years and he was rated the best draft prospect at the small college level and most underrated defensive back by the NFL draft report. Johnson started 42 of 47 games at Montana and had 15 career interceptions.

From the St. Louis Rams:

Johnson is a lanky defender who has the athletic ability to stay in a receiver’s hip and make plays. He uses his arms effectively in press coverage and jabs receivers to interrupt their routes and timing within the offense. He understands when to react in zone and possesses the long speed to take risks there and still recover. He is good at reading the receiver’s hips, reacting to their drop and quickly making a play on the ball. He is a very effective tackler and imposing athlete at the position.

From the reaction of the fans, the media and the Rams themselves, we are feeling pretty good about having Trumaine rated so high. One thing we do know is that speed, blanket coverage and hard hitting don’t slump. The AFC West just got  a lot tougher in the secondary and the Rams look to have made some serious improvements in the 2012 Draft.

NFL Draft Pick #63: The New York Giants Select Rueben Randale, WR, LSU

  By B.A. | 04/28/2012 - 1:37 am | 2012 NFL Draft, NFL Draft
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This 6’4″ 210 lb. wide out is a solid pick for a team that just lost their number 2 receiver to the San Francisco 49ers, Mario Manningham. Manningham, you’ll remember, is the guy that caught that beautiful seam up the sideline in the Super Bowl.

Rueben Randle will fill a need for the Giants, who have been lacking a guy that can go up and get it since the loss of Plaxico Burress.

Randle is a tall receiver who displays good balance throughout his route and leans on his defender well to create separation. He is learning how to work routes downfield and is a strong catcher of both high and low balls. He has good flexibility and really came along as a junior with his overall field awareness and ability to diagnose coverages to find his spots in zones.

Randle only had a semi-productive senior season, but a lot of that had to do with inconsistent quarterbacking. He won’t have that issue in NY, and Eli Manning will let this rookie know exactly what his role is in the Giants offense.

NFL Draft Pick number 61: The San Francisco 49ers Select LaMichael James, RB, Oregon

  By B.A. | 04/28/2012 - 1:21 am | 2012 NFL Draft, NFL Draft
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James is an absolutely electric runner from the last two years of NCAA football. He’s a huge part of the reason why the Oregon Ducks played in a National Championship game in 2010 and has sickening quickness and elusiveness.

He is capable of busting 80-yard runs when it looks like there is nothing their, reminding some of Barry Sanders. While it’s far to early to make any kind of comparison like that, James couldn’t have ended up in a better situation to make it happen.

Granted, he probably would’ve like to have gone higher in the second round, or even in the first, but going to a team that lost the NFC Championship game via fumble on a punt in overtime, well…is there a better situation out there?

I’ll shut up now. Watch the highlights.

NFL Draft 2012 #60: Baltimore Ravens Select Kelechi Osemele, T, Iowa St.

  By Draft Dawg | 04/28/2012 - 1:16 am | 2012 NFL Draft, NFL Draft
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NFL Draft 2012 #60: Baltimore Ravens Select Kelechi Osemele, T, Iowa St.

Kelechi Osemele, Offensive Tackle, Iowa State

From Mike Mayock:

“Another guy I really liked in this draft. I’m guessing he’s the kind of player John Harbaugh likes. He’s a phone-booth offensive guard. I don’t think he can live on the outside.”

With the loss of Ben Grubbs, this is a great pick by the Ravens.

 

NFL Draft Pick #59: The Philadelphia Eagles Select Vinny Curry, DE, Marshall

  By B.A. | 04/28/2012 - 1:07 am | 2012 NFL Draft, NFL Draft
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This 6’3″ 266 lb. defensive end fits right into that wide-9 defensive front the Eagles have grown into. Curry is a special player coming off the edge in the pass rush and set the edge nicely against the run.

If the opponent gives him even a little bit of space, this guy is going to exploit it. His speed and quickness make him deadly, but he’s going to have to bulk up to play with the big boys on Sunday. There are linebackers coming into the league that are his size now.

Curry will have good value as a pass-rushing specialist. Curry is an explosive athlete who has the versatility to fit the defensive scheme of the team that selects him. He can stand up and play outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, where he can focus on purely rushing the quarterback each play. In the run game, he is effective and can set the edge nicely against an offensive tackle, but has a difficult time getting to the ball if he is engaged early. Curry has second-round value.

The Eagles made a pick that fits right into their system. The question is what will he do to stand out?

NFL Draft 2012 #58: Tampa bay Bucs Select Lavonte David, OLB, Nebraska

  By Draft Dawg | 04/28/2012 - 1:03 am | 2012 NFL Draft, NFL Draft
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NFL Draft 2012 #58: Tampa bay Bucs Select Lavonte David, OLB, Nebraska

Lavonte David, Outside Linebacker, Nebraska

Career Highlights: David led the Big 10 in Assisted Tackles (67) and was second in solo tackles in 2010 (85). In 2011, Levonte was 6th in the Big 10 in Sacks (6), 2nd in Solo Tackles (65) and 4th in Forced Fumbles (3)

Career Stats: 150 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 1 INT, 3 FF

Here is a look at his strengths:

Strengths

Lavonte has speed that is evident from the second the play starts. He is an instinctive player who is able to read offensive lines and trigger to get to the spot he needs to be. He understands angles and leveraging himself when taking on blocks, which allow him to overcome his size deficiency. His footwork is fluid in transition and when moving laterally, he routinely fits up against running backs in the hole and stonewalls them at the point. He can pursue against the run to the outside and use his instincts to meet players where they ultimately will be, and rarely whiffs on tackles. He can cover tight ends close in man and works well in zone coverage as he has natural, fluid hips to turn and pass set.