Round 1 Picks 1-30
1	Charlotte (Lottery odds: 25.0%)	16	Houston (From New York)
2	Washington (Lottery odds: 19.9%)	17	Dallas
3	Cleveland (Lottery odds: 13.8%)	18	Minnesota (From Utah)
4	New Orleans (Lottery odds: 13.7%)	19	Orlando
5	Sacramento (Lottery odds: 7.6%)	20	Denver
6	Brooklyn* (Lottery odds: 7.5%)	21	Boston
7	Golden State# (Lottery odds: 3.6%)	22	Boston (From L.A. Clippers via OKC)
8	Toronto (Lottery odds: 3.5%)	23	Atlanta
9	Detroit (Lottery odds: 1.7%)	24	Cleveland (From L.A. Lakers)
10	New Orleans (Lottery odds: 1.1%)	25	Memphis
11	Portland (Lottery odds: 0.8%)	26	Indiana
12	Milwaukee (Lottery odds: 0.7%)	27	Miami
13	Phoenix (Lottery odds: 0.6%)	28	Oklahoma City
14	Houston (Lottery odds: 0.5%)	29	Chicago
15	Philadelphia	30	Golden State (From San Antonio)

Even if the Hornets do not land the #1 pick there is still hope. More times than none the best players in the draft do not get pick #1 overall. Prime example, in 2007 Greg Oden went #1 and Kevin Durant went #2. In 2001 the Spurs did not draft tony parker until the very end of the first round. So there is hope for New Orleans, even without the first pick. Lets just hope Dell Demps makes the right pick.

Eric Gordon, "The Commisioner," hits the game winner.

Been a while since I’ve checked in and I apologise, things have been hectic on my end. But alas there’s a new season and a new winning team for the Hornets. With that there’s been a slew of roster moves which we’ve previously assessed. There’s been time to let that sink in and observe some of the other ongoings with the Hornets organisation.

With that let’s fire away some tidbits about the Hornets so far this season (and the off-season).

• Eric Gordon is the real deal. He can be a legitimate building block for a rebuilding Hornets, if they can get some top-10 picks. Gordon has impressed me so far with his class and professionalism. If he really buys into the program in New Orleans and becomes more of a leader (which he’s well on his way to doing) there’s no reason why in 2 or 3 years the team can’t be competing on a much more serious level.
• There’s something that makes Monty Williams a very happy man. They now have two centers who in one way or another are sub-All-Star level. But what’s even better for Williams is that there’s flexibility in his rotations he once never had. Against Phoenix the second year coach was able to substitute in Emeka Okafor late in the fourth for a defensive presence that closed the gap. Chris Kaman can give you a low post option which was lost when David West signed with the Indiana Pacers.
• Greivis Vasquez makes more of an impact than Quincy Pondexter. I loved me some Q-Pon, but unfortunately I believe that Vasquez can give the Hornets, or any NBA team something, even if he’s going to make some mistakes. Watching the Suns game again you actually feel Vasquez’s presence on the floor. That may be because he’s the point-guard, but none the less he takes shots and creates for others, something Pondexter never really did.
• This team is more talented than you think. ESPN placed us dead-last in the Western Conference, something I don’t actually have problem with (because we’d get a very high lottery pick, casual fans and season ticket holders will think other wise). However, looking at the Hornets there’s a sense, particularly from us homer fans that New Orleans is much better than what others are saying. That could be the Hornets marketing department doing a stellar job, but still I can’t help but seeing this team being much more competitive than predicted.
• Hornets will make trades this season, a few of them. I still feel like, as Jake has put it, Dell Demps is that friend you have who makes 319 trades, or attempts to, on fantasy football. With the pieces they have New Orleans is in a position to continue to get draft picks and talent to build for two or three years down the track.