Pelica Debrief
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New Orleans Pelicans: Revisiting the 2004 NBA Draft

By Nolan Jensen

DALLAS - DECEMBER 3: J.R. Smith #23 of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets looks on against the Dallas Mavericks during the game at American Airlines Arena on December 3, 2005 in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks won 97-88. 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 2005 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
DALLAS - DECEMBER 3: J.R. Smith #23 of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets looks on against the Dallas Mavericks during the game at American Airlines Arena on December 3, 2005 in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks won 97-88. 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 2005 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The 2004 NBA Draft saw several players selected in the first round straight out of high school. The New Orleans Pelicans (then Hornets) were one of those teams to select a recruit with no collegiate background, let’s see how they fared.

The 2003-04 NBA season was not as kind as the previous year for the New Orleans Pelicans. Jamal Mashburn—who finished second on the team in scoring—missed significant time due to injury, and the team limped to a 41-41 finish. They would make the playoffs but lose in the first round to the Miami Heat in seven games. Just like the previous campaign, their efforts in the regular season saw them outside the lottery in the following draft, once again picking 18th overall.

With that selection, they chose J.R. Smith, a recent graduate from Saint Benedict’s Preparatory school in New Jersey. Unfortunately for New Orleans, he would need a couple of seasons to develop and mature into a solid rotational piece, and by the time he did that, he was out of town.

J.R. Smith struggled to find any consistency or rhythm in his two seasons in the Big Easy, averaging just 9.2 points on 39 percent from the field, and 32 percent from distance. Smith is 13th all-time in three-point field goals made (1929) but never made more than 1.1 threes per game in his stint in New Orleans. His first season with the Denver Nuggets, at the age of 21, he connected on 2.4 three-point field goals per contest, so go figure.

Smith has enjoyed a prolonged NBA career as a successful sharpshooter off the bench; he’s won a Sixth Man of the Year trophy, as well as a championship in Cleveland. He just never found any success in New Orleans, but hey, he did represent the team in the 2005 Dunk Contest! He ultimately lost to the draft pick who was selected one pick before him (Josh Smith), which just kinda rubs it in.

It’s weird seeing parts of his arm visible and not covered by tattoos, 2005 was a different world—same applies for Chris Anderson. He made not have panned out for New Orleans, but this failed draft pick did turn into Tyson Chandler, who was a key component to their success moving forward. Smith and P.J Brown were packaged for Chandler back in 2006.

Now with J.R out the way, let’s take a peek at what New Orleans did in the second round of the 2004 NBA Draft. With the 44th overall pick, they selected Tim Pickett out of Florida State University. Pickett was lights out in college from distance, for his two-year career at FSU he connected on 3.1 three-point field goals per game on 37 percent.

Next. Revisiting the 2003 NBA Draft. dark

He also compiled better than two steals per game in college, but the 6’4 guard never got the chance to see if his game translated to the NBA level. Pickett never played a game in the NBA, so there’s not much substance with this selection. You could say Pickett was not worth being “Pick-ed”… I’ll be here until the day of this year’s draft, June 20th, everyone!