Pelica Debrief
Fansided

New Orleans Pelicans: 15 best draft picks of all-time

By John Buhler

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 24: New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul #3 looks on during the game against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena on March 24, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The New Orleans won 121-117. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 24: New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul #3 looks on during the game against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena on March 24, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The New Orleans won 121-117. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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New Orleans Hornets, Cedric Simmons, Hilton Armstrong
(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Not every pick the Hornets/Pelicans have made in the first round has been great. However there just aren’t that many, as this professional basketball franchise didn’t arrived in New Orleans until 2002. One of the picks the Hornets made in the early days in the Big Easy was North Carolina State power forward Cedric Simmons.

New Orleans used the No. 15 overall pick on Simmons in the 2006 NBA Draft. Simmons left North Carolina State after his sophomore season in Raleigh with the hopes of being a high-end NBA frontcourt player. That never proved to be the case, as he played for four different NBA franchises over his three-year NBA career.

Simmons spent his entire rookie season with New Orleans/Oklahoma City in 2006-07. He would play in 43 games for the Hornets, starting in four of them. Though he averaged 12.4 minutes per contest as a rookie, he only averaged 2.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in his lone season with the Hornets. He would be traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for guard David Wesley.

Simmons would bounce around the NBA through the 2008-09 season before beginning a fruitful career overseas. He has played for European juggernaut Olympiacos in Greece, as well as Tel Aviv in Israel. Simmons holds Bulgarian citizenship and plays for their national title. He currently plays for Kalev/Cramo in Estonia.