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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Brandon Bass, New Orleans Hornets
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

While he had spent the last season playing in the CBA for the Liaoning Flying Leopards, power forward Brandon Bass had spent 12 years in the NBA as a solid rotational player with five teams. He spent his first two years in the league with the team that drafted him in the Hornets. New Orleans used a second-round pick on the local product out of LSU in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Bass wouldn’t really find his own until his third year in the league after his two-year stint with the Hornets came to an end. He would prove to be a solid rotational player for the Dallas Mavericks, the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics and both Los Angeles teams. Just not really with New Orleans.

Bass only averaged 2.2 points per game in his two years with the Hornets. He only played in 50 games for the Hornets, making just four starts. Do keep in mind that he played for the Hornets during a chaotic period for the franchise when they had to play home games in Oklahoma City due to Hurricane Katrina.

Bass would spend some time in the D-League before really finding himself in Dallas. Since he was a second-round pick, he didn’t have a four-year contract like most first-round picks. It’s not that he underachieved catastrophically in New Orleans. It’s just more that the Hornets weren’t able to get the most out of his raw potential during his first two years in the league. Dallas and Orlando did. Boston absolutely did.